This anthology collects stories from various classrooms and collaborations supported by the Orion Society. Orion's Stories in the Land fellowships are 1-year teacher stipends that promote effective place-based education: interdisciplinary studies of the local natural and cultural history using extensive field experiences and diverse "human…

This book presents the reflections of 53 award-winning first-year teachers who talk candidly about their successes and setbacks, emphasizing the relationships they formed with colleagues, university professors, and students' parents. It is based on discussions sparked by questions about supports that they needed in their first year of teaching and…

In the nation there are four or five million children who have educational needs so unusual that they require special help from the schools. Such children include those with physical handicaps, mental retardation, serious social or emotional problems, or giftedness. Progress is being made in providing for these children, but educational provisions…

A study on the effects of increased field experiences on the perceptions and performance of 238 secondary school student teachers indicated that an increased number of required field experiences had little impact on student teachers' evaluations of their teaching ability or on supervising teachers' final evaluations of student teachers'…

Recounts a student teacher's first experiences in the classroom and provides helpful commentary and suggestions from a more experienced teacher. Briefly discusses classroom management, learning styles, individual needs, time constraints, assessment, and instructional materials. Includes a list of activities that help promote an atmosphere of…

To examine teacher thinking, researchers analyzed transcripts of case discussions by preservice and inservice teachers in two university content literacy courses and examined data from field notes, focus group interviews, and individual interviews. The two groups differed somewhat in their tools, issues, and images of teaching, but they held…

1996 National Teacher of the Year--a high school teacher from rural Minnesota--reflects on the 30 years of her career and on social changes that have necessitated that her community and local schools work toward cultural understanding. The community went from a mostly white, middle-class, conservative community to one with at least six different…

Provides a summary of postmodernist thinking and attempts to find a place for social studies in a system that abjures all accepted notions of authority and objectivity. Concludes that postmodernism's view of a world ruled by a multiple discourses is not inimical to social studies' emphasis on critical analysis. (MJP)

This study investigated relationships between teacher training and competence in Malta. Education officers, preservice teachers, and recent graduates were surveyed about teacher preparation, attitudes, and skills. Most beginning teachers had positive attitudes toward teaching. With increasing years, teachers felt more disillusioned and unsure…

A survey of 794 teachers from six school districts in central California found that although teachers strongly endorsed the principles of bilingual education, they indicated minimal support for actual participation by students in bilingual programs. Teachers with supplementary training in English as a Second Language and bilingual education were…

This study compared the satisfactions and dissatisfactions of teachers of emotionally/behaviorally impaired students in special education, of general education teachers, and of teachers responsible for both regular and special needs students. Younger, less experienced teachers of students in special education were the most dissatisfied.…

A survey of U.S. and Canadian full-time dental school faculty found that research productivity was associated with the total dollar amount of past research funding, career age, training status, colleague utilization in conducting research, and conducting research from planned goals. (Author/MSE)

Results are reported from an investigation into the influence of subject-specific coursework in the development of pedagogical content knowledge in English through contrasting case studies of six beginning English teachers, only three of whom graduated from teacher education programs. Implications for teacher education policy, research, and…

A survey of internal medicine residents at Northwestern University's medical center found that the students enjoyed teaching and considered it critical to their own education. These views appear unrelated to previous teaching experience, academic background, or academic career plans. Variables correlating with teaching satisfaction and improvement…

This article places the teaching internship experience in an analytical context, suggesting that the process by which interns become teachers is best understood as a rite of passage into the culture of teaching. Following three interns through the process, the paper examines rites of separation, of transition, and of incorporation. (SM)