This article outlines a process for conducting comprehensive early intervention based on an assessment process that includes functional behavioral assessment. A case example is presented to further illustrate this process. Additional elements essential to the process including family involvement, collaborative teaming, and implementing…

Uses data from American, British, and Chinese mentor teachers to explore the relationship between mentoring contexts and mentoring practice. Three instructional contexts shaped differences across programs and countries: structure of school curriculum and assessment, organization of teaching and mentoring, and student population. Mentors'…

Describes how several schools participated in a school improvement project that helped them learn from each other in a competitive climate, noting issues influencing teachers' readiness to collaborate. It proved important to identify issues engaging with fundamental aspects of teaching and learning that were powerful enough to involve other…

Highlights the importance of teacher educators co-constructing knowledge with student teachers within reflective environments, examining co-teaching within a social constructivist framework in one teacher education program. The paper examines four primary roles for teacher educators as more experienced colleagues within a learning community:…

A case study investigated the use of a decision-making model, characterized by partnerships between professionals and learners, in the development of Individualized Education Programs (IEP) for students with learning difficulties in Scotland. The student (age 13) and the teachers agreed that the development of an IEP collectively had been useful.…

Investigates mentoring in the new millennium, linking approaches to mentoring with an evolutionary model of professionalism in teachers (the four ages of professionalism); examining key areas of change that should lead to a new way of looking at mentoring; and drawing conclusions for redesigning teacher preparation, developing continuous learning…

Describes a high school Professional Development School (PDS) that involved Maryville University of St. Louis, Missouri, examining important characteristics of the schools and the partnership and focusing on four moral dimensions of teachers' work: pedagogical nurturing of teachers, students' access to knowledge, enculturation into a social and…

Describes one elementary school's success in improving student achievement, focusing on three critical elements of its Professional Development School: teacher collaboration, partnerships between the home and school, and an emphasis on improved academic achievement. This PDS constantly uses reflection and analysis to look at the future, viewing…

Surveys of elementary and secondary educators identified competencies needed by teachers and administrators working in inclusive settings. The most important competency for both groups was collaboration. Notable teacher competencies were flexibility, classroom practices, and student knowledge. Significant administrator competencies included staff…

A study involving 127 undergraduates investigated the effectiveness of an innovative preservice training program designed to teach general education teachers how to use applied behavioral analysis to become reflective, responsive, educators. Participants in the field-based Instructional Assistants Program provided direct instruction and most felt…

After interviews with seven English special needs assistants found that they lacked clear ideas about expectations and reported poor classroom communication, the assistants were attached to one subject area rather than to specific pupils. Results found the assistants all felt happier in their work and accepted as members of the team. (Author/CR)

Examines issues related to secondary teacher preparation, including: advantages of a discipline-specific, interdisciplinary field-based block of courses; whether field basing should occur earlier or later in the program; how universities can address preservice teachers' varying needs; how university and school faculty can best collaborate; and how…

When they are well-devised and implemented, academic standards, tests, and associated accountability provisions can change the nature of teaching and learning. They can lead to a richer, more challenging curriculum, foster teacher collaboration, create a more productive teacher/parent dialogue, and focus attention on student achievement. (MLH)

The goal of school/university partnerships is the simultaneous renewal of colleges of education and of K-12 schools. In theory, this improvement comes about as university and K-12 faculty members work together to mentor preservice teachers in the best possible environment. Ideally, as they participate in these collaborations, the faculty groups do…

Many school systems are moving toward an inclusion model for teaching special learners in which all students are included in general classrooms. The basic premise is that all students should first be placed in the general classroom. Students receive as many necessary supplementary aids and services as possible in the general classroom, and then,…