Research indicates that an increasing demand for teacher accountability and student achievement is at the forefront with the mandate of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. These challenges will be crucial in urban and rural schools where the need for classroom teachers in critical teaching areas such as bilingual education, special…

Using British research related to the Open University's Postgraduate Certificate in Education (OU PGCE), a preservice teacher education program, this paper considers how open and distance learning (ODL) programs are evolving quality assurance systems and procedures across a range of elements, including student teacher assessment. The paper…

This qualitative investigation examined the strategy knowledge of preservice teachers in a field-based program. Subjects were 24 preservice teachers in a field-based program. Recursive analyses of their field teaching lessons and post lesson interviews revealed a continuum of strategy awareness ranging from limited to metacognitive levels. First…

This paper presents the preservice teacher portfolio as a multidimensional tool, addressing three dimensions of the portfolio based on data compiled within one university's teacher preparation program. It recommends the preservice teacher portfolio as a viable tool for assessing preservice teachers' capacity (knowledge, skills, dispositions, and…

This research investigated notions raised in the literature about teachers' lack of statistical background and knowledge. It focused on four assumptions: elementary school teachers have a rich source of ideas about statistics from their everyday teaching experiences; they have a greater understanding of statistics than they are often given credit…

This report focuses on how better teaching results in better student learning. It is the result of a Think Tank on Professional Development comprised of parents, educators, and business and community leaders that convened to improve education and teaching in Louisiana. Think Tank members determined that they wanted to help build the capacity for…

This strategy brief identifies current strategies developed by states to recruit and hire quality teachers. It describes innovative efforts to attract students and mid-career professionals to the teaching profession, as well as incentives to lure well-qualified and experienced teachers to hard-to-staff schools and subject areas where teachers are…

In the early 1990s, Texas teacher certification requirements were changed to include a passing grade on each of a series of comprehensive examinations of subject and professional knowledge. This study identified variables that predict success on the secondary professional development component of these tests--the Examination for Certification of…

This research draws on the experiences of two new teacher educators to sketch the beginning of a theory accounting for a process of transition from classroom teacher to teacher educator. As these two educators negotiated the transition from the world of classroom teaching to that of the university-based teacher educator, attention was focused on…

This paper examines how a developmental growth model of teacher preparation emphasizing self-assessment and reflection is being implemented in a liberal arts professional education sequence. It discusses how the effort offers opportunities for preservice teachers to self-monitor and reflect on their beliefs and practices regarding teaching and…

This literature review examines the functional tasks of the school district central office and the internal dynamics of relations between the central office and district schools (with their principals, teachers, and students). It builds on previous reviews of the role of school boards and superintendents. The review begins by analyzing studies of…

The joint Education Department of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, Minnesota, developed a behaviorally oriented framework for assessing teacher candidate dispositions. They created an instrument to use in a behavioral assessment of all applicants to the teacher education program. This assessment involved an interview with…

Data from the National Center for Education Statistics are used to look at Michigan's progress in meeting the challenge of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) that teachers be "highly qualified." The data also allow the study of whether all students in Michigan have access to the highly qualified teachers required by the NCLB.…

This code book is a duplication of the Wisconsin Administration Code as it pertains to the Certification Rules PI 34 of the Department of Public Instruction. The 13 subchapters focus on: (1) "Definitions"; (2) "Wisconsin Standards" (teacher standards, administrator standards, and pupil services standards); (3) "Program…

This report highlights key issues behind the public's desire for better teaching, following up on discussions by leading policymakers, educators, researchers, and communications experts about what role they can play in developing a quality teaching force. This diverse group met to describe key elements of quality teaching and to develop strategies…