Concerns about the quality of the nation's public education system have drawn attention to key elements of teacher effectiveness (Darling-Hammond 2000; Lewis et al. 1999; Mayer, Mullens, and Moore 2001; National Commission on Teaching and America's Future 1996). While there is little consensus on what constitutes high-quality teachers, past…

In 1981 a questionnaire was mailed to personnel at 42 Kentucky colleges and universities to determine the number of faculty members teaching technical writing, the academic qualifications and professional experiences of these individuals, and the methods they used to teach technical writing. Of the 29 responding, 20 (68.9%) institutions offered…

Describes a survey of graduate-degree-granting departments of foreign languages, linguistics, and comparative literature designed to investigate the teaching assistants (TA) system. Analyzes the findings of the survey and offers recommendations for a model program of TA training, supervision, and evaluation. (MES)

Assesses the use of clinical experience to improve the classroom performance of teachers and discusses in detail a research project at the University of Alberta that sought to identify effective teaching skills and to measure behavior changes of student teachers during their practicum experiences. (Author/WD)

Examines how the forms used by teachers to document planning and assess children's progress affect three child care center teachers' practice and expectations for young children. Narratives are constructed using qualitative methods to show how requirements for documentation may lead teachers to override goals of developmentally appropriate…

Interviewed postgraduate early years student teachers in England. Found that, despite initial doubts about the value of spending time in nurseries, the student teachers focused on similar teaching issues in nurseries and primary classrooms. In nurseries, students learned the importance of flexibility and responsiveness to children, of noncoercive…

Describes a study of 189 elementary and secondary school educators with accounts on Tenet (Texas Education Network) whose logins and online time for one year were correlated with nine variables: writing apprehension, oral communication apprehension, computer anxiety, age, teaching experience, telecomputing experience, gender, professional…

Presents a case study investigating whether there is any connection between university entrance examinations in English as a Second Language in Japan and the prevalence of grammar-translation teaching there. Findings reveal that teacher factors, such as educational background, personal beliefs, and teaching experience may outweigh the possible…

Constructs an effective and scathing criticism of the lack of supervision involved in one university's student teaching program. Includes a personal narrative of a student teacher dealing with confusing policies and sexually aggressive and drunken students without the benefit of support or supervision. (MJP)

This study investigated relationships among teacher experience, efficacy, and attitude toward implementation of instructional innovation. Surveys immediately following a staff development program on cooperative learning indicated that experience was negatively correlated, personal teaching efficacy positively correlated, and general teaching…

A teacher discusses the negative effects of collective socialization on students in government controlled public schools. Suggested ways to deconstruct mass schooling include requiring educators in nonteaching positions to teach, simplifying the curriculum, making student learning relevant, keeping schools small and independent, getting rid of…

Analyzes one teacher's attempts to implement innovative assessment practices and a meaningful science curriculum that encouraged learning, in the face of traditional assessment expectations. Focuses on three dilemmas: maintaining student accountability in cooperative learning situations, evaluating lower-ability students on fixed standards while…

A teacher at an alternative school for at-risk students discusses the development of student assessment that increases students' self-esteem, convinces students that learning is fun, and prepares students to return to traditional school settings. She found that allowing students to participate in the assessment process successfully quantified the…

Traces the growth of a traditional classroom teacher working with children, aged 9-12, in an informal after-school drama program. Discusses dramatics teaching strategies, the use of imaging, empowering children to create, and the development of language through use in a purposeful context. Contains 22 references. (Author/SV)

A Soviet teacher recognizes the difficulty of transforming educational systems and the tendency to revert to dogmatism. Cautions against teachers uncritically adopting current pedagogical fashions. Insists the individual teacher's personality remains the primary instructional influence. Applauds efforts to democratize teacher-student relations.…