Home economics professionals were surveyed to determine the communication competencies necessary for the completion of their tasks. The most highly rated of the 13 competencies listed by the subjects were the abilities to converse in professional situations, to use other oral processes (argument, complaint, opinion, persuasion, questioning), and…

Teacher education programs have often attempted to make teachers more rational by use of apriori models. These models poorly correspond to teachers' thinking styles. Three distinct reactions to this problem have occurred. One proposed solution is to break the apriori model into separate component skills and to train teachers in each skill. A…

At least four factors are important to consider in contemporary teacher education programs: the demand for increased accountability; the emphasis on field-based instruction; the need for responsiveness to field input; and the need for responsiveness to student input. In New York, the demand for increased accountability has been translated into a…

This paper explores relationships among grade point average (GPA), SAT scores, and Praxis I and II scores for traditional undergraduate preservice teachers, describing the development of an instrument to assess teaching skills. Participants were students from eight graduating classes at Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania, from 1994-2001…

The 1996 report "What Matters Most: Teaching for America's Future" features a 3-part proposal which consists of teacher education program accreditation, initial teacher licensing, and advanced certification based upon a set of shared knowledge, skills, and commitments for professional teaching. A study explored one facet of this proposed…

This paper reports on a study of the relationship between teacher evaluation scores in a school implementing knowledge- and skills-based pay and classroom student achievement. The study occurred in a California charter elementary school that was 100 percent Title I, 100 percent free/reduced lunch, and had predominantly limited English speaking…

Three rural Utah schools received a grant to improve teachers' skills in adapting core curriculum to the needs of diverse students, provide access to teacher support services, and improve inclusion for students with diverse learning needs. The 2-year grant enabled one person to coordinate staff development and provide comprehensive inclusion…

Western Illinois University's College of Education and Human Services is redesigning its undergraduate teacher education program. The program places volunteer freshmen in real classrooms for long-term observations and volunteer assistance, eventually leading up to a full range of teaching opportunities. Also, coursework is presented in an…

This paper explains that the old NCATE standards had five themes which survive in various forms in NCATE 2000. The conceptual framework and themes of diversity and technology continue to be heavily emphasized. Elements of the conceptual framework include shared vision, coherence, professional commitments/dispositions, commitments to diversity…

To gain insights into preservice teachers' growing capacity to be exploring, reflective practitioners, portfolio assessment is being adopted in some teacher education programs. The teacher as reflective practitioner and portfolio assessment became the foundations of one Carnegie-I research university's four-phase secondary education program.…

A practicum was designed to increase the number of primary teachers who possess a more current reading and writing philosophy and would implement theory-driven teaching practices. The problem addressed in the practicum was that primary reading and writing instruction did not reflect current research, theory, and practices. Many classroom teachers…

A study examined students' perceptions of an instructor's use of slang and verbal aggression in giving a presentation. The study used an experiment to investigate the relationship between these two variables and students' perceptions of credibility, affect, and immediacy. Participants, 167 undergraduate communication students at a large midwestern…

In an exploration of junior high school teachers' meanings of success, it was discovered that teachers tend to talk about their practice in terms of management strategies. Management was clearly significant for teachers as a metaphor for their ways of living, instructing, developing student responsibility, and building community within the fluid…

In order for prospective teachers to become aware of the consequences of their actions and behaviors and to become more reflective about their teaching and their role as teachers, teacher education programs must incorporate interventions that allow novice teachers to become actively involved in the process of applying the theory of teaching to the…

This study investigated selected planning and teaching behaviors in 15 undergraduate physical education-teacher education majors over 8 weeks of clinical teaching experience, examining the effect of databased feedback intervention on their preactive and interactive behaviors. Each preservice teacher planned and taught two 30-minute lessons (in…