Interviews with experienced British mentors working within a collaborative model of preservice teacher education examined their constructs of good mentors. They viewed mentors who provided regular time, immediate feedback, and sufficient availability as most effective and felt that new teachers needed training in their role as classroom teachers…

A study examined attitudes of 50 new teachers toward emerging Scottish policies concerning continuing professional development (CPD). Findings indicate that teachers need to be better informed about CPD and other policy initiatives; characteristics of an effective professional educator must be identified; teachers must critically analyze their…

Focuses on the behaviors and experiences of beginning teachers as they face the task of teaching science on a regular and extended basis for the first time. Finds that experiencing success appeared to be a major contribution to effective science teaching by beginning teachers. (Contains 31 references.) (WRM)

A common theme of the papers presented in this forum is that of the importance of listening to children's voices. They key messages conveyed by the authors are synthesised in this paper and the implications for the development of the subject and research within it are considered. This is then placed in the context of some recent doctoral research…

Beginning teachers face enormous challenges in their first year of teaching. High attrition rates of teachers within the first five years attest to the difficulties inherent in commencing professional life as a teacher. This paper describes the design of a Web site developed to overcome many of the problems of professional isolation encountered by…

This collection of abstracts and papers includes: "Classroom Lesson Planning Using Constructivist Principles" (Richard K. Gordon, Stephen Lee, and Joel Colbert); "Students' Perception of Experiential Learning and Assessment of Own Learning at the Physically Handicapped School" (Shigeru Shimizu; Minoru Umezawa, and Yumiko Ono);…

During the next decade, the teaching profession in Australia will be transformed. Due mainly to age related retirements there will be a massive turnover and a huge influx of new entrants. At the same time, it can be expected that there will be more exacting requirements and expectations of teachers as new professional standards are set to meet the…

This monograph presents abstracts of research studies conducted with the support of grants provided by the Queensland Board of Teacher Education. The following studies are summarized: (1) "The Effectiveness of Induction Programs for Beginning Teachers in Queensland State Primary Schools" (Elspeth Davis); (2) "The Development and…

Developed at the request of the Community Care Facilities Licensing Board, this document describes in detail the outcomes, in terms of student performance, of an early childhood education program for colleges and institutions in British Columbia, Canada. These competencies represent the organizational, evaluative, decision-making, and manipulative…

In this paper the development of science pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in elementary teachers is considered, with a particular focus on beginning teachers. Explored is a conceptualization of the development of science pedagogical content knowledge in elementary teachers which emerged from two studies. The first examined the science teaching…

This paper outlines a study involving the use of portfolios by first-year teachers after their experiences in a 10-month preservice teacher education program in which professional portfolios were implemented. Data were gathered from a questionnaire administered to teacher candidates at the end of their program, as well as from 2 sets of interviews…

Survey of 48 beginning teachers elicited assessment of their experiences in the elementary teacher education program at the University of British Columbia. Teachers assessed the importance of teaching particular knowledge, skills, and understandings and the program's potential and success in doing so. As in similar studies, findings indicate the…

The purpose of this study was to discover the dissatisfactions for Australian beginning physical education (PE) teachers. Qualitative data yielded five main categories underpinning teacher dissatisfaction: lack of status, repetitive nature of PE work, limited decision making, personal and professional surveillance, and unprofessional staff-room…

The author reflects on his first teaching experience 20 years ago at a residential outdoor and environmental education school in Ontario (Canada). He stresses the importance of documenting outdoor experiences through personal narratives as a means of bringing attention to the value of outdoor learning and connecting learners with their natural…

Examined the impact on Dutch mentors and institute teachers of the new requirement that student teachers nearing completion of coursework must teach without immediate supervision for several months. Surveys investigated how this change affected the content and process of mentoring. Mentors and institute teachers acted as supportive counselors and…