Team teaching has recently been introduced to the program in instructional design and technology in the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania). For the past 3 years, collaboration and cooperation have been undertaken in the teaching of two graduate seminars: Research in Instructional Design and Technology, and…

This self-appraisal device lists more than 500 "affirmations of quality of teaching." It is intended to be used by teachers as a means to reflect on the areas of their work where they are already successful, and to work out an agenda for areas in which they wish to develop professional expertise. The checklist can also be used as a team…

Focusing on three literature teachers who have lived with and through the changing representations of the discipline, this paper, an examination of the nature of inquiry in literature education, describes the multiple realities that such teachers must negotiate for themselves and their students. The paper discusses conceptions of reflective…

This article discusses the symptoms and causes of math anxiety, and preventative measures that teachers can use to alleviate the stress some students experience in mathematics problem solving. Mathematics anxiety is defined as "feelings of tension and anxiety that interfere with the manipulation of numbers and the solving of mathematical problems…

This guide was designed for teachers to help students recognize and develop their responsibilities to society. The concepts focused on include: respect for citizenship, respect for people of other cultures, respect for people of all ages, respect for people who have a handicap, respect for work, respect for being a wise consumer, and respect for…

Current research continues to attempt to determine factors, or combinations of factors, which influence efficacy in problem solving behaviors. This presentation combines several viewpoints regarding the most important component, or combination of components, needed for the most successful problem solving behaviors to occur. Quantitative literature…

This article discusses theories of teaching that are part of teacher education programs and the teacher education experiences that best realize these theories. Various top-down and bottom-up approaches to teaching are compared. Top-down approaches, for example, may apply educational research to classroom teaching or use a methods approach based on…

This practicum report describes a staff development program that was designed to implement a peer tutoring program in which nonhandicapped students instructed three trainable mentally handicapped peers in a regular high-school setting. The program was implemented to increase the achievement of handicapped students in basic academic skills that…

This study examined influences upon experienced teachers' course planning. Seven teachers were each intensively interviewed four times about their planning for courses they had never before taught; the interviews took place before, after, and twice during the semester of the "new" course in question. Findings were classified into three categories…

Papers generated for a symposium entitled "Effectiveness of Stallings' Use of Time Training for Teachers in Washington, D.C." are presented. The intitial presentation, "Academic Learning Time: The Current Status of the Stallings Training" (Geraldine Williams Bethune), reviews the Stallings research and describes the Academic…

The manual is intended to help new teachers in North Carolina provide education and related services to handicapped and gifted students. The first section discusses general resources for beginning teachers. Topics covered include getting the room ready, preparing to manage behavior, enjoying the first day of school, managing classroom problems,…

Research on classroom reading practices reveals a heavy emphasis on teacher monitoring and management of materials. Little evidence exists of teacher explanation in reading, and little is known about the qualitative dimensions of such instruction. With this in mind, a study was designed to provide descriptions of explanations used by effective…

This report focuses on current attempts by researchers to examine teacher effectiveness through the "task hypothesis," which asserts that effective teachers accomplish a large and diverse set of tasks--or discrete, goal-oriented units of work--in their classroom. After an introductory critique of past efforts to assess teacher "traits" or…

This manual is for use by the trainer or leader of a workshop based upon the inservice manual: "Evaluating and Improving Teaching Performance." In the introduction, suggestions for planning, logistics, equipment, and evaluation of a successful workshop are made. The chapters are linked to those of the inservice manual by topic of the…

The conceptual base of a project that examined teachers' explanations of reading skills and strategies to low-ability students is reviewed in this paper. Following a brief discussion of the background of the project, the paper explores the curricular conceptions underlying it. Specifically discussed are two views of how direct instruction should…