Almost always, teachers need help in one of two general categories. The first category relates to the ability to provide students with "meaningful work." Teachers who are in need of improvement in this area may struggle to design and implement effective, best-practice strategies that engage students. Teachers also often need help in another…

In the Ontario publically-funded school system, there are no provincial curriculum guidelines or distinct courses for Ecological Literacy. Rather, the Ontario Ministry of Education policy is that "environmental education" should be taught in all grades and all existing subject matter. Because there are no specific Ecological Literacy…

In 1990 the Teacher Development Program was created by the Office of Professional Field Experiences at Southeastern Louisiana University to better the quality and improve the success rate of teacher candidates and student teachers. The fundamental principle behind the program was to provide assistance for pre-service teachers who need immediate…

Many teachers have discovered that their positions require them to communicate effectively with families, team members, and other colleagues. In fact, teachers today indicate that much of their day is spent navigating adult-to-adult interactions for which they feel ill-prepared. Specifically, teachers may not know what to say or how to react when…

This article explores changes in multicultural knowledge and skill to which beginning art teachers are held accountable through standardized teacher testing in Texas. Standardized testing of preservice art teachers' knowledge and skill has been the basis of the state's certification of beginning art teachers and accreditation of art teacher…

In this article, readers offer their perspectives on whether pre-service physical educators should be required to demonstrate a proficient level of performance in a wide variety of physical activities. They also suggest activities that are essential for all physical educators.

Special educators are uniquely challenged to be content experts in all curricular areas, including mathematics, because students in their caseloads may require academic instruction in any area. However, special educators with math phobia may be limited in their ability to provide effective instruction to their students with mathematical deficits…

This study examined the perceptions of college students regarding the benefits and challenges in interacting with international faculty. A Likert scale survey was administered to students from 13 face-to-face or online classes yielding 212 usable questionnaires. The results showed that students had both positive perceptions and concerns about…

Inclusion is an educational approach providing students with special needs with education in normal classrooms, which is the least restrictive educational environment for them by offering the necessary services for full time or part time. Although the necessary laws and regulations appear to execute this inclusive practice properly in Turkey,…

This article describes the design and development of a professional development program based upon research on the competencies necessary for online teaching success conducted at Penn State University in 2009-2010. The article highlights how the results of this research are being aligned with various professional development courses comprising the…

The purpose of this study was to gather information on experiences of regular education teachers concerning inclusion practices for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Three research questions were addressed in the study. The first research question identified experiences of regular education teachers in the areas of preservice…

Three-quarters of Advanced Placement (AP) and National Writing Project (NWP) teachers say that the internet and digital search tools have had a "mostly positive" impact on their students' research habits, but 87% say these technologies are creating an "easily distracted generation with short attention spans" and 64% say today's digital…

In 2009, the Obama Administration announced its intention to rapidly "turn around" 5,000 of the nation's lowest-performing schools. To do so, it relied on the School Improvement Grant program (SIG) to provide targeted funding for states and schools, and to mandate drastic, school-level reforms. While the program channels grants to…

This study examined how the use of teacher think-alouds influenced and transferred to the reading comprehension and metacognition of seventh grade middle school social studies students in two Reading Apprenticeship classrooms. The researcher conducted classroom observations at a middle school in a mid-size suburban and rural school district in…

Teacher incompetence and the identification of incompetent teachers have become major educational issues. With the implementation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), every student is expected to be taught by a "highly qualified" teacher. Although "highly qualified" does not guarantee competent teaching, the two often go…