This policy brief presents excerpts from an article by Judith Warren Little that addresses the problem of the "fit" between current state and local reforms and prevailing approaches to professional development. The brief addresses first five major themes of reform and their implications for teaching. These themes are: reforms in subject matter teaching (standards, curriculum, and pegagogy); reforms centered on problems of equity and the increasing diversity of the student population; reforms in the nature, extent, and uses of student assessment; reforms in the social organization of schooling; and reforms in the professionalization of teaching. It is claimed that policymakers and administrators confront major challenges in matching existing resources for professional development to such challenges. These challenges are summarized under four headings: surmounting the limitations of packaged knowledge; the spread of innovation; centering learning opportunities in the school workplace; and deciding the locus of responsibility for professional development policy. Alternatives to traditional models of professional development are highlighted. These include teacher collaboratives, subject matter associations, and school/university collaborations. Each of the alternative professional development approaches suggests principles to guide the design of professional development opportunities such as contexts of teaching, experience of teachers, support for informed dissent, and techniques and perspectives of inquiry. (LL)