This article summarizes current research on effective professional development and offers a checklist for school leaders to use when designing learning opportunities for teachers. Effective professional development engages teachers in learning opportunities that are supportive, job-embedded, instructionally-focused, collaborative, and ongoing.…

Nearly two decades of research has taught some powerful lessons about how to design and implement meaningful and effective professional development for teachers. This newsletter examines the characteristics of high-quality professional development and offers some suggestions for improving its impact and effectiveness. For reform efforts centered…

This article provides an overview of current teacher induction programs. The need for such programs, sources of existing programs, and the need for comparative analysis of program types are addressed. (Author/MT)

Attitudes of teachers regarding inservice and staff development focused on gifted/talented students range from negative to hostile. Research and programs which encourage the development of effective inservice and staff development and which motivate teachers to be receptive and positive about developing skills to identify and teach gifted students…

Between 1975 and 1980, the Organization for European Cooperation and Development's Centre for Educational Research and Innovation engaged in a project to enable member countries to share innovative approaches to inservice teacher education. Several aspects of the inservice education for teachers (INSET) project are discussed. (CJ)

Use of building-level teacher assistance teams (TATs) to provide suggested alternative instructional strategies and support services to regular teachers with problem learners prior to referral to special education is discussed in terms of relationship to special education, purposes, organization and operation, staff training, attitudinal issues,…

Staff development programs and activities are common methods of stimulating change in the behavior of educators. These programs may be designed for a number of purposes, including (1) problem-solving within the local school or district; (2) remediation to develop work-related skills; (3) motivation to change and improve staff; and (4) development…

This overview of teacher inservice education in Sweden has been complied with particular focus on the role of teacher inservice education (INSET) within the school development context. The term INSET refers to short-cycle training inputs, which tend to be of a general nature, e.g., social development, working methods in the classroom or…

The purposes of this article are to review the in-service teacher education literature and to present a survey instrument produced in a Teacher Corps project with respect to one aspect of needs assessment for in-service education, that of teachers' preliminary preferences and priorities. (Author)

Research and literature on educational change, teacher effectiveness and leadership are reviewed to provide a context for describing teacher-leader programs. Qualities of effective leadership are discussed. Suggestions for developing and reviewing teacher leader programs are given. (JL)

Offers suggestions for improving the relationship between teacher training institutes and the schools in which they place student teachers. (FL)

Suggests ways to stimulate content area teachers' interest in content area reading programs. Advocates a philosophy of "content communication," which can be developed by guiding subject matter teachers through five developmental stages (awareness, knowledge, simulation, practice, and incorporation). (JT)

In designing inservice teacher training activities, it is necessary to apply educational principles and teaching and learning techniques which are suitable for adult education programs. Four models for designing inservice teacher training programs are the Malcom Knowles Model, the Leonard Nadler Model, the Cyril O. Houle Model, and the William R.…

This study on induction practices analyzed data collected from collaborative research on more than 150 beginning teachers in Colorado, Kentucky, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, and West Virginia. This paper documents and describes the organization, structure and activities of eight induction programs; identifies and discusses…

The monograph addresses issues in needs assessment for the inservice education of teachers of handicapped children. Chapter 1, "Self Diagnosis Regarding Needs Assessment" (M. Walker), emphasizes the importance of local personnel involvement and provides a checklist for readers to assess their knowledge on the context, methodology, and application.…