As college and university faculties become increasingly involved in the development of new program specifications, it also becomes more apparent that the need for teacher educators to come to grips with the many issues of competency assessment is critical. (Author/MJB)

Discussion is focused on one phase of the assessment problem--the development and improvement of instruments that can be used to measure the observable performance of competence of preservice teacher education students. (Author)

Evaluation of the instructional decision-making processes of 14 preservice elementary school teachers during a reading practicum indicated that decisions about diagnosis, planning, lesson balance, and word recognition instruction were difficult even for the best of the prospective teachers, while lower performing teachers also had trouble with…

This study investigated differences between certified and non-certified mathematics teachers in middle school and high school grades regarding student achievement, teacher knowledge, and teaching skills. The results suggest that certified math teachers know more mathematics, use more effective teaching practices, and have higher achieving students…

The author constructs a question taxonomy he feels is superior to Bloom's system in its comprehensiveness and language delineation basis, and advocates the use of both systems in conjunction (since they have differing purposes) to improve questioning techniques in as many ways as possible. (MB)

Four main areas of concern in team teaching are organizing course material, managing time, remaining in contact with students, and establishing good relationships among team members. (LH)

Thoughtful mentoring can shape and challenge a beginning teacher's practice in educative ways, especially when the novice is well prepared and adopts the stance of a learner. What responsibility does a mentor have when the novice performs at the edge of acceptable practice? Drawing on interview and observation data collected for a national study…

The scope of competency assessment in preservice education is determined, and practical steps for organizing a structure for gathering assessment information is presented. (MJB)

Arguments are presented for a view of teaching which is multi-method, multi-person, multi-situation, and multi-variable. (Author/MJB)

Analyses of structures and processes of society and of higher education reveal the need for a core of interdisciplinary studies in teacher education that would develop critical and reflective capacities in prospective teachers. (Author/CB)

Outlines possibilities and challenges for classroom teachers considering National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification and other concerned educators synthesized from the available research and educational publications, asserting that the tension between the normalizing effects of teaching standards and national…

A model is needed for defining, operationalizing, and measuring teacher competence that combines the methodological rigor of the behavioral objectives approach with the richness of the intuitive, empirical, and theoretical knowledge of what constitutes competence. (Author)

Controversy continues over the merits of field-based teacher education as a superior preparation system versus campus-based preservice teacher education. The first in a series of articles addressed to this controversy focuses on the problem of the lack of autonomy in schools of education. (JN)

Criticisms of Cruickshank's reflective teaching are described as ill-founded and indicative of a narrow view of the technique. It is asserted that the real limitations to reflective teaching are the supervising teacher educators' lack of insight and enthusiasm. (IAH)