PROTEACH, an extended preservice teacher preparation program at the University of Florida (Gainesville), is a five-year program that culminates in a master's degree. Four papers describing PROTEACH are included. "PROTEACH: An Extended Preservice Teacher Preparation Program" (David C. Smith) provides an introduction to the program's…

A learning "recipe" for designing physical activity programs for older adults combines the "ingredients" of safety, relevancy, progression, maturity, motivation, practice, encouragement, fun, feedback, and love. Because the aged represent an increasing number in our society (estimates predict by the year 2000, over 50 million people will be over…

A peer training system for teaching assistants (TAs) that is sponsored by the Writing Program Resource Center at the University of Massachusetts is described from the perspective of the center coordinator. The center seeks to improve teaching in the freshman composition program by providing TAs feedback in a non-threatening and understanding way…

For over a decade, parents whose children are in the public education system have expressed concerns regarding the quality of teaching in their schools; yet little energy and study have been devoted to the topic of incompetent or marginal teacher improvement. To describe how marginal teachers perceived their improvement to be related to a staff…

The University of Washington Student Teacher Assessment System has identified 11 skills as necessary for effective teaching. This study examined the relative importance of these skills by surveying 234 elementary/secondary teachers, principals, and student teacher supervisors. The respondents were asked to group the most and the least important of…

The primary purpose of a staff development program entitled "Skills for Effective Teaching," which was adapted in a Virginia public school district, was to teach effective instructional skills to teachers who did not possess or demonstrate those skills. The program was also aimed at retaining and reinforcing the effective instructional skills…

A three-phase investigation served to identify, verify, and determine the importance of the competencies, and the categories within which they are clustered, on the Vocational Teacher Competency Profile for Microcomputer Applications. The 47 competencies and 5 categories were identified through a DACUM (Developing A Curriculum) activity during…

Perspectives on how college teachers learn to teach and ways to re-invigorate learning and teaching are offered by the president of Pomona College. The importance of stimulating college students and sharing the faculty member's intellectual interests is addressed. It is suggested that learning thrives in an atmosphere of "intellectual…

The Florida Mental Health Institute and the Department of Special Education, both at the University of South Florida, have created a practicum program for teacher trainees in behavior disorders. The program was designed as an intensive, sequenced approach for training in basic academic and behavioral skills related to successful teaching…

This presentation offers a design for developing a long term staff improvement program using the talents available in a small or rural school district with low financial resources, limited personnel time, and difficulty in obtaining outside training. The plan focuses on improving teaching skills through a participatory structure involving peer…

Difficulties facing rural special education efforts are examined. Transportation difficulties hinder home-school communication and mitigate against coordination with teacher training institutions. Economic aspects--including the effects of sociocultural attitudes and the lack of trained teachers--and sociopolitical factors in the rural community…

The objectives of this research were: (a) to identify the content and configuration of critical activity structures and routines in well-functioning classrooms; (b) to trace the origins of routines during the first four days of school; and (c) to identify the mechanisms used by expert teachers to teach students the content, the cues, and the…

The most effective education can best be achieved in settings that subscribe to a multicultural education philosophy, with an interdisciplinary perspective. Since America is a culturally pluralistic nation, where race, ethnicity, and culture are major public issues, public education should provide accurate information about the diverse groups.…

The findings from two studies (Pre-Post and Matched-Pairs) suggest that the mini-instructional system that was designed to provide teachers with training in the analytic-pluralistic approach to classroom management did have a very positive impact on those teachers who received this training. The mini-instructional system is one in which classroom…

Although a review of the literature on competency-based teacher education (CBTE) reveals little or no reference to microteaching's contribution, microteaching was a precursor of CBTE and had a direct influence in its acceptance and development. A review of CBTE's essential characteristics and a comparison with microteaching shows that…