Alternative teacher certification (ATC) programs offer one method to help alleviate teacher shortages. While much debate has arisen over ATC programs, very few have empirically examined their impact on the teaching pool. The present study was designed to explore differences by certification type and program characteristics based on novice…

A description is given of an alternative to long-term mentor training. Under this orientation model, mentors are introduced to the mentoring task through a one-day formal training program in which the district makes clear what it expects of mentors, including a review of what has worked well in the past. Prospective mentors are encouraged to feel…

The Beginning Teacher Assistance Program (BTAP) was piloted in the state of Washington during the 1985-86 school year. Each of 89 beginning teachers was assigned a mentor teacher to provide continuing and sustained support during the school year. A survey of beginning teachers, mentors, and school principals at the end of the school year yielded…

This digest focuses on the evolution of beginning teacher induction programs over the past two decades, and discusses the reasons why such programs are essential to the professional development of teachers. An overview is presented of existing induction programs, and observed outcomes of these programs are briefly discussed. In considering what…

The Model Teacher Induction Project will: (1) identify needs of beginning teachers; (2) develop and implement a model teacher induction program designed to meet those needs; (3) assess the effects of the model program on new teachers in a school setting; (4) inform the teacher education community about the program; (5) study the subsequent…

The Quality Assurance Teacher Education Program has been designed to provide students, graduates, and employers with assurance of program quality and effectiveness. Elements of the program are discussed. (DF)

Even though teacher education has been successful in preparing students for their future profession, the classroom reality can differ greatly from the inservice training. Many novice teachers therefore find the transition from student teacher to inservice teacher overwhelming To support beginning teachers, mentoring programs--where more…

Career and technical education (CTE) administrators are increasingly being forced to resort to filling CTE teacher positions by hiring industry experts for classroom teaching positions and subsequently using creative ways to develop qualified, certified, and exemplary CTE instructors. Traditional teacher mentoring and induction programs fail to…

This study compares classroom management behaviors of two groups: beginning teachers and teachers with one year of teaching experience. It also examines differences in the ability of beginning teachers and second-year teachers to incorporate classroom management training in the establishment and maintenance of learning environments. The analysis…

A cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted of Gordon, Kane, and Staiger's (2006) proposal to raise student achievement by identifying and replacing the bottom quartile of novice teachers, using value-added assessment of teacher performance. The cost effectiveness of this proposal was compared to the cost effectiveness of voucher programs, charter…

Productive strategies for evaluating outcomes are becoming increasingly important for the improvement, and even the survival, of teacher education. This article describes a set of research and assessment strategies used to evaluate program outcomes in the Stanford Teacher Education Program during a period of program redesign over the past 5 years.…

The Mentor Teacher-Internship (MT-I) Program is a major development in the theory, policy, and practice of teacher education in New York State. In the first year, 1986-87, 24 projects were designed and implemented. This report is organized into five parts. Part 1 provides an introduction and overview of the evaluation study and contains…

The Houston (Texas) Independent School District's teacher induction program utilizes the services of both mentors and teacher scholars. The mentors provide a variety of support services for the inductees at the building level, focusing on the pedagogical, emotional, and social adjustment needs of the inductees. The mentors receive a total of 12…

This study describes the impact of certain state-mandated beginning teacher programs on the transition from student to teacher. Program impact was considered at a number of levels: ideological/societal, institutional, instructional, and personal. Sixteen beginning teachers in two states with mandated induction programs were studied throughout…

This digest describes teacher mentoring and its different applications. A list of 10 characteristics and activities inherent in any mentor-protege relationship is provided. A discussion is presented on the ways that mentoring, an essentally informal process, has been formalized in business firms and school systems. In considering the benefits that…