Participants must be advised from the outset that any array of new strategies learned in workshop settings must be adapted to fit the realities of their own classroom setting. Moving from theory to practice may take several months or years. The support group keeps participants from backsliding - from reversion to old habits and strategies. The group provides emotional en courage ment. Peer Coaching Joyce's research demonstrates that participants with peer coaching partners are more likely to persevere with the introduction of innovative strategies than isolated individuals.
Past practice possesses momentum and inertia.
In recent publications Joyce has also argued for establishment of ongoing study groups within school faculties, groups which conduct adult learning on a continuous basis in a less formally structured way than what we normally call staff development. Given the scarcity of staff development dollars and resources, such informal arrangements may be the most promising yet overlooked delivery systems. When I have asked audiences to select their preferred systems for learning new software, the great majority indicate that they prefer learning from tutor-colleague over formal training sessions. Models of Effective Program Integration Those who experience program integration are most likely to practice it. Workshops can be organized so that teachers learn in much the same way we hope to see their students learning.