This paper describes initial implementation of a new role in staff development--the Instructional Coach (IC). The IC acts as a resource at the school level to assist the principal and faculty to improve instructional practices. In a pilot project, one teacher from each of four schools within the Department of Defense Dependents Schools system…

Although inquiries into social status have enjoyed increasing popularity in the literature, peer nomination techniques reveal little about the determinants of social preference. This study examined the relationship between two sociometric measures in predicting five categories of social status: (1) Popular; (2) Neglected; (3) Rejected; (4)…

This report describes the implementation and operation of a 6-month peer coaching program, "Collegial Coaching: Transfer of Learning through Reflective Practice," at Estacado High School in Lubbock (Texas). The program was originally designed to assist teachers to improve their own management and instruction in the classroom. However, it…

In a beginning level creative writing class called "Narration and Description," two student-written stories were collectively peer edited during each session. The class was required to read the student texts before class, critique them, and, with the guidance of four assigned student facilitators, discuss the texts with the author and…

A study investigated college student attitudes toward different classroom techniques for error correction in second language instruction. Subjects were 162 students of Japanese as a second language in seven universities. In the first phase of the study, a smaller group of students at a liberal arts college were observed in class, interviewed, and…

This guide discusses how to approach staff evaluation and offers actual performance standards for a wide variety of library positions. These standards can be used by any type of library. Chapter 1 explains what performance standards are, how staff evaluation has evolved over the years, legal issues which have influenced the process, and some…

This article reviews the development of interactive business letters as a form of peer review of writing, presents the activities's general operation, and discusses its benefits by presenting examples of actual student peer reviews from the International Trade Institute graduate school in Taiwan. Rather than have students read and critique each…

This paper reports on the implementation of a formative evaluation plan developed by nine educators (seven teachers and two administrators) in Richland School District Two (Columbia, South Carolina). Experienced high school teachers set improvement goals for themselves and met with evaluators or peers throughout the year to discuss progress and…

This study examined disciplinary differences in college teaching using data from a national study of peer review of teaching to look at values about teaching held by faculty in the contrasting disciplines of history and chemistry. Data for this study were from written exercises completed by faculty participants (14 historians and 12 chemists) and…

This study examined the aggressive behaviors of children through peer ratings to teacher ratings of problem behaviors and social skills and peer ratings of friendship. Peer data are valid measures and may be more accurate than teacher or self measures because peers are more likely to be present when aggression occurs. This study examines a peer…

Several methods by which teachers are able to make a useful assessment of their own instruction and prescribe improvements for their own teaching are described. The literature on these evaluation methods is also reviewed. These methods include: reflective evaluation, an important part of the new approach to teacher self-evaluation; action research…

A practicum was developed to determine whether the motivation of a private school's ninth grade English class (18 students) could be increased by gearing the course toward a specified, authentic public audience and whether an increase in motivation would positively affect the quality of and attitude toward writing assignments and the use of…

In a freshman composition course, the teacher attempted to motivate student interest in writing by assigning biographical readings and fiction that felt like real life. In reading the books, students found topics for writing about their own lives. During the first class session, students were given the topic "The Story of My Life: A…

Combining three strategies, a composition instructor has attempted to bridge the gap between peer response and teacher expectation in the first-year writing course taught at Florida State University. The focus is on writing that is exploratory and based on personal experience. The instructor: (1) establishes a criteria for producing and evaluating…

A practicum addressed the problem of students' lack of fluency in standard English despite the traditional paradigm for formal grammar instruction and the emphasis on process writing in most English classrooms. Nineteen (English 2) high school students participated in peer editing groups in a collaborative learning environment. The solution…