USING RESEARCH TO INFORM PRACTICE IN URBAN-SCHOOLS - 10 KEY STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

To develop schools that are self-renewing learning organizations, we m ust ensure that teaching staffs are properly prepared and trained by m aking a commitment to provide professional development opportunities r eflecting the best we can offer from the knowledge base. Similarly if we are to affect sustained school improvement efforts, practitioners a nd researchers must continuously share and exchange this knowledge bas e with one another How is this shared language best developed? Hedges offers 10 strategies: implementing school-based staff development prog rams; cooperatively planning and supporting staff development programs ; ensuring that staff development programs contain effective training components: offering cooperative/collaborative training experiences; d esigning research-based staff development programs focused on improved student performance; maintaining high expectations and standards; com mitting to long-term training efforts; establishing ways to support an d recognize transfer of new learnings; assessing staff development pro gram effectiveness on significant measures; and linking research to te acher preparation programs.