As states review, refine, and implement new academic standards, professional learning activities,also known as professional development (PD), should be scheduled in order to support educators. At the request of a state education agency, the Center on Standards and Assessments Implementation (CSAI) conducted a scan of six states' PD opportunities…

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a teacher professional development program on the classroom teaching practices of the participants. This particular professional development program included an intensive summer institute, 8 monthly follow-up sessions, informal participant-professor mentoring and peer networking. The majority…

Using relational and action oriented qualitative modes of inquiry (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009; Gilligan, Spencer, Weinberg, & Bertsch, 2003; Raider-Roth, 2005), this research explores the trajectory of five veteran teachers' practice over two years. The participants were part of a group of teachers involved in an intensive Summer Teachers…

The National Science Education Leadership Association (NSELA) was formed in 1959 to meet a need to develop science education leadership for K-16 school systems. "Navigator" is published by NSELA to provide the latest NSELA events. This issue of "Navigator" includes the following items: (1) A Message from the President (Brenda Wojnowski); (2) NSELA…

There are so many great ways to extend oneself professionally--or personally--over the summer. This paper presents several opportunities for summer 2009: (1) The Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative; (2) Courage to Teach; (3) University of South Carolina's Summer Institute in Computer Science; (4) Online Program in Online Teaching; and (5) College Board…

Inquiry-based instructional approaches are an effective means to actively engage students with science content and skills. This article examines the effects of an ongoing professional development program on middle and high school teachers' efficacy beliefs, confidence to teach research concepts and skills, and science content knowledge.…

In order to help teachers negotiate the changing contexts of foreign language education, the National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center (NFLRC) at Iowa State University began offering summer institutes in 1994. The authors were surprised at the intense interest in the institutes focused on technology. Since then the NFLRC has offered 36…

This report presents results of a study completed in fall 2004 by Inverness Research Associates on behalf of the National Writing Project (NWP). The study was designed to satisfy a U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) requirement that programs assess participants' satisfaction with their professional development experiences, and also assess the…

Participants in interdisciplinary professional development workshops and reunions expressed satisfaction and reported positive effects on their teaching. Although the program met participants' expectations, sessions did not consistently reflect principles of effective teaching and learning. This discrepancy is discussed. (Author/MLW)

This paper advocates that Wisconsin teachers of French should participate in immersion programs for each Department of Instruction recertification cycle. Typically, teachers obtain their immersion experience in France, initially as undergraduate students and subsequently as tour guides for their own students. The paper suggests that North American…

This narrative chronicles the continued evolution and development of the Rhode Island Early Childhood Summer Institute, an intensive 5-day inservice professional development program designed for educational leaders from various sectors of the early care and education field. The goal is to review the continued use of successful practices…

This article presents the theoretical basis and methods for the process and outcome evaluations of the Rhode Island Early Childhood Summer Institutes held in 2000 and 2001. The article also discusses the evaluation results that demonstrated the institutes were received as high-quality inservice professional development programs in which…

The Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy is a coalition of friends who share a vision of the potential of education. Founded in 1997 at a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar for College Teachers, the Hamer Institute conducts seminars and workshops for K-12 teachers and students that feature the role…

This evaluation report of the Staff Developmnent Program in Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science for 1984-85 contains four chapters. Chapter 1 describes program background and objectives, the scope of the evaluation, and evaluation procedures. These procedures included: (1) memoranda announcing programs; (2) project documents; (3) course…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of an intensive three-week science institute for preservice and inservice elementary teachers that was funded by an Eisenhower Professional Development grant and a Regents' Initiative Research grant. The institute was held in combination with a summer science camp for elementary children. Pre- and…