This guide is intended to assist practitioners involved in facilitating action learning (AL). Examined in Part 1 are the following topics: principles of AL (distinctive features of AL, purpose of AL sets, life span of AL sets, values underpinning AL); independent versus organization-sponsored AL sets; AL set operation (time, tone setting, set…

A description is given of the Oklahoma Leadership in Educational Administration (LEAD) project, a professional development program for state administrators which utilizes materials and methods developed by practitioners to meet needs brought about by state legislation for reform in education. The strength of the Oklahoma LEAD project lies in two…

This report provides a comprehensive description and discussion of 5 years of activities supported by the National Institute of Mental Health for the Personnel for Parent Development Program designed to train mental health, social service and educational professionals to deliver specific types of group parent training services. The report details…

This monograph, the second in a series of five, provides information for trainers on interdisciplinary team training and humanistic patient care in hospices. Designed to help outside trainers who may be invited by a hospice to conduct its training, the materials help instructors to understand the nature of hospices, to determine whether or not the…

This guide to effective staff development planning draws extensively on the literature to discuss the concepts crucial at each stage of the planning process. An introductory section reviews the characteristics of adult learners (including what they want to learn and how they prefer to learn it), touching on adult development, learning and…

Literature concerned with management and supervisory training was reviewed and analyzed from the perspective of relative effectiveness of various training methods for improving knowledge and awareness, changing attitudes, improving problem-solving skills, improving interpersonal skills, and improving on-the-job performance. Conclusions were drawn…

This report describes a mobile training program for directors of day care centers in which weekend workshops were conducted at 6 Michigan sites. Included in the report are descriptions of the three 2-day workshop sessions on Financial and Business Management, Personnel and Parents, and Child Development and Planning which formed the core of the…

This text includes all of the plenary presentations from the 3rd European Conference of Deafblind International's Acquired Deafblindness Network. This international conference was the first to focus specifically on older people with dual sensory impairment. Presentations addressed the awareness of the needs of older people with deafblind or dual…

This article describes a three-year program for training elementary and secondary school teachers to become staff development specialists, conducted by the New York City Teacher Centers Consortium. The program's history is traced, selected training activities are described, and conclusions about the program's adaptability elsewhere are drawn. (PP)

Describes the process by which trainers designed and ran an employee clerical skills programs and prepared modules, such as communication skills and creative thinking/problem solving, to be included in courses where needed. The flexibility of this learner-centered training was more effective than any standard course or package. (MF)

Describes how focus groups comprised of speech-language professionals, paraprofessionals, general and special education teachers, and parents in Iowa were used to conduct a needs assessment of issues in staff development and use of paraprofessional personnel and to design job-relevant personnel development programs. An attached chart lists themes…

Makes a distinction between library training and staff development, and argues that staff development programs have not been as successful because they typically fail to provide opportunities for self assessment or opportunities to evaluate one's performance in a structured team environment, and they are not based on appropriate instructional…

This article presents a model and practical suggestions for training teachers to use a case-study approach to training preservice and inservice early interventionists. The article covers necessary resources, a three-stage process in teaching the use of case studies, writing a case study, and collaboration with colleagues. (DB)

Describes how to create a school or district model for an Internet staff development training program for integrating information access skills into the school curriculum. Highlights include instructional design; facility development, including computer workstations; hands-on workshops that include electronic mail, gopher, and downloading;…

To restructure and strengthen special education services, Montana has supported growth of its Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) Council at the state level and has initiated councils in its five special-education regions. Montana's organizational structure for CSPD and the systems approach used for state and regional strategic…