The effort to make the Connecticut Elementary Education Certification Examination (EECE) reflect the skills and knowledge essential to successful beginning teaching is described. This instrument is planned as part of an assessment system being created by the Connecticut State Department of Education. The first element of the program is a basic…

A study was conducted to determine what distinguishes the practice of competent educators from that of untrained persons or colleagues who are less skilled. The population for the study was cooperative extension educators. Five individuals identified by district and state leaders as being exemplary in their practice were followed for three days…

Purposes of this study were: (1) to examine patterns of implementation of an innovative educational program with a built-in staff development component over a period of three years; (2) to compare patterns of implementation of the Adaptive Learning Environments Model's (ALEM) three types of teaching skills, including generic, adaptive, and program…

The effect of student evaluations of teaching on administrative personnel decisions at the Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, was investigated. In addition, the apparent impact of summative student evaluation of teaching upon faculty attitudes and faculty teaching performance was assessed. In the Department of Psychology,…

Two methods of teacher evaluation, summative evaluation and formative evaluation, are examined. The summative theory calls for an assessment of teaching competence on the basis of which judgments may be made on matters pertaining to promotion, tenure, merit salary increments, or dismissal. Summative evaluation is strongly supported because it…

Strategy analysis systems (SAS) used to describe classroom instruction are characterized by three components: (1) observing classroom behavior; (2) coding behavior into categories; and (3) data reduction with translation into meaningful feedback. Unique learning environments (laboratories and inquiry teaching) have necessitated developing SAS…

The Netherlands' Basic School Education Act mandated that nursery and primary schools be structurally integrated into "basic schools" for children aged four to twelve by 1984. Inservice training courses, called IVB, were set up to prepare nursery and primary teachers for the new system according to the professional goals of continuity,…

A project identified and validated minimal competencies that describe what K-8 classroom teachers actually do in community education. A total of 27 participants from four Phoenix elementary schools, each of which had an active community education program, identified tasks in five areas related to community education. These were program planning,…

A description is given of a course for secondary education majors that is required in the sophomore year. The course combines techniques from microteaching and interaction analysis. A period of clinical experience is included, offering an opportunity for students to observe secondary teachers while acting as teacher aides. They thus became…

A study to identify variables between more or less effective student teachers tested student gains in learning a psychomotor skill. The student teachers were observed as they trained students to perform the "handstand roll over" in physical education classes. Observation focused on content of instruction, skill attempt reactions, management of…

In response to the expressed needs of students for preparation materials and classes relevant to graduate entrance examinations, a course designed to provide a review of math topics was created as part of a reading and study skills laboratory. Reading specialists are able to interface math teaching with their varied training in diagnosis,…

Thirty-three student teachers were observed in elementary school classrooms to determine if they manifested 16 interactive behaviors identified as desirable by college of education faculty. Teaching assistants used the Georgia Assessment of Teaching Effectiveness (GATE), an instrument which requires the observers to objectively record, but not…

This paper identifies and defines skills associated with the commentary-discussion method of teaching in an effort to improve student learning in precollege psychology courses. First, the author examines the range of teaching methods from formal lecture to open discussion and identifies commentary-discussion as the most widely used technique. In…

The purpose of this descriptive survey study was to evaluate the mentoring that occurred in a preservice teacher education program. The mentoring literature was reviewed to select important characteristics of mentor teachers and mentoring practices during field experiences to be included in the instrument. Based on this review, the following…

This paper presents national data on the extent to which public secondary students are taught core academics by teachers without basic qualifications in their assigned teaching fields, examining whether there are inequalities in the distribution of adequately qualified teachers across and within different U.S. schools. Data came from the 1990-1991…