This paper describes a year-long staff development program to improve the evaluation skills of 77 district program coordinators. Results suggest that training, based on the Purdue Three-Stage Model, was effective in helping coordinators become more skilled program evaluators. Implications for program evaluation, personnel development, and outcomes…

Describes the Head Start-Johnson & Johnson Management Fellows program, whose mission is strengthening management skills of Head Start directors by providing training in human resources management, organizational design and development, financial management, computers and information systems, operations, marketing, and development of strategic…

College and university strategic planning works best when staff performance appraisal and development are used together to bring about both organizational and individual change. However, these must be more than bureaucratic exercises unrelated to daily staff management. Individual staff must be able to see themselves as important in carrying out…

New computers often collect dust in the classroom. Too much technology planning concentrates on hardware and software, to the detriment of staff development. An Arizona principal developed a successful inservice plan for teachers involving basic training, intensive small-group training sessions, and creation of certified resident experts in…

Each Oregon school is required to have a council responsible for developing a staff development plan, improving the instructional program, and coordinating school-reform efforts. During the Eugene district's implementation phase, central-office administrators played a key role in providing organizational development training and in allocating…

This paper profiles Anna Steffin, principal of a Canadian elementary school, who has built a community of learners among her teachers and encourages quality staff development, collegiality, parent participation, and parent teacher cooperation. She promotes her beliefs by being an active participant in all activities. (SM)

In 1989, the state of Texas implemented a broad initiative to improve instruction through using technology. A survey of teachers in the Fort Worth Independent School District identified four factors (time, training, technology availability, and teacher-type tasks) critical to technology integration. The district offers Trainer Institute, Bootcamp,…

States that professional development programs, though they run the gamut from fledgling to comprehensive, have developed over the last three decades as a result of the rapid growth of the community college. Examines some of the early struggles of the professional development movement and discusses future challenges. (AUTH/NB)

A study of 16 individuals with severe and profound mental retardation and 16 direct-care staff from a residential facility investigated changes in interactive behaviors between clients and staff. Results found that, after staff training, there were slight positive increases in staff interactions with the residents. No consistent change was found…

A model for creating a healthy and safe camp environment is based on modeling good health and safety practices by camp staff, creating a pattern of forethought and proactive behaviors that incorporates safety management into every activity, and fostering collective caring and shared responsibility for health and safety among members of the camp…

Describes a study that examined block scheduling's effects on student and teacher performance and attitudes at a large Texas high school. While the 2-hour Algebra I block had a higher failure rate than the traditional 50-minute algebra class, the block classes were comprised of students who have traditionally struggled in mathematics. Maximizing…

Distinguishes between training and coaching, asserting that the latter focuses on the staff person as learner. Offers strategies for staff development: clarify when one is supervising versus coaching, identify issues before developing strategies, ask questions that spring from genuine curiosity, offer detailed descriptions of teacher actions,…

This study evaluated effects of a training package to improve behaviors of residents with mental retardation and staff responses. The training procedure included video feedback and self-management procedures (for residents) and video and graphic feedback (for staff). Results showed improved behaviors for residents with both internalizing and…

While working and playing together at camp, staff often work through most, if not all, of the stages of group formation, commonly referred to as forming, storming, norming, performing, and finally, transforming. Ten adventure-based games and activities are presented to help camp directors train staff and help them progress through these stages.…

Presents major conclusions from a 1990 report "Unusually Effective Schools: A Review and Analysis of Research and Practice." Guidelines for multischool improvement projects include providing substantial staff development time and technical assistance, focusing on instructional improvement, avoiding faculty overload and overreliance on bureaucratic…