The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) was founded in 1987 in response to recommendations regarding the central role of teachers in educational quality. NBPTS establishes rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do; operates a national voluntary system to assess and certify teachers…

This digest reviews alternative certification on the basis of educational quality and the need to fill teacher shortages. Following a definition of traditional certification, the alternative certification route is described as a process designed to certify candidates who have subject-matter competencies, without going through formal teacher…

Research suggests that teacher quality is the single most important factor in determining student achievement and that the impact of a teacher is cumulative. Students with less exposure to qualified teachers are far less likely to achieve academic success than students with more exposure. Research also shows that teachers majoring in the subject…

This ERIC digest reviews the history of the multigrade classroom, and summarizes research findings on multigrading effects on achievement and attitude. It also states requirements of teaching and learning in multigrade classrooms. Multigrade classrooms have ranged from the one-room schools of the early 1900s to the ungraded classroom of the 1960s…

New U.S. teachers are challenged to educate diverse learners in an increasingly complex knowledge-based, technology-oriented society. Often, new teachers receive little support from colleagues or professional development. Many low-wealth urban districts with acute shortages are turning toward beginning teacher induction programs to keep new…

This brief paper presents principles of universal design of learning (UDL) and applies these principles directly to good classroom practices. UDL is an approach to learning in which curriculum designers consider the full scope of student abilities including varying abilities to see, hear, speak, move, read, write, comprehend English, attend,…

This digest focuses on verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors in the college classroom. The digest reviews research on the kinds of behaviors instructors, many of whom are graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), exhibit, and students' reactions to and attitudes about those behaviors. The digest also reviews research on teacher immediacy…

This digest provides a framework for professional development of outdoor educators. Outdoor and environmental educators share similar principles of outdoor learning. Thus, the performance standards recently drafted by the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) can serve as a useful guide for outdoor education generally.…

This digest discusses the professional development of foreign language teachers at a time when the foreign language teaching profession is facing a number of new challenges, such as a rapidly changing student clientele, the development of national standards for foreign language education, and advances in technology. The first section of the digest…

This digest examines research on indicators of teacher quality. While research on the value of a teacher's advanced degree is mixed, all studies suggest that teachers with degrees in subjects different from the subjects they teach have little impact on students. There is no strong consensus about the value of pedagogical preparation for teachers,…

The National Partnership for Excellence in Education and Accountability in Teaching (NPEAT) helps place improvement of teaching at the center of reform efforts, addressing two problems that impede the development of systemic reforms to improve teaching quality: (1) absence of agreement about effective strategies for improving teaching among those…

The population of school-aged English language learners (ELLs) has consistently and significantly increased over the past decade, transforming U.S. public schools, instruction, and teacher preparation. This digest discusses the need for increased numbers of teachers of ELLs and the particular linguistic and academic characteristics of ELLs. It…

This digest examines the relationship between elementary and secondary teachers' use of computer-based technologies to deliver and support classroom instruction and the training provided to prospective teachers by teacher education institutions. It offers an overview of obstacles faced by teacher educators in providing appropriate technology…

The typical route to certification for beginning foreign language teachers requires the candidate to complete an approved program of teacher education in a four-year institution, have a certain minimum grade point average, and have completed a specified number of foreign language credit hours. Notable trends in foreign language teacher…