Describes the first four months of initial placement of two beginning teachers who took alternative routes to teacher certification. Both worked in urban schools. Both believed their introductions to their respective schools were abrupt, noting their mentors did little to help them make the transition into the classroom. (SM)

Describes an innovative collaboration between a Texas University and several school districts which partners veteran and novice teachers in a professional growth opportunity. Certified beginning teachers receive a fellowship stipend and tuition to get a master's degree, partner with full-time mentor teachers, and perfect their teaching skills.…

Describes the Process for Remediating Identified Marginal Education Candidates (PRIME Candidates) procedure, which identifies people at risk for successful completion of their preservice teacher education programs or who possess traits associated with rapid attrition in the teaching profession. The model provides a support system to help them in…

Describes the ongoing problem of graduate level preparation for community college teaching, and the need for such faculty. Describes a program in which two-year college and university faculty collaborate to train graduate students as community college faculty. Discusses getting the program started, implementing it, and taking stock. (SR)

Describes a creative organization of low-enrollment schools that was created in order to allow teachers in village schools to share their ideas and discuss professional problems and to address the needs of students and beginning teachers. Considers the village teacher's role in producing quality education and their influence on village schools.…

Introduces a collection of articles that address the following issues: authority and morality in classroom discourse; becoming experienced in teaching and learning; first-year teaching success; teachers' roles in preservice education; student teacher cohorts; theories of language learning and teaching; and metaphors as blueprints of thinking about…

This paper relates the author's experience with a preservice teacher at Chicago State University. Ms. Young was a bright, intelligent student who demonstrated a high level of skill and enthusiasm for the profession of teaching--so high that she was asked to address the graduating body of student teachers with the notion that her ideals would…

The administrators at Earlham College wanted teachers who entered its M.A.T. program to develop a "fire in the belly" to teach, and to have the ability to confront the realities of U. S. schools, including standardized testing (which seems at odds with passionate teaching and learning). Prior to entering the Earlham College M.A.T. program,…

In this article, the authors describe an innovative university-based project that connected graduate-level, preservice, and beginning teachers enrolled in a curriculum class for secondary and elementary teaching certification with a community-based war museum memorial and educational center. The course required these teachers to construct units on…

Innovations, Educational Testing Service (ETS's) corporate magazine, provides information on educational assessment for educators, school leaders, researchers and policymakers around the world. Each issue focuses on a particular theme in assessment. This issue explores the question, "What makes a great teacher?" Articles in this issue…

This report describes the implementation and operation of a 6-month peer coaching program, "Collegial Coaching: Transfer of Learning through Reflective Practice," at Estacado High School in Lubbock (Texas). The program was originally designed to assist teachers to improve their own management and instruction in the classroom. However, it…

The purpose of "Teach for America," a program modeled after the Peace Corps, was to recruit a cadre of bright college graduates to become uncertified teachers for two years in some of America's toughest schools. This book tracks the successes and failures of the program in its first year and presents the stories of seven idealistic corps…

This paper describes the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Beginning Teacher Assistance Program. The program, operational since 1974, is collaborative, uniting the personnel and resources of the University, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, and small to medium sized school districts. Beginning teachers are provided with a structured…

This presentation explains the unique needs of teachers working in rural settings and describes Project CREST (Collaboration for Rural Education Special Teachers). The model teacher training program, currently in operation in Ohio, is funded by a federal grant awarded to Bowling Green State University. The primary components of Project CREST…

A proposal is made for a program focusing on the transition period between preservice and inservice teacher education. The first phase of the program would be attainment of a strong liberal arts background, culminating in a B. A. degree, containing little or no pedagogical theory or practice. The second, or training phase, would consist of an…