ERIC Number: ED470949
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2002-Dec
Pages: 4
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Small Schools and Teacher Professional Development. ERIC Digest.
Klonsky, Michael
Small schools can provide an environment well suited to new and improved forms and models of teacher professional development. A compact faculty size can support close interpersonal relationships, resulting in greater teacher collaboration on interdisciplinary units and personalized teaching plans for all students. Thus, the necessity and opportunity for shared professional learning are heightened. In small schools, teachers often use peer-coaching models in which teachers serve as coaches for other teachers and facilitate reflective professional development activities that enable them to know students and themselves better. Knowing students well also entails professional development that supports the teaching of students with special needs and those from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds. Small size allows personnel to shift their schedules as needed to support practices the school deems important. Relationships between teachers and administrators in small schools tend to be more personal and informal, resulting in greater cooperation among the staff. Innovations resulting from teacher experience are more likely to be recognized and implemented in small schools. (Contains 26 references.) (TD)
Descriptors: Collegiality, Educational Environment, Elementary Secondary Education, Interdisciplinary Approach, Professional Development, School Size, Small Schools, Teacher Administrator Relationship, Teacher Collaboration, Teacher Student Relationship
AEL, P.O. Box 1348, Charleston, WV 25325-1348. Tel: 800-624-9120 (Toll Free). For full text: http://www.ael.org/ERIC/digests/edorc02-6.pdf.
Publication Type: ERIC Publications; ERIC Digests in Full Text
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools, Charleston, WV.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A