A school-college partnership in central Virginia is attempting to meet the complex challenges presented by diversity, standards, and accountability by offering inservice and preservice teachers unique, reform-based professional development opportunities for building expertise in mentoring and differentiating curriculum and instruction. The first…

The Secondary Education program at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) completed its second year of partnerships with local public secondary schools. During the 2003-04 school year, SIUE partnered with two schools. Prior to the second year of the partnerships, data regarding student perceptions of their experiences during the…

This collection of papers focuses on collaboration in two interconnected themes: the improvement of teaching practice through collaborative research and reflection on the role of collaboration in educational change. The 19 papers are: (1) "The Collaborative Lens: A New Look at an Old Research Study" (Phyllis Kapuscinski); (2)…

This report presents findings of a three-year study to examine how preservice teachers develop an awareness of the needs of academically diverse learners, including gifted students, and implement and/or modify instruction to meet those needs. Preservice teachers were assigned to one of two treatment groups: either participation in an interactive…

This study examined the potential of service learning in reform-oriented social studies teacher education, focusing on how service learning influenced one preservice teacher's understanding of social studies as a form of democratic civic education. The preservice teacher's service learning experience was incorporated into his field-placement…

Proposals for extended teacher education programs are considered: (1) adding a year long internship to a four-year undergraduate program; (2) postponing professional training until a student has earned a B.A. or B.S.; and (3) requiring masters or doctoral degree programs in teaching for initial certification. (JN)

Seven articles in this issue focus on the use of realia in instruction. Authors discuss reasons why realia effectively motivate students and enhance learning; the place of realia in supervised occupational experience programs; the importance of real-life experiences to vocational agriculture; and student teaching as a reality experience. (SK)

Reports on interviews with 12 veteran elementary school teachers involved in developing and maintaining a professional development school (PDS) in southern Ontario (Canada) during its first four years. The teachers thought that the PDS was successful and had promoted their professional development but had not affected their instructional…

The InternNet Project examined applications of Internet resources to preservice development. Secondary interns were trained to use e-mail for communicating with faculty and maintaining an ongoing dialog. Analysis of e-mail traffic and content of clinical interactions with e-mail found that the social environments of electronic communication…

This paper describes prevailing models of teacher education programs in Israel and notes differences in their student teaching components. Suggests that the variability is due to different views regarding professional, epistemological, and sociopolitical factors, which result in a variety of teacher education programs, especially practicum…

This paper examines two models of practical experience in teacher education in Hungary. The first is the traditional university training school system, and the second is a system based on partnership with schools in Budapest. Mentors have very different responsibilities in the two models, though they have a crucial role in both situations. (SM)

Presents a first person account of a student teacher's experience teaching within a juvenile justice program. The program, an alternative to juvenile detention centers, concentrates on rehabilitating and educating minors convicted of crimes and incorporates academic learning, counseling, and vocational training. Characterizes the experience as…

To determine conceptions of mentoring, Swedish researchers videotaped mentoring sessions between student teachers and their cooperating teachers and conducted interviews with both groups. Data analysis indicated that the two groups had different conceptions about the function of mentoring and its content and form. (SM)

Presents a literature review on reflective thinking in reference to teaching and teacher education and reports findings of a study at one Australian university that investigated the importance of supervisors promoting reflection in meetings between supervisors and student teachers before and after practice teaching. Recommendations for teacher…