Using a qualitative approach, this article reports findings of a longitudinal study of seven successful elementary educators from the inception of their final preservice field experience through the first seven years of their independent teaching. The research centers the development of teachers' literacy-related instructional practices over the…

This study used interviews and other artifacts collected during student teaching as the basis for rating 13 elementary cooperating teachers on their supervisory effectiveness. Once highly effective cooperating teachers were differentiated from their less effective peers, researchers used ex post facto methods to identify background and…

This research examines perceptions of special education teachers toward mathematics as related to self as student and teacher throughout a semester-long mathematics methods course. Eighteen alternate-entrant special education teachers provided data in the form of mathematics autobiographical essays and classroom drawings. Autobiographical essays…

Describes two teacher educators' efforts to understand ownership in learner-centered programs. Participants were K-5 teachers in a collaborative master's program guided by constructivist theory. Data from weekly planning meetings, classroom observations and follow-ups with teachers, group discussions, and surveys helped researchers identify:…

Suggests a definition of education to guide future Master of Arts (M.A.) in elementary and secondary education curriculum research and development, noting areas of teacher education study from which to draw and examine components of degree curricula (who should be admitted; sequencing the M.A. curriculum; and M.A. curriculum content). M.A. degree…

Illustrates how a public school district and state university collaboratively developed a field-based master's degree program in elementary education that aligned both the graduate curriculum with classroom teachers' needs and district staff development with the university curriculum requirements. The article describes the program, governing…

Discusses the foundation and growth of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, examining its benefits and requirements and how these standards may affect the continuum of teacher education programs, particularly with regard to aligning the programs to five propositions. Current studies advocating changes in master's programs are…

Examined practices in a constructivist graduate teacher education program, documenting changes in teachers and their practice and analyzing connections between program practices and teacher change. Data from field notes, teacher and faculty interviews, classroom observations, faculty ratings of teachers, and artifacts helped develop a model for…

Presents a case study of one student's passage through an online M.ED. in Educational Technology degree program and her subsequent experience integrating her newly acquired knowledge, skills, and methods in the real world of her own teaching practice, focusing on her dilemma in assessing her students' learning as she shifted her educational…

Examined the experience of being part of a cohort-based Masters Degree program for practicing teachers. Data came from participants electronic portfolios and a qualitative survey that explored eight cohort dimensions. Results indicated that use of a cohort-based delivery model enhanced program coherence and fostered collaboration, inquiry, and…

Describes one university's graduate teacher education programs, which reflect continuous teacher development to stimulate teacher expertise, explaining how student achievement depends upon teacher quality. The paper describes the graduate licensure program, alternative licensure for bilingual teachers, the Master's degree for inservice teachers,…

Examines a school-university partnership which provides graduate-level mentoring and induction to beginning teachers. Data collected on teacher retention, participant reflections, school district evaluations, and ongoing collaborations suggest that beginning teachers have intensive support while earning a Master's Degree, the university gains…

Traces the evolution of the University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Profession's teacher education program into a fifth-year extended internship model that culminates in a Masters degree in teaching. The program, developed cooperatively by university faculty and public school teachers and administrators, partners university faculty…

Recounts the first year of a university/school district partnership to create Master's level cohorts of inservice teachers, describing: how the program emerged, program organization, and problems encountered. The program's initial goals are explained, and participants' voices are presented. Their goals went beyond those specified in planning. They…