This study examined preservice teachers' understanding of, and processes when, designing instruction. Participants were 47 juniors and seniors enrolled in science methods courses. Qualitative methods and analysis of written reflections and interviews revealed the beliefs and views the preservice teachers had about planning. Findings are as…

This study examines how social studies preservice teachers use pedagogical and technological applications and skills employed during their teacher education program, specifically the methods block. Data were collected from the methods course experience through student teaching and then through case study research with first-year teachers. Results…

As more children with disabilities are served in early childhood settings, preservice training programs have a responsibility to provide future early childhood educators with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to actively participate as a team member in meeting the needs of young children with disabilities. This article provides a description…

Teachers' ratings of children's competencies may in part reflect characteristics and perspectives of teachers who assigned the ratings, which compromises their validity as a measure of child attributes. The purposes of this study were to use multilevel modeling to (a) estimate between-rater variance in teachers' ratings of children's social…

Reflection is a commonly used term in teacher education. Its meaning and use, however, varies from person to person and from program to program. Despite these variations, there is agreement that the goal of preparing reflective practitioners is a worthwhile endeavor in teacher education. The purpose of reflecting is to untangle a problem, or to…

Five beginning elementary teachers met weekly with a mentor in a group in order to support one another, discuss their experiences, view each others' videotaped lessons, and learn how to become reflective practitioners. At the beginning of the year, the teachers most valued the emotional support and understanding they received through group…

The basis for the Iowa State University (ISU) Community College Induction/Mentoring (CCIM) Program is research that identified 43 exemplary community college teaching skills for over 200 research studies. The program is intended for vocational-technical instructors new to teaching at Iowa's community colleges. The 43 exemplary teaching…

The present study sought to expand upon earlier reviews of research by examining statistically the relative and comparative effects of several common forms of on-campus clinical experience in teacher education. Data were obtained from 60 studies which met a priori criteria for inclusion. Using aggregation techniques suggested by Rosenthal and…

This book is a memoir of one-room school life in 1929. In his day, Cratis D. Williams (1911-85) was America's foremost scholar on the Appalachian experience. This book is the story of his first teaching assignment at age 18 in a one-room K-8 school on Caines Creek in Lawrence County, Kentucky. Williams details his classroom practices and…

In the late 1980s, three steps were added to the incremental pay scale for teachers in all Australian state and territory education authorities. The original intent of this Advanced Skills Teacher (AST) concept was to provide an alternative career path for teachers wishing to remain primarily in a teaching role, a career path comparable in status…

In February 1995, the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF), in Alabama, conducted a study to determine if experience as a technical training instructor enhanced the promotion potential/probability of enlisted Air Force personnel. Air Force records were reviewed for a random sample of personnel, representing 11% of personnel with current or…

This study describes global education as one of the current trends in teacher education in the United States. In this study, preservice and inservice teachers who attended six outstanding teacher education programs in global education were asked to reflect upon: (1) what they valued in their program's content and experiences; (2) their processes…

This study investigated whether differences exist between classrooms of expert and novice teachers on the cohesion, communication, and flexibility dimensions of the "Classroom Systems Observation Scale" (CSOS). Principals identified 10 expert and 10 novice elementary school teachers from 8 public and private schools. A 50-minute classroom…

How does a hiring committee define the requisite knowledge essential for a writing program administrator (WPA)? A survey of writing program administrators revealed that typical WPAs begin their academic career by taking a B.A. in English and then proceeding on a more or less predictable course with an M.A. in English and a Ph.D. in English,…

A study was conducted to determine the psychometric properties and the subscales of a 67-item Assessment Practices Inventory (API) and to examine the effects of measurement training and teaching experience on teachers' perceived assessment competency. Data were collected from 311 teachers on the API. The reliability of the API was supported by a…