In Oakwood City School District, differentiation is--and has been for a number of years--their primary academic goal. In Oakwood, the Core Team, a group of teacher leaders and administrators that has been instrumental in the implementation of differentiation, has used Tomlinson's (2007) "fire and light" metaphor to identify strategies to ensure…

This paper argues that Educational Effectiveness Research (EER) should establish closer links with research on teacher professional development. A dynamic integrated approach (DIA) to teacher professional development is proposed. The methods and results of a study comparing the impact of the DIA and the Holistic Approach (HA) to teacher…

This paper explores the substance of competence-driven changes in teacher education curricula by testing the possibility of using a framework distinguishing between the German pedagogical culture of "Didaktik" and the Anglo-Saxon Curriculum culture to describe the substance of these changes. Data about the perceptions of…

Never before in the history of education has there been more scrutiny of our public schools. With the increased accountability due to the passage of No Child Left Behind legislation and the pressure to perform adequately in international testing, it is imperative that high quality teachers fill the classrooms of America's schools. It is paramount…

The "Teacher Competency Scale" of 12 items was devised to identify skills considered requisite for effective teaching. The test instrument, though still deemed well designed, is seen to frighten rather than assure and restrict rather than motivate. Therefore, solutions for these affective problems are being sought. (CM)

Description of University of Georgia's CBTE Program for elementary school teachers, which resulted in criteria for teacher performance, assessment, selection of candidates, instruction and management. (JA)

Performance-based teacher education in New York State is examined. Information is presented on its background, its advantages and disadvantages, and the important aspects that need to be examined by all teachers are pointed out. (Author/JR)

Describes how Arizona educators fear that the threat of noncertification will be used, under a new performance-based'' program, to dictate what and how they will teach. (Author)

This paper argues that the present system of teacher certification in New York State fails to adequately identify criteria for competency and suggests ways to improve this situation. The writer states that too much emphasis has been placed on the means by which certification is achieved while too little emphasis has been placed on the goal of…

The study examined teacher evaluation practices that are currently being used with early childhood special educators in public school preschool handicapped programs in Virginia. Discrepancies are identified between teachers' rankings of teacher competencies and specific content areas required for teacher endorsement and those found on standard…

The paper describes a study of the practicum experiences for 39 participants in a diploma program for education of the hearing impaired at the University of British Columbia. Students were ranked according to 59 competencies in four categories (lesson planning, communication skills, classroom climate and behavior management, and professional…

The article lists the 12 competencies of adult education teachers that are considered essential to assist adults in achieving instructional goals and objectives. Following the listing a brief justification and examples of ways to evaluate teacher competencies are discussed. (Author/BP)

This speech on performance-based teacher education centers on slaying the following sacred cow: the belief that it is impossible to evaluate the performance of teachers objectively and effectively. The historical reasons for electing performance-based teacher education as a means of teacher evaluation are described. The speech lists assumptions…