Focusing on the benefits of mentoring for beginning teachers, this article reviews the common goals and organizational formats for mentoring programs, outlines basic knowledge and skills necessary for effective mentoring, suggests resources useful in preparing teachers to serve as mentors, and examines issues about mentoring for staff developers.…

Reports a study of 24 teachers who were mentors for beginning teachers, using information from the second of 2 meetings with each mentor to discuss mentor roles and the benefits of and obstacles to mentoring. Results indicated that teachers considered mentoring valuable, even when under less than ideal circumstances. (SM)

Building on prior teacher workshops, online courses were developed to support classroom implementation of Ohio's English language arts standards by providing models of exemplary classroom practices and creating an online teacher community for sharing experiences and ideas. Although participants in the first course were primarily older teachers…

Explains how preservice middle school teachers were brought into contact with at-risk middle school students via e-mail to discuss young adult literature selections. (TB)

Describes TECH CORPS, a nonprofit organization of information systems professionals in 36 states who train teachers, set up school computer labs, and advise about hardware and software purchases. Discusses industry sponsorship; grassroots leadership; and TECH CORPS involvement with both state projects (Hawaii, West Virginia, Washington, DC, New…

Introduces a series of articles on science and mathematics teacher education in Europe that highlight teaching strategies for dealing with students' conceptions; student teacher education; and experienced teacher education. (SM)

Describes the administrative framework of Sweden's government, most notably its Environmental Protection Agency, and explains how it shaped Sweden's national environmental education program. Legislation supports rights to basic information on environmental issues. Such underlying values have been incorporated into the new national curriculum.…

Describes a study that investigated teachers' use of technology, particularly computers, within their curriculum. Examined influences of mini-grants, inservice or post-graduate education, personal and administrative commitment, time for taking classes, and classroom computer access on technology integration. A copy of the questionnaire used is…

Explored efforts, within an action research study of a 3- year Inservice Education and Training (INSET) program, to implement reflective approaches in training unqualified and underqualified elementary teachers in Namibia. Results found that western approaches to teacher reflection could not be used productively with Namibian teachers unless there…

Discussed is whether, and to what extent, science teachers critically and spontaneously attend to the logical structure of situations, and whether they need prompting, or completely fail to do so. The relationship between the results of this study and science teachers' pre- and in-service education is discussed. (Author/KR)

Describes the development of a computer-based interactive videodisc (CBIVD) that was used to present inservice education to high school math teachers in South Africa. The role of the instructor during inservice classes is emphasized, courseware is described, and results of formative evaluation are discussed. (11 references) (LRW)

Discusses a faculty seminar on the role of interest groups in the judicial process, focusing on U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Explores the dynamics of social change and defines interest groups. Examines the role of interest groups in civil rights litigation and delineates the contours of the current constitutional changes. Includes seminar…

Teachers' self-perceived needs (SPNs) for staff development and the effects of teachers' levels of experience on SPNs were studied for 1,792 public school teachers in Connecticut. The highest SPN was in use of technology and resources, and the lowest was in instruction. SPN for training declined with teacher experience. (SLD)

Discusses educational technology and its role in expanding teachers' roles, in helping students become more active learners, and in restructuring schools. Highlights include descriptions of restructured schools in Minnesota; schools' relationships with industry and the community; examples of activities that promote more active student…

This article relates experiences of a sixth grade teacher who taught an undergraduate language arts methods course for a semester and a college faculty member who spent a year observing and teaching language arts methods to inservice teachers in six schools. Both focused on empowering teachers to make curriculum decisions. (IAH)