This article reports perceptions of a first-year teacher of students with learning disabilities. First-year challenges are described, as well as views on assessment, accountability, and inclusion. Recommendations are made for new teachers and steps that teacher educators, school administrators, and experienced teachers can take to ensure the…

This monograph presents results and recommendations from a project designed as a collaborative effort to prepare graduate students in the humanities for careers as scholar-teachers within institutions committed to liberal education. The project's two principle activities are discussed under the following headings: (1) Encountering Campus Cultures:…

Using three instances from elementary school teaching experience, the paper examines the ways in which subject matter knowledge influences pedagogical thinking. It is proposed that subject matter knowledge creates two major problems for teachers. First, it results in an explosion of the curricular landscape, for if teachers know subject matter…

This document responds to the components of North Carolina's Excellent Schools Act that pertain to mentoring. The first section includes tools for the selection of mentors: a listing of mentor selection criteria, a mentor nomination form, a faculty survey instrument for mentor candidates, interview questions for mentors, a mentor application form,…

These guidelines describe the role and duties of all participants in field experience programs for prospective teachers at Samford University (Birmingham, Alabama). Requirements for entry, retention, and exit from the program are described, and policies regarding the placement of students in local schools are listed. Outlines are presented of what…

This book presents the reflections of 53 award-winning first-year teachers who talk candidly about their successes and setbacks, emphasizing the relationships they formed with colleagues, university professors, and students' parents. It is based on discussions sparked by questions about supports that they needed in their first year of teaching and…

This framework defines a vision of the knowledge, skills, and abilities that should characterize California's beginning teachers in their initial years of service. Discussion and development of the framework are part of the California New Teacher Project, a pilot study of policy alternatives to enhance the success of novice teachers. Following a…

An individualized internship program was developed for a 22-year-old college senior and elementary education major at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College (Indiana). The student had shortcomings in the areas of confidence, poise, classroom management skills, and discipline skills. The internship lasted 8 weeks and required the student to teach in the…

This book provides teachers with insights for using research to improve their teaching, offering a career-long conversation between a world-renowned researcher and an excellent teacher with considerable professional physical education (PE) experience. It includes 30 summaries of studies on elementary PE instruction, class management, program…

In response to a California State education reform bill that requires professors of methods courses to return to the classroom once every three years, a university profesor of 15 years taught 9th-grade English in Watts. This essay presents nine tips for others who anticipate their own return to teaching. (IW)

This book is intended to help teacher preparation educators, building level leaders, staff developers, and teacher mentors address school-work patterns in five critical areas that may impact teacher attrition and retention. It supports a view of professional development that fosters the active involvement of teachers in customizing their own…

This book is a practical guide for teachers at the postsecondary level to improve their teaching by utilizing the principles of adult learning and becoming critically reflective teachers. Chapter 1 lays out the concept of reflection in general terms and then focuses on explaining what is distinctive about critical reflection. Chapter 2 explains…

The East Longmeadow/University of Massachusetts Professional Development School collaborative began in 1985 as a collaborative effort to transform East Longmeadow High School into the equivalent of a teaching hospital for preservice teachers. Eventually Birchland Park Middle School (Massachusetts) joined the project. The objective has been to…

At the heart of the secondary teacher education collaboration between the East Longmeadow School District (Massachusetts) and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst are the faculty at East Longmeadow High School and Birchland Park Middle School who have prepared to be mentors for student teachers. This volume contains reflections by these…

This guide provides an outline of the policies, procedures, responsibilities, and functions of Georgia agencies and individuals participating in laboratory experiences for teacher education students. In Unit I, the policies of the Georgia Board of Education relating to laboratory experiences are presented. Criteria are listed for: professional…