Effective mentoring programs help to recruit new teachers and improve teacher retention rates (e.g. Ingersoll & Strong, 2011, Rideout & Windle, 2010). Many school districts require mentoring programs for new teachers; however, they do not always have the resources to prepare their teachers to mentor beginning teachers. Clinical faculty…

The introduction to this Special Topic Collection has two parts. To provide background and context for the articles in the collection, Part 1 tells the story of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study program at the National Center for Education Statistics. It offers an abridged history of this program and describes the designs of the two national…

This article describes the middle grades teacher preparation program at Augusta State University in Georgia. It describes the negotiation between the middle school concept and the standardized testing culture of the local schools as the faculty redesigned the undergraduate middle grades program to adequately address both. Ways in which new…

Nationwide, personnel preparation programs are responding to the changing population demographics and its impact on Pre K-12 classrooms. Needs surveys conducted by the Monarch Center over the past ten years have consistently yielded a need for support in redesigning program course and fieldwork components to better prepare their teachers and other…

This article describes how to design program assessment for mathematics departments, in two-year and four-year colleges across the Midwest, based on a set of components that was generated from a Delphi survey. An example is provided to illustrate how this was done at a small four-year college. There is an alignment between these components and a…

Describes the Children's Zoo Design Project, the purpose of which is to provide a central resource to which zoos contemplating design change might turn. Reports on surveys of zoos, site visits, and the thinking and conclusions of a workshop/seminar participated in by students, zoo professionals, and others involved in zoo design and education.…

Presents 10 basic steps to use as guidelines in setting up a corporate volunteer program: develop a philosophy, survey the community and employees, isolate a need and outline program functions, recruit volunteers, motivate employees, place volunteers carefully, monitor and evaluate program and volunteers, review goals and results, and consider…

A study compared characteristics of two groups of teachers in Victoria (Australia) schools: those teaching in the Disadvantaged Schools Program (n=576) and those in nonprogram schools (n=596). Results indicated the importance of workplace relationships in both groups and pointed to some differences in curriculum, pedagogy, and student…

The document--80% of which consists of appendixes--presents the final report of Project AID (Assistance for IEP Development), designed to assist schools in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in the initiation of the individualized education program (IEP) process for handicapped students. Intensive training programs were devised for personnel in each…

This article describes an innovative year-round program for students who live at a distance from San Francisco State University and examines its strengths and weaknesses based on feedback from instructors and students. The goal has been to develop a high-quality sustainable program without the need for substantial outside funding. (Contains…

This study assessed educational needs and interests of West Virginia adults related to the proposed extension of distance education through Project Breakthrough. Project Breakthrough will broadcast college credit telecourse via satellite into more than 50,000 home satellite receivers. Results show an overall positive attitude toward additional…

The document introduces a project to develop course packages integrating innovative and conventional economics teaching techniques. The major objective of the project was to improve productivity in economics teaching at the college level. The document is presented in four sections. Section I explains that the project was initiated in 1976 by TEFRC…

Reviews current issues involved in teacher training in computer science and literacy and discusses the Northwest Council for Computer Education's project to develop competencies useful in guiding training programs for elementary and secondary teachers as well as computer curriculum coordinators. (MBR)

Teacher education has long been criticized for the absence of a theoretical base. From a multicultural perspective, this dilemma has created an untenable situation because it calls into question the effectiveness of the training teachers receive in this area. This paper consists of a three-part discussion and explores possible foundations for a…

The publication describes the process which created the Rural Virginia Development Foundation and the potential contribution it holds for the agricultural sector of Virginia's economy and for the state's rural communities. Following an introduction, Part II provides background, operating assumptions, and principal justification for the Foundation;…