Describes strategies for effectively supporting beginning teachers, including low-intensity strategies (e.g., orientation and collegial collaboration) and high-intensity strategies (e.g, providing release time and selecting and training effective support providers). The paper also notes important supportive conditions and describes challenges to…

Teachers and administrators have opportunities, via e- learning, to participate in multiple professional and personal learning experience. This paper examines what to consider before investing in e-learning products or related services (e.g., research results, content quality, content flexibility, flexible time, learner readiness, follow-up…

For technology to impact student achievement, teachers must be empowered via extensive staff development. This paper presents building-level technology initiatives (e.g., peer training, super substitutes, and computer clubs) and district- level initiatives (e.g., establish a district technology committee, allow teachers to take computers home over…

One area in which educators can get a good return on their time investment is helping collaborative teams focus on and become proficient in developing local classroom assessments for all students in the same grade or course. Six steps to working collaboratively are described (e.g., analyze state and local curriculum guidelines, establish…

Limiting data collection to a sample group is one way to increase effectiveness in dealing with data. The paper describes how to draw a sample group (random sampling, stratified random sampling, purposeful sampling, and convenient or opportunity sampling) and discusses how to determine the size of the sample group. (SM)

Discusses how assistant principals can create learning experiences for their staff on a tight time line. Suggestions include finding a consultant to facilitate the learning experience, assembling a team of teachers to help plan for changing how staff development is designed, and having teachers think about planning a day of collaborative learning…

Presents five principles for conducting effective, successful meetings, which include: address only one topic at a time, use only one process at a time, achieve interactive and balanced participation, use cognitive conflict productively, and have all understand and agree to meeting roles. (SM)

In successful schools, teams of teachers meet regularly to examine student work through assessment and change their instructional practice accordingly to get better results. Staff developers should advocate simple but effective improvement mechanisms. The paper discusses what many improvement plans do wrong and recommends systematically reviewing…

North Carolina's A+ program views teachers as professionals capable of improving curriculum and practice with intensive professional development. This in turn raises teacher morale and improves practice. The paper explains how A+ supports professionalism, describes its professional development model, and presents details on its intensive…

Comprehensive school reform (CSR) requires quality professional development to succeed. This paper looks at how schools can make time for professional development while keeping the CSR initiative on track, explaining how to overcome challenges to implementing CSR and noting the need for district support. Steps that districts can take to build…

Suggests that schools need clear structures and strong, professional cultures to foster teacher learning, describing school culture, positive versus toxic cultures, and staff development. The paper highlights two schools with positive cultures and describes how principals and school leaders shape school culture by reading the culture,…

Describes how school leaders can harness the power of stories to help maintain or create a positive school environment, explaining the role of the storyteller, how to choose the story, where to find meaningful stories, how to recognize people by name in a story, how to shape the message, and how to appeal to the audience's intellect and emotions.…

Presents tools to help schools determine whether they need to independently and continuously diagnose school culture issues and whether they need an in-depth analysis for the extensive development of a strong and healthy school culture. The school culture audit includes self-assessment via interviews, observations, surveys, evaluation, and…

Describes the Bridging Cultures framework, a tool for understanding how the expectations for a student at school may conflict with the values of the student's family. The framework describes two contrasting value systems (individualism and collectivism) and helps teachers consider where differences may lie to head off potential conflict. (SM)

To ensure equitable education, teachers' attitudes must be transformed. Teachers need time and opportunity for inquiry and reflection on biases that may affect practice. The paper discusses learning about cultural norms and equity in the context of content pedagogy and teacher leadership and professional collaboration. Two sidebars describe…