This digest examines the spread of mentoring in the United States, obstacles to realizing the potential of mentoring as a vehicle of reform, needed research, and selected issues of policy and practice. While the education community understands that mentors have a positive effect on teacher retention, the question of what mentors should do, what…

This guide helps advance professional development schools (PDSs) in assisting the simultaneous renewal of teacher education and schools, offering concrete suggestions regarding the financing and policies needed for PDSs. The publication offers information to help people make informed decisions concerning the laws, regulations and finances of PDSs.…

This booklet proposes four actions that school leaders, particularly school district superintendents, can take to promote simultaneous improvement of educator education and public schools. The proposed actions are that school leaders: (1) make preservice education a true priority; (2) cooperate in establishing partner schools that serve as…

Concerned school leaders can make a real difference in the education of educators. Six tasks which school leaders can undertake to aid in restructuring teacher education are identified and discussed. School leaders can: (1) make preservice and continuing education true priorities; (2) cooperate in establishing professional development centers; (3)…

Changing the conditions under which teachers are prepared is a necessary condition for changing schools. This policy guide emphasizes the role of the state in providing an environment for change. The guide particularly discusses the state's use of incentives and sanctions to raise the visibility and urgency of teacher education reform to the…

Research shows that teacher quality may be one of the most significant factors in student achievement. This report includes five chapters that focus on: (1) "Introduction and Executive Summary"; (2) "Coordinating K-12 and Higher Education to Support High-Quality Teacher Preparation" (e.g., coordinating teacher candidate experience in K-12 and…

This empirical study describes the administrative experiences of a collaborative model between a local middle school and a college of education. The project focuses on technology training and utilization using the current educational research concept Universal Design for Learning (UDL). UDL's basic principles of multiple representations, multiple…

This booklet outlines several conclusions about teacher education, socialization, and certification taken from "Teachers for Our Nation's Schools" by John I. Goodlad. They form the basis of a call-to-action for college and university leaders. The process of changing teacher education must begin with college and university leaders giving…

This publication contains two articles which focus on the teaching profession within the context of systemic reform. The first article, "Systemic Reform: Teachers and the Condition of Teaching," discusses the role and the preparation of teachers. The level of coordination among the various systems that relate to the teacher's role is…

Teaching for understanding is a concept that portrays teachers as guides, coaches, and facilitators of student learning. This book, which provides concrete illustrations of what teaching for understanding entails, is divided into chapters as follows: (1) "Introduction: New Visions of Teaching" (Milbrey W. McLaughlin, Joan E. Talbert);…

This publication focuses on the teaching quality goals and priorities of nine Southeastern U.S. states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee), reviewing each state's Title II proposals. The report highlights seven priority areas of focus for regional alliances: constructing…

Today's linguistically diverse classrooms require teachers who are properly educated to communicate effectively with students, parents, and the larger community. Teacher education programs have the responsibility of preparing teachers with these skills and of responding to the shortage of racial and ethnic minorities within the state of New York's…