This paper consists of an examination of current thinking on the factors influencing teacher training effectiveness and of a report of preliminary findings from a study of inservice teacher education. Previous research identifies five major components of training common to most inservice programs as presentation of theory, demonstration or modeling of skills, practice in simulated or classroom settings, feedback, and coaching. Those components provide a basis upon which to examine twenty junior high school teachers of English and math for low-achieving students. Teachers were divided into three groups, and three combinations of training components were used. Group 1 received presentation, demonstration, practice, and feedback in the workshops only; Group 2 received those four components plus classroom observations by a peer on two occasions; and Group 3 received the four components plus coaching by a trainer on two occasions. The training concentrated on specific techniques for raising student time-on-task. Preliminary findings were based on the observed percentages of academic interactions for each teacher and group. Group 2 evidenced most gain; this group participated in peer observation that was student-focused. It is tentatively concluded that peer observation is a fairly powerful intervention when it is nonthreatening and coupled with ongoing small-group problem-solving workshops. Group 1 did not improve as much as the other groups since it did not receive extra observations or coaching. Group 3 received on-site coaching from a trainer, but this did not seem to be as effective as peer observation. Descriptions are given of the activities of the four workshops, and the pre- and post-training and change scores for each teacher are graphically displayed. A brief discussion is presented on approaches to research on inservice training. (JD)