As part of the Competency Based Teacher Certification Project in Carroll County, Georgia, large samples of elementary and secondary school teachers and students were observed during a two-year period. Four low-inference observation measures were used to record teacher behaviors and student-teacher interactions: (1) Teacher Practices Observation…

The intent of this "bottom-up" project was to create a community of learners to facilitate the implementation of computer technologies in the elementary school curriculum. The participants were 6 graduate students and their professor, 10 teachers (grades 1-5), their students, and the librarian in a Professional Development School. Each…

This paper describes the transformation of Idaho State University's teacher education program in response to various initiatives regarding educational change. The transformation process involved framing a standards-based preparation program. Developers created a Core Standards for Beginning Teachers that established exit outcomes for prospective…

This paper presents the process, synthesized research, and teacher training outcomes derived from a year-long process of establishing a research-based teacher education knowledge base. A broad-based committee at Pittsburg State University, Kansas, was appointed to review best practice literature, various national standards, and teacher education…

This paper outlines the nexus between developing pedagogical content knowledge and the pressures for preparing pre-service teachers to be successful on high stakes testing. Increasing expectations about what students should know and be able to do, breakthroughs in research on how children learn, and the increasing diversity of the student…

This study examined the effectiveness of an alternative certification program for secondary teachers that emphasized the need for certified teachers in rural districts. The program utilized distance learning and integrated technology. Thirty uncertified secondary teachers who taught the previous year in Louisiana public schools completed 27 hours…

This study examined the reliability and validity of a group-assessment interview procedure designed to evaluate the verbal, interpersonal, and leadership qualities of students applying to a teacher education program. The group assessment procedure involved a 90-minute session with eight students in which three dimensions of teacher behavior were…

It is argued that teacher assessment should be extended to include students' learning gains. The conditions that must be met for such an assessment system to be implemented are described, and some alternative strategies for extending the focus of teacher evaluation and program evaluation to include student learning are discussed. (SLD)

This study compared the knowledge and skill levels of urban and rural special education teachers across 13 emotional and behavior disordered (EBD) competency areas. Fifty-eight graduate students enrolled in special education courses at California State University at Fresno completed the Emotionally and Behaviorally Disordered Teacher Competencies…

Integration of academic and vocational curricula is just one of an arsenal of processes that school leaders can use to improve delivery of curriculum and instruction. It holds great promise in enhancing acquisition of basic skills necessary in an increasingly technological and socially complex workplace. The variations in which integration can…

A study examined the professional and technical education needs of health occupations education (HOE) teachers in North Carolina. Utilizing an ex post facto research design, researchers administered professional education needs assessment surveys to all 1,058 teachers in attendance at the 1981 North Carolina Annual Vocational Conference. A…

In response to evidence of inadequately trained secondary school English teachers, this report details an experimental education course for the preservice training of English/Secondary Education majors at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. The first section looks at the impetus for such a pre-practice course, and notes that previous…

Responses from 143 individuals to a questionnaire mailed to 180 special education administrators from all regions of the country found that many first-year teachers enter the profession lacking skills critical to successful teaching and that those with only undergraduate degrees are at greater risk for failure than those with graduate training.…

The evaluation of the content validity of the Functional Academic Skills Tests (FAST) are described. The FAST was designed to assess the competency of inservice teachers in the Houston, Texas Independent School District in basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills. Validation standards were based on the Equal Employment Opportunity…

One of the major areas of change currently affecting planning and policy in teacher education is the preservice and inservice preparation of educators for nonschool settings. Historically, institutional and organizational responses to the diverse educational needs of society have been legitimized in the classroom. However, changes in the…