Effective mentor-mentee pairings tend to increase mentees' efficacy and motivation, bolster commitment, enhance instructional quality, and positively enhance student achievement. In response to situations in which school-provided mentoring is not possible or where music mentees receive a school-assigned, non-music mentor, an increasing number of…

This paper examines alternative teacher certification in the NCREL region (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin), reviewing relevant literature, analyzing current Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) data, reviewing information on alternative certification programs in these states, and offering results from a survey of…

In an effort to accommodate mandated standards-based assessment for measuring pre-service teacher quality, the Teacher Education Program at The University of Iowa has used for the last decade a web-based electronic portfolio system--ePortfolio[TM]--to help pre-service teachers document fulfillment of professional teaching standards throughout…

"Education Matters" is the monthly newsletter of the Association of American Educators (AAE), an organization dedicated to advancing the American teaching profession through personal growth, professional development, teacher advocacy and protection. This issue of the newsletter includes: (1) Misread: Why Congress Isn't Giving Her the…