The generalizability and concurrent validity of the FLOAT (Formal Lecture Observation Assessment Inventory) were studied. College instructors were rated, using the FLOAT, by their students and by trained observers who viewed videotapes of the classes. The teachers were also asked to evaluate themselves. A previous study of interrater reliability…

Three hundred and eighteen education graduates were surveyed in order to investigate the quality of training they had received in field or campus teacher-preparation programs in elementary education at a large southwestern university. Graduates rated on a scale of 1-5 the quality of training they had received for 44 teaching skills listed in the…

The magnitude of simple and multiple correlations between the Teacher Performance Assessment Instruments (TPAI) ratings of elementary student teachers and achievement gains of their pupils is assessed, as well as the impact of certain methodological and contextual factors on the validity coefficients generated. The TPAI is a set of four…

The New York State Council for Social Studies committee developed a rationale and set of specific criteria that social studies teachers should demonstrate for certification. The rationale behind the criteria is that it makes social studies teachers a more professional group and provides for the highest caliber of teacher. Each teacher is screened…

The teacher standards movement and effective schools research movement both proclaim that all students can learn, irrespective of family background, wealth, gender, or ethnicity. Effective schools research promotes seven correlates as core to schools where students learn and achieve: clear school mission, high expectations for success,…

Phase II of a two-part study identified the inservice needs of 63 entry-level agriculture teachers in Texas by comparing rankings of inservice needs as determined by direct assessment in phase I and as determined by a mean weighted discrepancy score. In phase II, teachers rated the level of importance of 163 competencies. A discrepancy score was…

This executive summary describes a resource about innovative teaching that profiles and analyzes the work of eight educators working in secondary school communities in Australia. Each case study in the resource is intended as a stand-alone snapshot of good practice in which voices of students, colleagues, principals, and community members…

This study examined the differences between preservice and inservice teachers' perceptions of knowledge in instructional planning skills for teaching science in primary grades and identified the skills perceived as most knowledgeable and least knowledgeable by the two groups. Forty-one inservice and preservice African-American teachers from an…

This paper examines what it would take to expand the number of teacher leaders in mathematics, noting that one of the major obstacles facing reform in mathematics education is the lack of adequate preparation among teachers currently teaching mathematics. The paper highlights experiences that have promoted the development of three middle school…

Designed to instruct teachers in the construction and design of their own Learning Activity Packages (LAP), this article is itself an LAP, teaching LAP design through activities and instructional objectives. Journal availability: see RC 503 504. (SB)

Accountability in many and varied forms is being required of teacher preparation programs. Weiner (2000) explores the dichotomy of the belief that meaningful learning needs to be situated versus policy that demands educational outcomes be standardized. This contradiction demands urgent analysis as we look for appropriate measures of accountability…

To help ensure that new vocational faculty receive adequate training to teach an increasingly wide range of nontraditional students, Iowa State University (ISU) established the Community College Induction/Mentoring (CCIM) program in 1992. Over 2 academic years, program participants take 14 sequentially designed seminars providing instruction in 43…

This project, implemented collaboratively between a research/teaching university and a midwestern special education cooperative, gathered data from 517 regular education teachers regarding self-evaluation of skills for teaching students with disabilities, satisfaction with existing special education services, and attitudes toward an…

The use of technology in training has grown tremendously. Tools commonly being used include computer-based training systems, multimedia systems, electronic performance support systems, and telecommunications systems for distance learning. The use of technology-based delivery systems in training has many potential benefits for organizations, but…

A study was conducted at Saint Louis Community College, in Missouri, to determine the characteristics that students associated with excellence in teaching. In the first phase of the study, an open-ended questionnaire was administered to 497 full-time students enrolled primarily in English, Natural Sciences, the Social Sciences, and Business…