COVID-19 forced a rapid and significant shift in education at all levels, but in the K-12 setting, tested the capacity and adaptability of current teachers and challenged the readiness of student teachers. Related school closures effectively terminated what research finds as the most crucial part of the teacher preparation experience: student…

This study was organized to examine the impact of a field experience for elementary preservice teachers working with young children enrolled in a summer academy focusing on early mathematics. The academy was designed to provide engaging learning experiences to support the development of early number concepts for pre-K students from an elementary…

Educators by definition are now required to utilize a variety of student data to shape the decisions they make and design the lessons they teach. As accountability standards become more stringent and as teachers face increasingly diverse student populations within their classrooms, they often struggle to adequately meet the needs of all learners.…

The field of teacher preparation is falling short of its most important responsibility: ensuring that the teachers we train are ready to do the job. For more than a decade,TNTP preparation programs produced teachers who were no more or less effective than teachers from any other program-- some were great, some were poor, most were about average.…

Test-based education reform efforts continue to limit the number of minority teachers in the United States. Minority-serving institutions face numerous challenges in recruiting and preparing highly qualified minority teacher candidates for the academic demands of a changing teaching climate and the influx of a diverse student population in public…

Describes the evolution of progressive indicators emphasizing the developmental nature of successful student teaching. Coding of dialogue with experienced cooperating teachers about student teacher successes and failures resulted in 64 indicators. These were matched with recent Texas teacher proficiencies. Locally-generated indicators fell into…

Teachers and administrators often note that preservice programs do not prepare future teachers adequately to teach reading. Several Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states have addressed this problem. In 1997, the Georgia Professional Standards Review Commission began examining reading certification requirements and found that most teacher…

Examines perceived incompetence within Texas colleges of education, discussing: whether schooling promotes equality; prior analyses of the issue; grade inflation and social promotion; and student teachers' attitudes and curricular preferences. Overall, admissions standards are too low, resulting in marginal teachers who retard students' academic…

This paper proposes an extended-time, three-course technology integration model that allows preservice teachers adequate time to absorb, reflect about, connect with, and be supported by technology. This course sequence facilitates development of the ability to use technology simultaneously with the development of the skills and knowledge necessary…

This issue focuses on what recent research from Tennessee, Texas, Massachusetts, and Alabama says about the most significant factor that impacts student achievement: the teacher. After presenting teacher effectiveness data from the four states, it discusses what makes an effective teacher, focusing on the need for strong verbal and math skills,…

In Texas, inservice and preservice education has been mandated for teacher certification. This education covers least restrictive environment, characteristics of handicapped students, informal assessment, and individualized educational programs. The training provided has taken many forms--statewide conferences, school district inservice, retreats,…

This paper is one of four individual case study reports presenting the qualitative findings from a five-year investigation of the impact of accountability reform on students with disabilities in four states, eight districts, and twenty schools. This case study report presents qualitative data collected over a four-year period--2001-2004--from…