Like a football coach guiding players, Mark L'Esperance, an associate professor at East Carolina University, tapes teachers' classroom performances to show them their strengths and weaknesses in applying a new curriculum. Brunswick County Schools in Bolivia, N.C., hired L'Esperance to guide teachers, so they can implement a new curriculum and teaching methods more quickly. "Sometimes teachers learn a concept, but learning it might be different than applying it," said Tina Child, the district's professional-development coordinator.