July 7, 2006 :: No. 3

Barbara C. Glaeser, associate professor of special education at Cal State Fullerton, has been chosen a member of the U.S. Department of Education’s Teacher-to-Teacher Training Corps for the third consecutive year.

The purpose of the corps is to provide training on research-validated instructional strategies at no cost to teachers and schools throughout the country. Glaeser’s area of expertise encompasses instruction and strategies that meet the needs of all students in a diverse classroom. The strategies are based on research from the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning, as well as on her own research and experience in diverse classrooms.

As a corps member, Glaeser attended a two-day annual training session and is making presentations in a variety of cities over the summer. She also will provide more in-depth training to districts and schools when requested.

“The need for high-quality professional development is great, and the level of interest in the Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative has heartened us,” noted Carolyn Snowbarger, director of the initiative.

Some 4,500 teachers have attended the summer workshops since the program was instituted in 2003, and 33 of the workshops were filmed because of high demand for the program. The tapes are available to any interested school district free of charge through www.paec.org/teacher2teacher on the Web.

Glaeser, of Yorba Linda, was selected from more than 1,000 applicants to be part of the corps. Members receive a stipend of $1,000 per day of training that they provide. They are evaluated each year by their audience and by the corps staff. They also must reapply to be part of the group. Not all participants are chosen to return, Glaeser said.

As part of her presentation to the teachers who attend her workshops, Glaeser introduces a strategy on classroom management and vocabulary instruction. She shares her tips on how to assess what pupils know and models teaching procedures, such as how to teach concepts and how to master them.

“Today’s classrooms are increasingly diverse,” Glaeser said. “Students with disabilities, second-language learners and high-achievers are all in the same room. Teachers need strategies to help them reach all students and that also allow them to maintain the integrity of the content in order to meet local and state standards. I train teachers to use research-validated strategies and teaching routines that will allow them to do this in their own classrooms."

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