Urges in-service education and training (INSET) participants to be well informed of goals and involved in planning. Concludes that most participants are positive about the activities' design and execution despite extensive criticism about the value of INSET. Presents data about program participants' and trainers' opinions and beliefs about…

This document reports on the qualities of a good urban teacher as perceived by urban early childhood and elementary school teachers in 1988. A review of the educational literature indicates that the characteristics of good teaching reflected the time period in which the teachers lived and were prepared. This study focused on preschool, substitute,…

This study examined the behavioral expectations and norms for college and university faculty particularly whether they varied with respect to the level of commitment to teaching at different institutions and in different disciplines. A cluster sampling design was used to select a random sample of the population of faculty in biology, history,…

A study in a remote, rural, mid-Atlantic school system assessed how teachers regarded the curriculum and their instructional needs; 226 personnel directly related to instructional services responded to the questionnaire, 42 were interviewed, and 72 were observed in classroom settings. Teachers generally rated themselves much more favorably than…

The Aronberg Project is an attempt to improve the mathematical competence of socially deprived students of small development towns. The main focus of the project is the enhancement of mathematics teacher competency and didactic skills. The purposes of this report are to: (1) describe the various activities of the Aronberg Project; (2) document the…

Research on teacher education has been shifting from the emphasis on changing teachers' behaviors to investigating how teachers' mental thinking influences their teaching behaviors. Teachers' beliefs and planning are two important components among teacher thinking research. The purposes of this study are to uncover preservice secondary science…

Discusses the results of two questionnaires given to two groups of newly certified primary teachers in England. The cohorts answered questions concerning the training they had received and, 20 weeks into their new jobs, the nature of the demands they had experienced. Includes statistical and tabular data. (MJP)

Twenty-eight rural elementary teachers showed positive changes in attitude toward perceived competencies in teaching physical sciences and students showed statistically significant cognitive gains as a result of teacher participation in a 4-month project. Teachers attended four workshops, hosted three on-site visits by university science…

Surveys preservice and experienced music teachers to discover opinions on what specific skills are important for the first three years of teaching. Teachers rated skills using a Likert-type scale. Includes a list of the skills, statistical analysis of responses, brief literature review, and summary of the results. (MJP)

Professional teacher educators recognize that the body of knowledge about teaching and learning is today more substantive, consistent, and authoritative than ever before. It should also be acknowledged, however, that too little of that knowledge is incorporated into the preservice education of teachers. This volume, containing 12 papers presented…

Elementary school teacher candidates typically enter their professional training with deficiencies in their conceptual understanding of the topics of elementary school mathematics and with a reliance upon procedural (algorithmic) approaches to the solutions of mathematical problems. If elementary school teacher candidates are expected to teach…

This collection of 14 first-hand accounts from experienced and accomplished learning technology practitioners highlights issues in using learning technologies for flexible, distance, and open learning. The papers are as follows: "Using Learning Technologies: An Introduction" (Margaret Haughey); "Naming the Learning Technology Issues…