Dr. Kevin Riley

The purpose of this study was to provide an accurate description of the experiences and perceptions of a group of classroom teachers who were involved in a district-wide staff development project. Using a qualitative case study approach, six classroom teachers were selected from a suburban school district to act as informants. Each informant was interviewed four times over an eighteen-month period. The informants were observed in the classroom setting for an entire class period and were instructed to keep a personal journal of their feelings and perceptions during the staff development project. The findings of the study were: (1) Each of the informants felt the Instructional Awareness project had an impact on his or her questioning skills. They felt the project had helped them improve their wait-time behaviors, eliminate annoying verbal habits, help them become better monitors of student progress, and become more self-evaluative of their teaching. (2) Three major qualities that characterized the Instructional Awareness project were identified. The three qualities were: the workshops conducted by the consultant, the videotaping of each informant's teaching, and the post-conferences with the consultant. (3) As the case studies were reviewed, a number of major themes were detected. Ten themes were identified because they were important to the informants and, therefore, frequently mentioned in the case studies. The themes were as follows: (a) initial reactions, (b) the consultant, (c) ITIP, (d) the coding, (e) immediate feedback, (f) the goal setting--improvement of instruction, (g) student outcomes, (h) the journals, (i) final impressions, and (j) advice for the future.