Many US states do not require that elementary schools provide a physical education specialist, making the classroom teacher the only provider of physical education instruction. Their attitudes toward physical education and perceptions of their ability to teach it will affect their efforts to do so. Elementary education majors (n = 183) were…

Student teachers and college students were trained to be primary mentors to gifted/talented/creative junior high students, while community resources served as secondary mentors. Mentors worked with students on enrichment projects emphasizing higher-level thinking. Described are protege selection, matching with mentors, mentor training and…

The Southern Regional Education Board found, after examining the transcripts of 6,000 college graduates, that strengthening the general education curriculum is the key to improving teacher training, and that the states must show greater leadership in specific areas in this reform effort. (MSE)

To assist educators interested in developing alternative student teaching centers within the United States or abroad, the article provides a "how-to-do-it" listing of activities in order to deal with expectations and responsibilities prior to and during student teaching in alternative sites and evaluation and program follow-up. (MH)

A study of academic success among graduate students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign examines the use of different measures of success, which take into account differences in aspiration and include students currently enrolled, in assessing the performance differences of men and women. (MSE)

School discipline is viewed as a national concern that is becoming more serious by the day. Practicing teachers, student teachers, and preservice high education students across the country are concerned with discipline-related problems in schools across the nation. Perceptions of discipline influence practicing teachers, student teachers, and…

South Carolina's Educator Improvement Act, a recently enacted teacher minimum competency testing measure, is described. The act mandates testing of basic skills and subject matter knowledge of college students planning to teach, and observational assessment of the performance of teachers and student teachers. Testing provisions are discussed. (PP)

Business and distributive education teacher candidates nationwide were tested in order to gauge the impact of vocational choice and stability upon their academic achievement and satisfaction. Both vocational choice and stability were found to be significant predictors. However, the relationships found were not identical for the two study groups.…

Discusses national trends and local variations in teacher education and describes a survey to ascertain students' views on the teacher training process and the debate between classroom technicians and educational analysts. (CK)

The hypothesis that ethnocultural minority teachers bring characteristics and experiences to their teaching that create a positive learning environment was studied by tracking 20 Canadian candidates of color from preadmission to teacher education through graduate study. Findings show the transgenerational commitment to role modeling and…

An undergraduate education program was revised to keep curriculum content current and relevant in the area of preschool student evaluation. Traditional assessment and evaluation techniques were updated to include portfolio assessment instruction and practical experience at an on-site laboratory. The practicum study provided valuable experience for…

Fifty education majors in two sections responded to an Attitudes toward Mathematics and Its Teaching (ATMAT) scale. Results with two psychometric models, classical true-score theory and the one-parameter Rasch model, supported the ATMAT's reliability, content and construct validity, and invariance over three time points. (SLD)

To study gender and cohort differences, surveys of male and female preservice elementary and preschool teacher education majors (N=326) examined vocational choice, factors influencing their decision, comfort with that decision, and professional aspirations. Results indicated that males and females were similar in their reasons for selecting…

Describes an interdisciplinary course focusing on modeling scientific systems. Investigates elementary education majors' applications of three artificial intelligence concepts used in modeling scientific systems before and after the course. Reveals a great increase in understanding of concepts presented but inconsistent application. (Author/KHR)

This study compared the effects of five constructed response answer evaluation strategies on both student achievement and instructional time during computer-based learning: (1) computerized evaluation only; (2) student self-evaluation; (3) computerized and self-evaluation; (4) self-evaluation with required elaboration; and (5) computer and…