Discusses the Maryland School Performance Assessment (MSPAP), addressing the benefits of MSPAP and the teachers' call for assistance. Focuses on the use of the Internet to (1) disseminate information about assessment to parents and students and (2) offer professional development for teachers on instructional and assessment strategies. (CMK)

This paper describes the infusion of technology training into a university's special education program for intern teachers. As the teachers participate in their core classes they have the opportunity to immediately consider and plan for incorporating technology into their teaching to assist their special needs students. Through their class…

A study identified competencies high school industrial arts courses can develop that would be valuable to students who enroll in postsecondary programs. Its purpose was to develop a basis for recruiting students for high school industrial arts courses. Data were collected through a national survey of directors of one- and two-year postsecondary…

Skill acquisition is conceptualized as a three-step process in which students sequentially know about, understand, and apply a skill. Skills are described as conceptually based actions whose performance in the classroom is dependent upon cognitive factors. Written classroom simulations are described as one effective means of measuring…

A microteaching teacher-preparation strategy and the traditional instructional approach were compared. The complexities of a manipulative demonstration were broken down into identifiable and teachable skills. The greater effectiveness of the microteaching strategy was attributed in part to the reduced number of skills the student concentrated on…

The need for and proficiency in 15 competencies as viewed by practicing teachers are examined, along with teacher perceptions of where the competencies were developed. Major elements for which responses were solicited were planning instruction, managing instruction, providing the learning environment, evaluation, and being a professional. Summary…

Preservice training workshops involving instructions, role-playing, and feedback have been effectively utilized to train Teaching Parents for community-based homes for the treatment of youth in trouble. The present study extended this workshop model to the inservice training and followup of institutional cottage workers as they served retarded…

Reports on some growth points in the use of microteaching techniques. (Editor)

The neglect of the study of pedagogy in teacher education programs is discussed. Excessive emphasis has been placed on the instruction of theory in the preparation of teachers. The practical application of general teaching skills and their effective application to practice is the central element in the study of pedagogy. (JN)

A teacher's understanding of any teaching behavior or skill must be tested in the context of actual teaching. However, practice that is unenlightened by understanding and by the mastery of concepts about teaching behaviors and skills is of uncertain value in teacher training. (JN)

The present body of teachers of the arts represent neither the best performers in the arts, nor the best teachers in the sense of learning facilitation. This double deficit in teaching competencies was discussed with reference to the need for inservice training. (Author/RK)

Many children with disabilities attend Catholic schools, but the resources to serve these children adequately are limited. Teacher assistants are increasingly being used to meet this need by assisting students with disabilities in regular classrooms. The authors maintain that such assistants can be effectively used in Catholic schools for this…

A program successful in developing the teaching skills of both experienced and new faculty members at The Autonomous University of the North East (Universidad Autonoma del Noreste) at Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico, is described. The program has incorporated several literature-based features of effective programs: presentation of supportive theory of…