The Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, a partnership of Yale University and New Haven, Connecticut, Public Schools, was established in 1978. At its heart is a professional partnership in which teachers identify topics for study that are of interest to them and university faculty from the disciplines organize a series of seminars around these topics. The seminars culminate with each teacher developing a full curriculum unit for use in classrooms.

PSA’s evaluation of the expansion of this teacher institute model to four additional sites around the country revealed the new institutes building on teacher learning needs as teachers themselves defined them, collegiality among participants, and intellectual rigor in the development of curriculum units. The project also yielded lessons for other districts and universities wishing to establish such teachers’ institutes of their own:

• Communicate early and often with key audiences and stakeholders. Make sure everyone involved understands the roles and relationships expected of them, and the expectations for curriculum units.



• Insist on the model. Some local adaptations may be necessary, but key program features of institutional leadership, teacher leadership in decision making, the role of faculty, the preparation of curriculum units, and allocation of adequate resources should be in place.



• Hire strong leaders. Effective leadership requires the ability to work with both school districts and universities.



• Start small and grow slowly. Offering too many seminars to too many teachers at one time could make institutes unwieldy and dilute their quality.



• Focus on outcomes. Both school districts and funders will want to know about the returns on their investments in the institutes.



• Address local goals and priorities. The institutes’ attention to aligning curriculum units with their district’s standards demonstrated support for district goals and priorities.

The report of the evaluation concludes by suggesting that congenial environments for the establishment of teachers’ institutes are those in which there is some history of partnership between the school district and university, especially with colleges of arts and sciences; school districts that respect teachers as leaders and offer teachers serious opportunities to assume such roles; and where districts value teachers’ learning and recognize teachers’ role in defining the content and processes of their professional development.

                                         Full Report