Examines the complex roles and responsibilities of Professional Development School (PDS) liaisons from the perspective of one liaison who has served in many capacities. She notes that her most intriguing challenge relates to differences among sets of roles and responsibilities, some of which are more hierarchical and some of which are more…

The SIP (Standards in Practice) instructional improvement program was successfully implemented in three El Paso school districts. Student scores have soared. Teacher development must be ongoing, site-based, and targeted to all students' specific needs. Teachers need strong verbal and math skills, deep content knowledge, and teaching skill. (MLH)

Argues that the issues of good teaching practice and professionalism are at risk of becoming marginalized in the developing market culture. Finds that a growing compliance of schools to middle-class parents may result in the overriding of teachers' professional judgments that do not mirror the perceived requirements of these "valued"…

Reports on a collaborative project developing CD-ROM multimedia resources for school leaders. Provides an overview of multimedia case-simulation concept, discusses collaborative project efforts with regional and state school leaders, highlights CD-ROM case design features, and summarizes preliminary findings associated with the Administrator Case…

Evaluated a professional development project, Constructing and Networking for Multiage Learning, which gave teachers Internet access and support for more constructivist teaching. Found that teachers initially modified their teaching, but reverted to more traditional practices by the end of 3 years. Although most became successful technology users,…

At the core of school reform is an unwavering belief in possibility: the deep conviction that each and every student can reach higher academic levels than typical expectations would have people settle for. This belief in possibility acknowledges the potential of every student to learn, every teacher to teach, and every family member to partner…

Differentiated instruction allows each student to learn at the depth, complexity, and pace that is most beneficial to him. Differentiating curriculum and instruction is a rich and effective strategy to use when providing the needs of gifted and talented students--especially when those students spend most of their time in regular classrooms. A…

In this article, I portray the status of visual art education in United States public elementary schools between 1997 and 2004. I report on trends in state policies and interpret data from a national survey of elementary principals, visual art specialists, and classroom teachers. I also provide information on public opinion about arts education,…

A major provision of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Education Act of 2001 is the guarantee that all students in America's schools will be taught by teachers who are "highly qualified." At the same time, a large percentage of teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) are not fully licensed teachers, and this has…

This paper reports a test on the feasibility and educational value of probeware and associated instructional materials in middle school science education. We addressed feasibility through consideration of costs, teacher professional development, and instructional design. In order to test our approach, we developed 2 middle school science…

Past research has indicated that a number of problems in the teaching of science in elementary classrooms are rooted in the preparation of inservice teachers. One continuing concern is elementary teachers' lack of science content knowledge. As indicated by numerous research studies reporting positive results, one method of addressing these…

This study reports on a 5-year project to improve urban, middle-level student achievement through the implementation of two initiatives. First, teachers at a participating New York City middle school engaged in weekly curriculum-planning workshops to reformulate classroom curricula into interdisciplinary, discovery-oriented activities. Second,…

The Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) professional development movement, community college students' emerging intentionality, and the role of two- and four-year higher education faculty intersect in a proactive model proposed by the author that advocates ECEC community college programs separate from the vocational tradition and establishes…

The Internet's interactive nature and relatively wide use are resulting in new opportunities for educators to find support, dialogue, development, and even mentoring whether or not it is readily available in one's school. Discussion forums are becoming communities of support in themselves, sometimes facilitating relationship building among…

Problem solving is seen to lie at the "heart" of mathematics (Cockcroft, 1982). Problem solving is also of great importance to industry that claims many young people leave school and take up jobs without the skills needed to sort out difficulties and problems (Smith Report, 2004). So is problem solving at the heart of mathematics teaching in…