The design and implementation of successful international teaching assistant (ITA) training curricula require careful simultaneous attention to intertwining theoretical and practical questions encompassing abilities of successful ITAs, correlates of successful teaching, acquisition of discourse skills, and program marketing and operational issues.…

Presents 2 lists of 10 rules each summarizing considerations for effective and ineffective teaching. Recommends lists of rules as manageable amounts of information that provide retrieval cues for the information on which the lists are based. Suggests that the generation of lists can be an educational exercise. (DK)

Describes the difficulties encountered when a college professor of education returned to an elementary school mathematics classroom. Provides excerpts from his daily journal, which is organized by themes (e.g., planning, uncertainties about students' learning, the adult as stranger, classroom management, and teaching skills), and reflects on how…

The debate on the unidimensionality versus multidimensionality of students' ratings of teaching performance, and the relationship of this dilemma to summative and formative uses of these instruments is reviewed, with special attention to the implications of their development and application in the Spanish university system. A comprehensive…

A persistent and pressing problem in higher education is the "us versus them" mentality between faculty and administrators. Although the tension between faculty and administrators can have a healthy dimension (promoting the advice and consent of shared governance), by and large the tension is unproductive because it is based on misunderstandings…

In higher education, there is an increasing emphasis on development of discipline-specific pedagogical knowledge among faculty, whose central precept is the interconnectedness of content and teaching method. Some college and university faculty development centers have begun providing services in this area. The University of Washington's Center for…

How does a hiring committee define the requisite knowledge essential for a writing program administrator (WPA)? A survey of writing program administrators revealed that typical WPAs begin their academic career by taking a B.A. in English and then proceeding on a more or less predictable course with an M.A. in English and a Ph.D. in English,…

Because of the potentially significant effect that cooperating teachers can have on student teachers' philosophy, teaching strategies, and classroom behaviors, it is imperative that cooperating teachers be selected, prepared, and evaluated carefully. Certain attributes need to be present in effective cooperating teachers. A questionnaire was…

A new national research consortium, the Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy (CTP), is designed to investigate the relation between excellent teaching and policymaking at the national, state, and local levels. Policy efforts to produce excellence in teaching must: (1) attract, recruit, and retain capable teachers; (2) develop teachers'…

The Science Teacher Inventory of Need (STIN) is an 83-item instrument which assesses science teachers' perceptions of their professional needs. Items on the STIN are organized under seven categories: (1) specifying objectives for science instruction; (2) diagnosing and evaluating learners for science instruction; (3) planning science instruction;…

The paper examines issues in special education teacher attrition and reviews a variety of induction and mentorship programs to lessen the common isolation of beginning teachers. Statistics indicating the high attrition rate among beginning teachers, especially special education teachers are cited and related to lack of training and ongoing…

The project expanded on an already developed process for teacher-course evaluation at the higher education level. The process uses student ratings collected with an instrument which focuses on teacher behaviors and activities, overall assessments, and student and course information. Teaching improvement materials were developed as was a…

More relevant content for vocational special needs teacher education programs was identified through a review of the literature on teacher competencies in vocational special needs education. These competencies were then fitted into a multidimensional framework that included three dimensions of competence--task, human, and environmental. Following…

In North Olmsted City Schools, Ohio, teacher evaluation is a continuous, cooperative, constructive process involving both the evaluator and the teachers. One set of performance variables evaluated relates to professional climate: (1) classroom management; (2) pupil-teacher relationships; (3) pupil-pupil relationships; (4) teacher-parent…

The Beginning Teacher Assistance Program was adopted by the Virginia Board of Education to ensure that teachers certified by the state demonstrate the minimum competencies necessary to perform satisfactorily. The first section of this booklet describes the program's assessment component and lists the 14 competencies teachers are expected to…