Teacher education programs provide many environments and experiences in an effort to support elementary preservice teacher development. Ultimately the goal is to transform the student into the teacher. Students enter teacher education programs focused on their present education, grades, and getting that long-sought-after degree; by selecting a…

The use of English by foreign language teacher is a matter of much controversy. Whereas language switching by English-speaking foreign language teachers has been the focus of previous research, relatively little is known about the amount of teachers' language used in the classroom when comparing native speakers of the foreign language with…

To better prepare early childhood teachers for computer use, more information about their current skills and classroom practices is needed. Sampling from a large metropolitan public school system in the USA, the study surveyed 297 state pre-kindergarten teachers, gathering information about their attitudes, skills, and instructional methods…

The paper focuses on the development of teacher thinking, specifically L2 teachers' subject-matter cognitions, i.e. their Teacher Language Awareness (TLA) (see e.g. Andrews 2001, 2003). The study examines the evolving TLA, as it relates to grammar, of three teachers, each a graduate with more than 10 years' experience of teaching English in Hong…

In this study, we hypothesize that cases demonstrating exemplary practice in the science classroom can be used as a source for learning content and pedagogical skills that will improve teachers' self-efficacy beliefs. Twelve preservice elementary science teachers are followed as they participate in a case and case method activity illustrating the…

Teacher-student conflict is attracting people's attention in China. This study utilized attribution theories to investigate the attribution features of Mainland Chinese teacher and student groups for negative events in their interactions. It found out that due to the factor of social identity, the two groups revealed a significant self-serving…

Research indicates that exemplary teachers share various characteristics, including a desire for continuous renewal. This book reports on a study to investigate exemplary teachers' personal and professional renewal throughout their career and selected factors that have enabled and/or constrained their renewal. The study involved six participants;…

This study investigated inservice teachers' assessment competency as a function of measurement training and years of teaching. Data were collected from 311 teachers on a 67-item Assessment Practices Inventory (API). Seven composite scores were formed based on the underlying dimensions from a principal factor analysis. A 2x3 MANOVA was conducted to…

A constructivist practitioner's masters program in professional development (PDMA) was designed and piloted at the University of Northern Iowa. The program provides an option for pursuing a master's in education structured upon the following constructivism-focused framework of components: (1) the program is designed for experienced educators, and…

This report describes the Educational Testing Service professional development/assessment system for student and beginning teachers, "Pathwise," a classroom observation instrument, as used in the California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program (BTSA) for teacher education. Three themes were noted by "Pathwise" users…

This study used existing databases to analyze, from a national perspective, the turnover of special education teachers (SETs) at the district level due to district migration, teaching field transfer, and exit attrition. The study also investigated district retention of SETs as a function of district location and teacher experience. The study used…

In spring 1991, a teacher exchange/mentor program was developed between Kansas' Johnson County Community College (JCCC) and the University of Kansas to attract young educators to community college teaching careers, give educators firsthand experience teaching at a community college while being mentored by a seasoned JCCC faculty member, and…

This paper looks at six mentoring programs in Wisconsin for beginning teachers. Four of the programs (Beloit, Kenosha, Plattesville, and West Allis-West Milwaukee) are district programs in which teachers assume mentoring responsibilities in addition to teaching. In the Milwaukee School District program, veteran teachers serve as full-time mentors,…

Documented cases of quality science teaching have the potential to share the best of what has been taught with science teachers in all science classrooms. This paper reports on the use of case studies of practice as mechanisms for recognizing good ideas for teaching science, documenting them, and making them readily accessible to teachers. An…

This study investigated inservice teachers' perceptions of the importance for instructional supervisors to possess content knowledge in the content areas that they supervise. Questionnaires were completed by 120 teachers from two elementary, one middle, and one high school, and follow-up interviews were conducted with 20 respondents. Teachers…