Participants at a conference on mathematics teaching discussed what it means to know and understand a subject and what teachers need to know, understand, and believe in order to teach a subject to elementary learners. The first section of the report covers the first day of the conference that was spent in a series of whole-group sessions.…

The theoretical model of a good teacher has evolved through three stages: (1) the subject-matter model, which was predominant in the 19th century and through the 1930s; (2) the trait-factor model, which accompanied the "baby boom" era of the 1950s and 1960s; and (3) the instructional design model, whose development paralleled the emergence of the…

This report presents distance education as a viable alternative to more traditional college course-offerings. The argument is made that the most effective competitive strategies are innovative and effective educational strategies, of which distance education is one. The report first discusses distance education in theory and practice and reviews…

This paper speculates about research findings that can be potentially powerful as content for preservice teacher education and influential upon the delivery of that content to prospective teachers. The primary source for the research findings which appear in the paper is the body of information prepared for the conference "Research on…

The analysis of conceptual issues related to the perception and use of knowledge by classroom teachers and school administrators in improvement programs, specifically in urban elementary reading programs, was the primary goal of this study. To begin, a distinction was made between knowledge sources that constitute the initial bases for program…

Maryland's School Improvement Through Instructional Process (SITIP) program involves all 24 local education agencies in implementing one or more of the following research-based instructional models: Active Teaching, Mastery Learning, Student Team Learning, and Teaching Variables. Following a review of background information, state education agency…

This study examined the effectiveness of a cooperative learning model for the teaching of Freshman English at the college level. The model involved student presentations based on assigned readings from the texts, nine compositions and daily quizzes on the reading material, and peer grading of the daily quizzes as well as mid-term and final exams,…

Two research studies conducted at the bilingual Hostos Community College of the City University of New York suggest that the classroom performance of adult, advanced, and post English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students benefits from the students' participation in tutor-led groups that focus on a particular course's content and employ talk and…

The monograph presents with work of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps (TASH) regarding best practices for physical and occupational therapy and speech/communication services for individuals with severe disabilities. The document consists of a position paper, list of readings, survey results, and an article on training needs. The…

This report contains an evaluation of the Peace Corps stateside teacher training model for volunteers in Liberia. The first section lists recommendations stemming from the evaluation, concerning the pre-training questionnaire, deselection during training, emergency procedures, and the teacher training program. Section 2 describes the training…

Automated Student Modelling explicates reasoning strategies, the representation of procedural skills, and underlying misconceptions as manifested in errors. A diagnostic model, based on a "procedural network" as opposed to a "semantic network," is presented which provides a technique both for modelling the underlying cognitive processes of a…

The speech classes in leadership training described in this paper consist of laboratory groups that give experiential training in interpersonal communication skills. These groups, comprised of students, faculty, administrators, and staff and community members, function under the direction of student facilitators who are intensively trained in the…

This document addresses issues raised during the Research on Teaching Mathematics Conference, examining them in view of the central tenets of the Institute for Research on Teaching at Michigan State University. It explains why teacher judgment is the focus of IRT research and discusses the concept of "the wisdom of the practitioner,"…

Many staff development efforts are based on correcting teachers' deficiencies or weaknesses. In this staff improvement model, individual teaching styles and patterns of behavior were identified, so that they could be used in a more professional way. In determining teaching styles, it is pointed out that there is a quantitative aspect and that many…