West Virginia's school improvement plan, emphasizing learning outcomes, mandates excellent education for all students. Following an executive summary, this paper discusses, first, the conflict between excellence and equity in educational reform, and West Virginia's intent to resolve that conflict; second, the legal foundations of the master plan,…

The journals of six special education graduate students were examined in order to define operational categories of reflective thought. The development of reliable and operational definitions for classifying, coding, and evaluating written journals of preservice teachers is described. Past research on the importance of reflective teaching is…

Reports on a study of verbal interaction during art production experiences. Finds that teachers trained in structured questioning techniques were able to elicit significantly greater proportions of verbal interaction, inquiry-oriented questions, and student verbalizations than teachers not trained in the techniques. (CFR)

This Northern Illinois University College of Engineering and Engineering Technology (CEET) initiative represents the authors' first attempt to prepare engineering and technology professors for teaching to improve student learning and the Scholarship of Teaching. This college portfolio is nontraditional in that it combines a learning paper approach…

This paper summarizes research on teacher attitudes and performance under clinical supervision. The literature for comparative studies of inservice personnel (not student teachers) in elementary and secondary schools was extensively searched. The 19 complete and 4 in-progress studies reported are grouped as follows: (1) attitudes toward…

This paper discusses issues which make it difficult to measure the teaching performance of college faculty. The issues discussed are those which could lead to ethical and legal problems should they be ignored--those issues which are sensitive because personnel decisions are made on the basis of evaluations. Simplistic methods, such as student…

This paper focuses on local (school district level) facilitators, or individuals with major responsibility for implementing federal or state-sponsored school improvement practices. It covers who they are, what roles they play, and how they contribute to various outcomes. The sample is from the Study of Dissemination Efforts Supporting School…

This paper focuses on the importance and the significance of the teacher's mastery of an abstract body of knowledge that underlies an educational innovation. Concepts and principles from organizational sociology are applied in order to investigate the relationship between teacher's mastery of this body of knowledge and the process of…

This investigation was conducted to determine the effects of a 10-day summer workshop using the Concerns Based Adoption Model concerning science technology and society (STS) topics and methods of classroom implementation on the knowledge, attitudes, and stages of concerns of the participating secondary inservice teachers, as well as student…

The purposes of this study are to document the success of the Achievement Goals Program (AGP) in raising student achievement in San Diego Unified School District's minority-isolated schools and to provide recommendations for curriculum development and teacher training based on that success. Reports on the results of the Comprehensive Tests of…

Reviews research on the role of reflection subsequent to action research in the professional development of teachers. Discusses the use of reflection as a part of the learning process. Calls for partnerships within collaborative organizations that provide opportunities for interaction and reflection. (CFR)

The role of the science teacher is essential in determining the quality of the school science program. When teachers are aware of the relationship between science and society, they can relate classroom learning to practical application. This results in more positive student attitudes. The continuous evolving of scientific knowledge requires…

High school mathematics teachers were trained to provide mastery learning instruction. A primary characteristic of this method of instruction is the feedback-corrective enrichment loop. This study was conducted to determine whether class time could be allocated for the principles of mastery learning within the fixed amount of available time…

Describes pre/posttest study that measured the change in knowledge of and attitudes toward microcomputers among 30 high school teachers participating in an inservice computer literacy course in Pennsylvania. The Minnesota Computer Literacy and Awareness Assessment was used, and results showed significant improvement in both areas. (Author/LRW)

Reiterates some of British historian R. G. Collingwood's ideas on education and uses a wide range of his works to develop them further. Discusses Collingwood's ideas on such subjects as, the aim of education, the nature and content of the curriculum, the organization of education, forms of experience, and self-knowledge. (MJP)