Proposes three problems that must be solved in order to best prepare teachers who both know content and can make use of it to help all students learn, including: identifying the content knowledge that matters for teaching; understanding how such knowledge needs to be held; and determining what it takes to learn to use such knowledge in practice.…

Responds to an article by Goodlad that points out the "congenital malaise" in teacher education, discussing what is needed to effect a cure. Suggests that Goodlad neglected to mention that the undergraduate major in education is partially responsible for this malaise, and it has been a mistake to package professional coursework into an…

The demands placed upon school personnel by Public Law 94-142 are discussed. Activities of a National Support Systems Project which resulted in identification of capabilities required of teachers and development of resource units to help teacher educators meet that need are described. A list of unit topics is included. (PP)

An investigation of the thoughts and actions of a small number of expert teachers (N=3) and novice student teachers (N=3) is described. Differences between the two groups are analyzed from the perspectives of teaching as a complex cognitive skill and improvisational performance. Recommendations for teacher education practice are offered. (IAH)

Research activities pertinent to preservice teacher training program design are reviewed. The focus is on studies in which the dependent variables were the developing teaching styles of teacher candidates, or where there were measures of skill development as a product of program components. (IAH)

Conversations between four mentor and four novice teachers were analyzed to discover how they discussed issues about teaching and learning of content. Analysis of conversations revealed several ways that mentors dealt with novices' understanding of subject matter. Conversations are discussed in relation to four aspects of learning to teach…

This article will present a case study of an unrequited teacher-learning collaboration, an attempt to work with an experienced teacher to redesign his practice in consonance with Fostering a Community of Learners (FCL) principles and practices. The author's purpose in presenting this case will be threefold: first, to provide a coherent account of…

The article reports the statistical results of a teacher survey concerning inservice training needs and draws a number of generalizations, among them the need for (1) training in the affective domain and in individualizing instruction, (2) differentiated training within inservice settings, and (3) including teachers in defining needs and in…

Suggests that teacher education faculty are not taking sufficient care in preventing weak, incompetent student teachers from attaining state licenses, noting factors contributing to the problem (e.g., the concept of incompetence is not sufficiently clear), placing incompetence on a continuum of teaching behaviors from criminality and malpractice…

Pedagogical intelligence is analyzed, with particular emphasis on teacher decision-making strategies, the role of experience, and developmental aspects. Ways in which teacher educators can help foster pedagogical intelligence and specific examples of practices being tried are presented. (IAH)

Generalizations about problems and solutions facing teacher education are often oversimplified and misleading. Examinations of teacher supply and demand and teacher ability should consider local demand and content-area need. Teachers with content-area certification have stronger academic profiles than those with general certification. Raising…

Responds to common charges against formal teacher education programs, arguing that contextual knowledge of classrooms and schools is crucial for novice teachers; raw intelligence is insufficient for accomplished teaching; accomplished performance will develop only over many years of effortful, deliberate practice; and high quality teacher…

Support for preservice teacher education programs cannot be unqualified, just as calls to abandon it cannot be embraced uncritically. Many factors affect how well teachers perform and how children are educated. A selected bibliography of pertinent documents in the ERIC databases is given. (PP)