The concept of peer coaching of teaching is discussed and specific, low-cost strategies are recommended to support peer coaching. (Author)

Describes how education came to adopt the textbook approach and reviews various educational reform movements. Suggests that more attention must be paid to the processes whereby educators take the lead in the development of reflection that leads to changes in schools and the attitudes of the general public. (Author/JOW)

Results of a state survey of inservice teacher education practices and problems in California indicate general dissatifcation with present programs. It was indicated that there is very little job-related or job-embedded inservice education, and most of the important options for providing training are not being utilized. The formal structure of…

Schools need staff-development programs focused on teaching children to read. Students must read effectively by the end of third grade. The Success for All curriculum is effective, is transportable, focuses on basic literacy, uses formative assessment, and provides continuous, onsite assistance and support to schools. (MLH)

Examines the history of peer coaching, describes changes in coaching practice, and makes recommendations for its future. Consultants have found that all teachers must agree to be members of peer coaching study teams, verbal feedback must be omitted, "coaching" must be clearly defined, and collaborative teamwork increases teacher learning in…

This report presents concepts, procedures, and instruments to be used in studying staff development in educational settings. The report has been structured as a set of guidelines designed to help state agencies, county offices, teacher centers, universities, school districts, and local school faculties collaborate in investigating the dynamics of…

District staff members and teachers in the Northern Lights School Division of Alberta designed a formal reading curriculum for kindergarten. In the first year, all 141 kindergarten-age students were included in the study. Their progress equaled that of students in average first-grade classrooms, and none of them failed. (Contains 14 references.)…

As part of a long-term inquiry into the nature of staff development, 300 interviews focused on teachers' use of formal development opportunities, informal interactions with other professionals, and personally directed growth activities. The relationships between teachers' growth levels and the social systems of schools are discussed. (Author/MLF)

The context of staff development programs should be selected from options promising substantial increases in student learning and aptitude. This article introduces the "effect size" concept and reviews recent research on teaching models (cooperative learning, information-processing models, synectics, nondirective teaching, and DISTAR). Includes 55…

Four educators respond to the article in this issue which suggests that statistical data do not support a link between student achievement and staff development. The responses revisit the research used in the original article, suggesting that the link exists and discussing how future research could be improved. (SM)

The focus of this book is on the planning of a comprehensive system of staff development and the governance, design, and implementation of specific programs within that system. Much of the book consists of recommendations that are based on the study of a wide range of staff development programs, research on teachers and teaching, information about…

A study of a group of 21 teachers focused on the relationship between their psychological states and their utilization of professional growth activities and programs. The study's objective was to generate a practical way of applying Maslow's Theory of Personality to the study of staff development. (JN)

This article describes services the staff development system will need to be successful, presenting the structures for governance and organization and illustrating the interface of the system with the needs of individuals, professionals, schools, and school districts in curriculum, instruction, and technology. (SM)

This paper describes a multidimensional staff development program implemented by the Ames (Iowa) Community Schools, involving 11 schools, 350 teachers, and 5,000 students. Three governance options in staff development were established: the Individual Growth Fund which supported teachers in defraying the costs of individually selected staff…