This paper presents a quasi-experimental evaluation of a required, teaching-focused, new faculty program at a large research university. The study makes use of institutional data, including student evaluations of teaching and faculty participation in educational development activities, which are available on many campuses yet rarely used in…

Guided by new structuralism theory, this study examined the context of novice teacher socialization, identified the frequency and substance of interactions between novice teachers and their mentors and other colleagues, and reported on novices' evaluation of the support that they received. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with…

Formal mentoring programs focus on the probationary period of new teachers. Providing teachers with mentoring support during the initial years of teaching requires significant commitment and investment from school districts, mentors, and new teachers. Numerous studies argue the merits of mentoring programs, yet the research has been less clear…

The purpose of this study was to examine to what extent a teacher education program prepares teacher candidates to be effective urban educators who are reflective, innovative, and committed to diversity based on the perceptions and insight from students. As the nation grapples with an extreme range of outputs from our public schools, an…

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…

Helping novice teachers both improves their effectiveness and increases the likelihood they will remain in teaching. Ignoring the needs of novices is costly, in terms of both student achievement and teacher turnover. This brief discusses the strategies used by districts as they strive to offer high quality induction programs in an environment of…

The demand to prepare increased numbers of qualified teachers for urban schools continues to represent a major challenge nationwide. In Michigan, Wayne State University, the Detroit Public Schools, the Michigan Department of Education, and the Detroit Federation of Teachers have collaborated to design and implement an alternative certification…

Presents and discusses results from a study of effective mentoring programs for beginning teachers in Michigan. Discusses identifying and training mentors, designing a framework for mentoring programs, mentoring methodologies, and planning and evaluating the programs. Notes that money for such programs, while helpful, is not necessary. Argues that…

Measuring History complements the cases presented in Wise Social Studies Practices (Yeager & Davis, 2005). Yeager and Davis highlight the rich and ambitious teaching that can occur in the broad context of state-level testing. In this book, the chapter authors and I bring the particular state history tests more to the fore and examine how…