This study examined preservice teachers' self-efficacy beliefs about their elementary language arts teaching after being prepared in a Professional Development School (PDS). Participants were preservice teachers in the first semester of their field-based senior year of teacher preparation, all of whom were placed in one of several PDS clusters.…

This paper describes one model of school reconstruction, which includes a professional development school, being implemented at Celebration School in Celebration, Florida. The description highlights the educational practices and daily learning experiences of students at Celebration. The narrative provides a picture of the philosophical foundation…

Since a large gap exists between the rhetoric of reform-minded teacher education and what actually transpires in student teachers' field experiences, this study sought to fill a gap in current scholarship which has yet to document how mentor teachers, conceptualized as school-based teacher educators, shape and conduct their work with student…

Examines six years of work with standards-based assessment (portfolios and group demonstrations of learning) at the University of North Dakota and an affiliated elementary school. Argues that the simultaneous development of parallel processes in a teacher education program and its professional development school can help renew teaching practice.…

Describes the development of teacher education programs at Henderson State University (Arkansas). Through extensive collaboration with school districts in its primarily rural service area, the university has modified Goodlad's urban-focused model of the professional development school to fit rural circumstances. (SV)

Examines events that facilitated collaborative school-university research within a Professional Development School (PDS). Analysis of observation notes from school visits, records of schools' work with university liaisons, and surveys of PDS and school faculty indicated that PDS teachers highly valued sharing knowledge with colleagues. Several…

Examined elementary preservice professional development school (PDS) preparation and subsequent entry/retention in teaching. Data on PDS and non-PDS students prior to and during traditional and PDS student teaching indicated no significant differences between the groups prior to student teaching, but significant differences in favor of the…

Two community learning programs that use a professional development center approach to teacher education are described. In one, preservice teachers become part of a school community by participating in real classroom settings; the second, offering a laboratory classroom for elementary school children, brings education professors and students into…

This paper describes the process that school-based and university-based educators followed to transform a long-term cooperative relationship into a professional development school community. The school-university partnership involved teachers and staffs from four elementary schools, and faculty and graduate students from the language, literature,…

Describes a practicum that occurred at one of Indiana State University's elementary school professional development sites. The practicum involved 10 site visits over two weeks for participating preservice teachers. The paper examines benefits of the practicum for preservice teachers and the advantages of conducting it at a PDS site. (SM)

One of four articles in the fourth section, "Aspects of Evaluation of PDS," this article argues for systematic evaluation of professional development schools. The paper provides specific suggestions for evaluation in three areas: evidence that K-12 students profit, that the preservice teacher education program is effective, and that continuing…

Through an Essex High School/University of Vermont partnership, students can complete all 33 credits of the teacher licensing program within high school walls. Each three-credit course includes theory-focused class meetings and action-focused practica that inspire students to develop and conduct action-research projects. As a roving education…

Interviewed five pairs of preservice teachers and their experienced mentor teachers who collaborated to plan, implement, and evaluate action research projects during a semester-long internship program in their professional development school sites. Results indicated that in general, the project helped participants develop meaningful and…

The Jefferson County (Kentucky) Public Schools have a long-term plan for "inventing" schools that will offer excellent programs for students, induct new faculty members, and serve as "exemplars of practice." (Author/TE)

This article describes the orientation given to preservice teacher education students by a university liaison before the students begin early field experiences in professional development school (PDS) settings. An outline of expectations for these PDS students includes specific activities, hours, and assignments for the PDS-based early field…