This study documented the process of creating, executing, and assessing, a cost-effective, school based, researcher conducted staff development program which included one African American seventh grade social studies faculty member, one European American tenth grade faculty member, and one European American Chapter I reading teacher, at Roosevelt Junior Senior High School, Roosevelt, New York, during the 1989-1990 school year. The objective was to obtain more information about increasing school effectiveness in low income school districts. Staff development efforts were aimed at broadening faculty members' preparedness in developing reading instruction strategies used in the content area of social studies, which conform more concisely with urban African American students' range of reading levels in three homogeneously grouped classes. The goals of (a) improving students' academic performance, (b) attending to individual needs, and (c) providing the tools needed to control learning, are addressed. Five collaboratively designed staff development workshops on developmental reading instruction strategies in the social studies content area enabled members of the faculty to: (a) reevaluate perceptions of teaching reading in the social studies classroom, (b) develop the techniques needed to enable students to independently evaluate the many types of printed material, and, (c) professionally incorporate a concern for teaching the "what" of content, and how the student may obtain the content. Informal and formal discussions, realization of self-concepts, interests, attitudes, completion of evaluations, diagnosis and prescription, conferencing, and observations, led the researcher to the determination that members of the faculty: (a) developed a unified strategy for teaching students how to read their social studies texts with fluency and efficiency, (b) collaboratively planned lessons stressing reading skills without loss of social studies content, (c) realized that content was naturally acquired as a result of improved reading skills, (d) regarded the process of reading as a necessary component in the curriculum, a skill that opens the door to higher level thinking, and, (e) viewed reading not as an isolated skill but rather as a means of enhancing and enriching the social studies curriculum. The students in this study: (a) demonstrated improved reading skills, for example, increased levels of comprehension, (b) learned how their textbook was organized and how to make the best use of all its parts, (c) increased their vocabulary, (d) obtained a better idea of their own interests in social studies, and, (e) acquired techniques to improve study skills which included taking notes and studying for and taking tests. Indications of increased school effectiveness imply that staff development is practical in low income school districts where there is evidence of a corroborative Board of Education, administrative team, faculty, and curriculum and instructional designers.

This dissertation describes the personal struggle of one high school English teacher to conduct her classes according to her vision of student-centeredness, within a school whose culture sometimes made her doubt her own decisions. It suggests that the outside support of a teacher educator was the pivotal force for her gaining of perspective, through non-judgmental feedback, dialogue and reflection. It concludes that both roles, teacher and teacher educator, need to be reconceptualized if teachers whose vision is the empowerment of students are to remain in the public schools.

This ethnographic case study of eight environmental teacher educators who collaborated in a four-state watershed education partnership was focused on processes of social constructions of region and regional partnership. Participant observation in meetings, interviews, and spatial representations were used as data for the eleven-month study. Spatial representations at two intervals were analyzed for documentation of conceptual change. A metaphorical model was used as the interpretive frame for analysis of interview and partnership meeting discourse features. Participants identified central features of place, diversity, and scale as they elaborated upon their sub-watershed valley regions as "home." Participants identified experiential learning as the foundation for watershed education, and reported that grounded experience was their own most essential way of knowing the watershed. The participants valued collaboration, networking, learning about one another's work, and the opportunity to make professional connections as benefits of partnership. In an examination of discourses of "self" and "the environment," analysis of partnership discourse strategies yielded evidence of prosodic phenomena such as raising questions and laughter as means of maintaining synchrony and coherence in meetings. Over the study period, the participants' spatial representations demonstrated tensions between political and bioregional boundaries and growing similarity across representations of the partnership. Issues of support for multistate regional partnerships were considered. Conclusions were that cultural and folk concepts of region are useful in determining scale to inform watershed education policy initiatives and implementation. In partnership meetings, democratic practices were considered most practical for "getting something done." Implications for education included expanding applications of metacognitive approaches, a focus on experiential learning in watershed education, and the place of "place" as an interdisciplinary educational focus. Finding a cultural taboo on conflict, the researcher recommends further development of curriculum environmental conflict resolution, and calls for intergenerational community watershed councils trained in conflict resolution and mediation as foci for regional watershed education efforts.

What are characteristics of exceptional teaching in terms of academic, social and emotional growth as determined by middle school teachers and students? An effective middle grades teacher transmits a core of common knowledge to his or her students. An effective middle grade teacher makes his or her students feel they are a part of a community, and provides a meaningful and challenging educational experience. The effective middle grades teacher takes the time to talk with his or her students about academic matters and personal problems, and makes the student see that he or she has value and is a success, with a promising future. (Turning Points, 1989). Are pre-service teachers prepared to teach at the middle level? The purpose of this study was to determine if effective middle school teachers share certain characteristics, and if so, how could they become integrated into a teacher education program. Teachers of middle school students, pre-service teachers, middle school students, and middle school administrators participated in this study about effective middle school teachers. Surveys, interviews, and questionnaires were administered to participants in order to determine what is exceptional about them. The data was then used to identify characteristics or methods which effective middle level teachers have in common. The results were grounded in adolescent development theory. The research may help determine teacher characteristics or methods that are most suited in terms of academic, social, and emotional growth for a middle level student.

Although the wealth of research on beginning teachers indicates that teachers' transitions from preservice to inservice are often fraught with complexity, the prevalent “sink-or-swim” approach to their entries into teaching does not usually recognize the developmental complexities of each individual teacher's experience. The developmental blindness that some educational stakeholders have developed in regard to beginning teachers is, in fact, vastly different from the way our society views “newness” or “beginnings” in other venues and forms. If stakeholders in education were to take new teachers seriously as learners, we would not expect the same from them as from veteran teachers, and we would, as a matter of regular practice, provide new teachers with adequate support that is rooted in the legitimate learning and developmental demands of each beginning teacher. Using a phenomenological framework and an in-depth interviewing methodology, I interviewed ten (10) first-year English teachers in order to illuminate the nature of the experience of the first year of teaching English. I explored what it is about the nature of the first-year of teaching that has made it such an infamously trying time emotionally, intellectually, and socially. How does the culture of teaching “induct” its newest teachers? How do new English teachers experience their own learning and development in their first year in the classroom? What does the first year of teaching mean to those who experience it? I interviewed each participant on three separate occasions, with each interview lasting approximately 90 minutes. I audiotaped the interviews and transcribed them verbatim. I open-coded salient themes in the interview transcripts and arrived at 12 themes that cut across my participants' age, gender, and school context. Significant issues in my participants' experiences revealed several elements of the nature of the first-year of teaching English. I discuss how the constitutive elements of my participants' experiences in their first year can be incorporated into the development and implementation of more effective and more developmentally appropriate induction and support programs.

This case study provides the data which delineates a plan for a staff development program at the school-site level, allowing for the development of guidelines necessary for the implementation of this plan. Urban high schools face many challenges: continued diminishing budgets impacting on staffing cuts, increased student problems, and reform mandates with inadequate funding. The Department Head, as the curriculum and instructional leader, is at the forefront to provide teaching professionals with access to intensive staff development opportunities. This study describes a staff development planning process as created by one Department Head, that may be utilized by any urban high school without a program in place. The plan involves the collaboration of staff and it is implemented at the school-site. It affords teachers a shared vision with access to pedagogical initiatives accompanied by efforts to ensure a stable and informed staff that can focus on the educational needs of our ever-changing student population. The study is of a descriptive nature. Statistical data gathered in the format of naturalistic inquiry from virtually an entire school staff will indicate what happens when teachers have common goals and utilize a collaborative approach in developing a plan to support fellow practitioners in sharing ideas, cooperating in activities, and assisting one another's intellectual growth. Consensus was established that teachers have a shared vision of the professional activities they want in the planning and design of a staff development program. Most teachers feel they need assistance in upgrading content knowledge and teaching strategies that will support them in working in a collegial fashion to improve teaching and learning focused toward helping all students to achieve high standards of learning and development. Professional development at the school site was strongly preferred as compared to past, singular activities outside of the school building. Teachers want substantial time and resources on a continuum in activities that are job-embedded and reflect the School's philosophy and vision. The results of this case study offer strategies that can be used by high school administrators at the school-site level planning and implementation of a staff development program.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of middle school principals regarding desired skills and attributes appropriate for elementary or secondary-certified teachers in middle schools. A secondary purpose was to determine trends in assignment of teachers holding various types of certification in middle schools. Data were gathered from a survey questionnaire about school grade distribution, enrollment, organization, teacher assignment by grade level and certification held, patterns of mobility in assignment, and degree of implementation of effective middle school practices. Perceptions of desired attributes for middle school teachers, adaptability of elementary and secondary-certified teachers to middle grade assignment, and factors related to certification that enhance or hinder implementation of middle school philosophy were obtained from personal interviews of principals. Results show a scarcity of teachers holding middle school certification. Although possession of a certain type of certificate was not in itself a significant indicator, principals preferred attributes typical of elementary-certified teachers when seeking staff for middle schools, perceiving them as more adaptable than secondary teachers to changes in role expectation and assignment. Among these attributes were facility with varied teaching techniques, skill at individualizing instruction, adaptability to multidisciplinary instruction, understanding of psychological and social aspects of preadolescent development, and an overall receptiveness to change. Changes in teacher assignment from elementary to middle levels occurred during the past three years in more than half the schools surveyed. Within middle schools, it was more likely that elementary-certified teachers would be assigned in upper grades than secondary-certified teachers would be assigned to lower grades. One trend reported was a decline in the proportion of secondary-certified teachers in middle schools. Some success in implementing middle school programs was attributed to the presence of middle level certified teachers on the faculty. Schools were characterized by their principals as either successful middle schools, in transition toward implementing a middle school philosophy, or secondary in operation. Practices associated with effective middle schools were reported in greater frequency among schools in transition than in schools operating as middle schools for a number of years.

A new plant cultivar, Fast Plants (Brassica rapa), originally developed for research purposes, shows great potential for improving science teaching and learning. The extremely short life cycle and petite size of the material, plus easy classroom maintenance procedures, suggest that Fast Plants may be an important vehicle for changing attitudes toward plants and plant study, and for changing classroom practice. This study has been undertaken to assess the usefulness and effectiveness of Fast Plants to middle and high school science teachers. A group of middle and high school teachers were introduced to Fast Plants at a one-day workshop. 22 of those attending volunteered to use Fast Plants in their classrooms during the subsequent school year. Although teachers were not specifically asked to continue work with Fast Plants after the first year, their use of the innovation was documented through the three years of the study. Teacher response to the material was assessed using questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observation during the three years. The final summative evaluation made at the end of the study indicates that the material was very useful in the classroom and a highly effective teaching tool. Teacher use of Fast Plants increased during the three years, with an expansion both in the numbers of classes in which the innovation was used, and in the ways the material was used. Increases in the time spent on plant study, in student use of live plant material, and in student learning as judged by their teachers were seen. The innovation had a positive effect on both students and teachers.

This study is an examination of the revised teacher evaluation procedures implemented by the Newton, Massachusetts public school department. The primary objective of the investigation was to determine how the participants, the teachers involved, viewed the pre-training, the common language features, the use of narrative evaluations, and the 'cycle' format proffered by Robert Goldhammer in his pioneering clinical supervision model designed at Harvard University in the mid 60's. An analysis of the literature critiques and presents clinical supervision models from Green Bay, Wisconsin and Avondale, Michigan, as well as research that documents the evolution of clinical supervision, and its adaptation by educators such as Madeline Hunter. Higher means were recorded by respondents who participated in pre-training workshops, conducted over a three year period, than those who did not on all survey items. Teachers felt that they benefited from the revised evaluation procedure using clinical supervision techniques. They found narrative evaluative reports more helpful, especially the female teachers. They were clearer on common language terms shared with their supervisors and they found evaluation less a source of anxiety than those who did not participate in the pre-training.

The NCTM Standards have established new directions for math teaching and learning. The problem of implementation, particularly in urban school systems remains. This study focuses on an urban school system in Western Massachusetts. Of particular interest to the researcher is the lack of success of students in Algebra I. This particular course has traditionally been the pivotal course that determines if a student gets into and remains in the "College Preparatory" sequence. The fact that too many minority and women students are left out of these choices due to lack of mathematics preparation can be traced back to being left out of algebra in high school. What happened to these students? Why were they left out? Why is the failure rate nearly 45 percent in Algebra I in this public school system? Teachers working in the traditional classroom structure of the current school setting are isolated without opportunities to work in cooperation with other teachers. Without a process for sharing ideas and a method to support new teaching strategies, it will not be possible for the vision of the Standards to become a reality. The challenge for a supervisor is to bring the message of the Standards to the secondary mathematics teachers in an urban school system. This study develops and tests a supervision model, based on peer supervision, for the implementation of teaching strategies recommended in the Standards. The findings of this study show that peer supervision can help school systems bring new teaching strategies, like cooperative learning and hands-on activities, into its Algebra I classrooms.