Study results indicate that proficiency needs of teachers of composition include: (1) teaching/learning strategies for improving student writing ability; (2) applying the writing processes to their own as well as to student writing; and (3) evaluating student writing performance. Findings indicate that teachers need to engage in considerable…

Compared the readiness and success of contextually versus traditionally prepared student teachers. Surveys of student teachers, university supervisors, and cooperating teachers highlighted significant differences between student teacher groups in each area assessed. Contextually prepared teachers became integrated into their classrooms more…

Issues related to two questions are explored in this article: How much liberal education is enough for elementary school teachers? Should teachers be required to major in one of the liberal arts? (IAH)

Teachers described organizing for instruction, using instructional strategies, evaluating instruction, and encouraging students' personal growth. They perceived preservice study as more important than graduate in gaining basic understanding of 15 of the 18 selected teaching skills and competency as being developed primarily on the job. (SM)

Observed and interviewed two beginning teachers regarding their feelings and concerns about their first 3 years of teaching. Although they were initially fearful, they gained confidence with classroom management and discipline, seeking to make an impact on their students, refine their teaching materials, and express concern for students. During…

A teacher's understanding of any teaching behavior or skill must be tested in the context of actual teaching. However, practice that is unenlightened by understanding and by the mastery of concepts about teaching behaviors and skills is of uncertain value in teacher training. (JN)

In order for schools of teacher education to prepare teachers as creative curriculum planners, students must be taught in situations that encourage creativity, and they must experience models of creative teaching. Several direct strategies for fostering creativity in the teacher education curriculum are outlined. (IAH)

Attributes of teachers remembered by students as effective and memorable included commitment, goal orientation, integrated perception, reward orientation, individualized perception, innovation, objectivity, rapport, active listening, and empathy. (CB)

A theoretical framework for the preparation of teachers through clinical laboratory experiences is presented. Four teacher roles and six purposes of clinical experiences are identified and arranged on an intersecting matrix, which can be a basis for designing clinical experience packages that integrate theory and practice. A sample package is…

Results of recent studies of teachers' skills are discussed in the areas of: (1) reading and writing at the postsecondary level; (2) education majors' reading competencies; and (3) reading competencies of practicing teachers. The effects of competency-based teacher certification tests for basic skills proficiency in 14 states are reviewed. (FG)

Research into effective teaching has only recently begun to yield dependable results. To be most helpful, research must focus on specific practices, and the findings must be used in the education of prospective teachers as well as in inservice education programs. (FG)

The subject of this study was a successful elementary physical education teacher, and its purpose was to investigate the pedagogical uses of the teacher's skill in observation. The inquiry was organized around three themes: the constitutive nature of observing, images for observational comparison, and the subjective experience of observation. (IAH)

Validity of several predictors of student success in teacher education was studied in 437 elementary teacher education students. Assessment forms completed by university supervisors and teachers indicated a reading methods course and grade point average were the most successful predictors of performance criteria. Standardized test scores were not…

Describes the variety of motivating instructional techniques modeled by the instructor in an undergraduate foundations of education course: lecture with transparencies; effective use of videos; cooperative learning; effective review techniques; computer-assisted instruction; and the Program for Effective Teaching model. (IAH)

Prospective teachers' images of lesson management were examined in relation to pupil engagement in lessons taught. In more engaging lessons, teachers' images of management emphasized pupil contributions to lesson progress; in less engaging lessons, teachers' images of management emphasized teacher control of lesson progress combined with teacher…