Classroom Management and Instructional Strategies (CM&IS) professional learning program beliefs:

1. Unless educational change results in altered teacher practice in the classroom its impact on student achievement will not be great
2. Most educational change that is directed toward classroom practice fails not because the original ideas are without worth, but because the change is implemented so poorly
3. It is sometimes easier to behave your way into a new way of thinking than it is to think your way into a new way of behaving
4. There is no one right way to teach, some ways are more effective than others
   

Principles of program implementation

1. Information and training should not be presented in “one-shot” in-services. The knowledge and skills should accumulate over a period of time
2. The in-services for the program should not be in addition to the participants’ workload
3. The program should not be perceived by participants as being mandated by administration
4. A training process must be developed to bridge the gap between thinking and doing. The program must have practical impact in the classroom and teachers must experience success
5. Teachers come in teams, the more in each team the better
6. The school has improvement of instruction as a priority
7. The administration of the school has some level of involvement in the training