In fiscal year 1983-84 the budget of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) included funds for a study of viable methods to increase professionalism among the teaching force. After careful and well documented research, the DCPS administration and the School Board chose to establish a teacher incentives program. In 1985 the Intern-Mentor…

A mentor system that pairs a new teaching assistant (TA) with an experienced TA has been established at the University of Massachusetts Writing Program. Recruited as volunteers, experienced TAs can consult with the Resource Center staff and with more experienced mentors concerning their role as counselor. Usually, mentors and mentees exchange…

This book is an attempt to define the knowledge that beginning teachers should possess and addresses the difference between the "state of the art" and the "state of practice." It begins with three chapters that deal explicitly with general knowledge about teaching. Pedagogy is treated in chapters 4 through 8. These chapters deal with foundational…

The philosophy and structure of the Regional Staff Development Center capitalize on local expertise and energy. This structure of cooperation affords 4,500 Wisconsin educators the opportunity to learn from each other through alliances, networks, study committees, and specialized roles. Recognizing and showcasing the positive contributions of area…

This volume is a definitive guide to what is known about the preparation of teachers, induction into the tasks of teaching, and career teacher development. It is designed for educators responsible for preservice teacher education and inservice staff development. The articles are organized in nine sections under the following heads: (1) Teacher…

Included in this volume are a series of dialogues about various approaches to teacher education. Each dialogue consists of a brief sketch of a particular teacher education program, along with a response from the director of that program. The sketches, though organized differently, tend to describe similar program features: purposes, context,…

A model for improving instructional skills was developed to offer guidance for administrators or supervisors responsible for overseeing the performance of first year teachers. Developed from research findings on the nature of teaching and learning and the characteristics of an effective teacher, an integral component of the instructional…

Learning to teach ought to be a major province of inservice rather than of preservice teacher education. A "learning to teach continuum" consists of four phases in a teacher's development. During the pretraining phase, which begins with the first childhood exposure to school, patterns and ideas of teaching are formed, and a model of teaching is…

Teacher career development deals with changes teachers experience throughout their careers, in: (1) job skills, knowledge, and behaviors; (2) attitudes and outlooks toward teaching; and (3) job events and advancement. A growing body of research indicates that teachers have different job skills, knowledge, behaviors, attitudes, and concerns at…

This study was performed to develop a competency-based professional education sequence (termed "spiral curriculum") which would provide pre-service and in-service training for new vocational instructors hired directly from trade and industry. Specific objectives were (1) to identify a comprehensive list of professional education…

This paper chronicles the development of national performance-based, subject matter knowledge and competencies standards for the preparation of new social studies teachers, exploring the implications of their recent implementation by colleges and universities nationally. The standards are at the forefront of performance assessments of beginning…

This report presents data on the Missouri teacher labor market, using existing administrative records about the state's public schools, teachers staffing them, and students attending them from 1994-95. Data are presented on: enrollment growth (size and distribution of public school enrollment changes); Missouri's teaching workforce (size and…

This report presents findings of a three-year study to examine how preservice teachers develop an awareness of the needs of academically diverse learners, including gifted students, and implement and/or modify instruction to meet those needs. Preservice teachers were assigned to one of two treatment groups: either participation in an interactive…

The staff in a teaching excellence program at the University of Colorado at Boulder analyzed research on new faculty needs and designed a program to support newly-hired, tenure-track faculty in improving their teaching. The approach used in the program, responses of participating faculty, and areas for future analysis are described. (Author/MSE)

A graduate program component that assigned mentors to preservice special education teachers of students with severe disabilities is described. Characteristics of effective mentoring programs, the mentoring needs of preservice teachers of students with severe disabilities, and the mentorship program components are discussed. An evaluation of the…