A rural district designed a unique program for gifted elementary students which allowed any teacher the opportunity to develop and teach a qualitatively different unit to students identified as gifted. The half-day once-a-week pull-out program encouraged teachers to be part of the selection process and employed a coordinator to monitor the…

It is pointed out in this discussion that mentoring, as a delivery tool in a beginning teacher induction program, has great potential, and the use of experienced educators in guiding relatively inexperienced teachers is of value not only to the first-year teacher but also to the mentor. In examining the goals of mentoring-induction programs, the…

Project ESPIRIT (Educational System in Parenting for the Retarded with Infants and Toddlers) has provided home based services to 25 at risk children of mentaly retarded parents. Assessments performed at home are followed by development of individualized educational programs for both child and parent. Suggestions are given for establishing such a…

The paper provides guidelines for establishing and operating teacher aide programs in special education. Chapter I considers legal aspects of using paraprofessionals with emphasis on the stance of the Nebraska Professional Practices Commission. A second chapter outlines the roles and duties of teachers and aides, offers sample job descriptions for…

Although it is not without flaws, decentralization of the school administration--returning decision-making power to school principals and classroom teachers--can contribute to a return to humanistic education and to the elimination of assembly-line education. Researchers, curriculum developers, and educational publishers can help in this movement…

This process model for training migrant parents to participate in the total development of their children can be used by those who wish to plan and/or improve the training process. Successful migrant training programs are shown to require: involvement of competent, action-oriented people; effective communication; planners who are skilled in…

In searching for ways to provide continuing education in the humanities, community colleges can look to the various state programs sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities which, since 1970, have taken humanities education out of the traditional library/classroom environment and into non-traditional settings, such as school…

Specialization has become necessary in certain kinds of pharmaceutical practice, and colleges are developing curricula, faculties, and programs to respond. However, specialization also carries risks. Institutions must define their capabilities, resist encouraging students to specialize too early, provide adequate generalist education first, and…

Suspecting that computer assisted instruction (CAI) could help teach grammar to freshman composition students at Northeast Missouri State University (NMSU), three instructors received a research grant to begin a program of testing basic writing skills and to initiate CAI instruction for those students who needed help in the tested areas. A survey…

The paper presents results of a survey regarding the role of the teacher of emotionally disturbed (ED) children in reintegration of students into the regular classroom. The following concerns which were identified in the study are addressed: (1) objective means of determining readiness for reintegration; (2) clearly defined procedures; (3)…

This paper discusses the inadequacies of elementary and college education, stating that since teachers expect students to write poorly, they do. Four risks which college writing teachers must take are: offering to help teach writing in grade schools and high schools; encouraging their colleagues to relax their standards; encouraging the acceptance…

The author gives his view of the role of the adult agricultural educator. He examines the expansion of functions represented in this role, the importance of strong undergraduate programs, setting an example for students, program improvement and adjustment activities, and the team approach. Suggestions for revitalizing the profession are given. (CT)

For the past three years, case studies have been conducted of a school district's implementation of the California Mentor Teacher Program. For two of the case studies, interview data of mentors and their mentees were distilled into vignettes about how mentors and teachers worked together. At the end of this project, researchers used several…

The rapid expansion of community college programs has at least seven implications for community college speech programs and speech instructors. (1) Since most community colleges are open-door institutions, many students are coming to these institutions ill-equipped to handle the oral and listening requirements of academic life, necessitating…

Teacher centers that are run by teachers and staffed by competent professionals can help administrators recognize and value professioanl behavior in teachers. They can play a major role in developing and delivering inservice education if they place major emphasis on attending to teachers' individual needs for professioanl growth through bottom-up…