This guide for elementary Teacher preparation programs in science education comprises three sections: "Introduction"; "Guidelines"; and "Implementation." The reform efforts, particularly those pertaining to science education, are characterized by a shift towards shared responsibility for the preparation of teachers to…

The chemical content knowledge of secondary science teachers is seldom measured directly in developed countries as there are practical, ethical and political problems involved that would be likely to be insuperable. In Papua New Guinea (PNG), the author assisted in some of the work involved in the second IEA Science Study (SISS), where the PNG…

This digest examines research on indicators of teacher quality. While research on the value of a teacher's advanced degree is mixed, all studies suggest that teachers with degrees in subjects different from the subjects they teach have little impact on students. There is no strong consensus about the value of pedagogical preparation for teachers,…

This collection of papers reports on the emerging thinking in staff development and organizational learning in schools and districts, framing issues which have critical implications for staff development. There are 10 papers in four sections. Section 1, "Context," features: (1) "School Reform Requires a New Form of Staff…

The teacher standards movement and effective schools research movement both proclaim that all students can learn, irrespective of family background, wealth, gender, or ethnicity. Effective schools research promotes seven correlates as core to schools where students learn and achieve: clear school mission, high expectations for success,…

The growing movement of teacher-as-researcher and the increasing emphasis on qualitative research paradigms call into question the traditional curricula in teacher education programs, which emphasize the teacher as consumer rather than as producer of research. In this study, college faculty and students, and school teachers and administrators were…

Two studies are reported that explore the effectiveness of instruction in promoting students' conceptual understanding of the average concept using a leveling model and an open-ended problem-solving approach. One teacher and her 46 sixth-grade students participated in the first study. One year later, the second study was conducted with the same…

This study compares the results of Australian and Taiwanese Grade 10 students (N=2959) on the Students' Perceptions of Teacher Knowledge (SPOTK) questionnaire. The purposes of this paper are to quantitatively compare the mean scores of each item in the two countries and to use qualitative research methods involving classroom observations and…

Approximately 43 percent of schools in Norway are nongraded schools. A study of teacher thinking and planning in social studies was carried out in six small, nongraded schools in rural Norway. An obligatory social studies theme in the national curriculum is "the human being in society." At each school, one teacher of students aged 11-13…

The emphasis on laboratory activities for science students has increased. This paper describes research that sought to determine which laboratory skills and competencies are viewed by current teachers as necessary for the preservice teacher to develop. The skills and competencies survey included 145 items in three categories (general, biological…

This report is divided into four main parts. (1) "Overview" summarizes the plenary presentations and discussions that set the agenda for the small group discussions by participants, the focus of which are on the formation of a good teacher--what teachers must know and be able to do, and how collaborative programs based in universities must be…

This study examined how the teacher's role is dependent on what they know and how what they know is affected by how they learn, focusing on the acquisition of knowledge regarding educational technology by student teachers and their mentors. The study emphasized three types of educational technology knowledge: content knowledge, pedagogical…

This executive summary describes a resource about innovative teaching that profiles and analyzes the work of eight educators working in secondary school communities in Australia. Each case study in the resource is intended as a stand-alone snapshot of good practice in which voices of students, colleagues, principals, and community members…

About 38 percent of all fourth-graders have reading skills below the basic level and thus cannot read well enough to complete grade level assignments. Research clearly demonstrates that most reading failure is preventable and most high-risk students can improve their reading and writing achievement with expert instruction. Research also indicates…

Recent research in early childhood education (ECE) centers suggests that some teacher characteristics are not at a level that would support computer learning opportunities for children. This study identified areas of support required by teachers to provide a smooth introduction of the computer into the early childhood education classroom.…