This paper discusses the increasing imperative for teachers who work in cultural settings other than their own to develop an understanding of their own world-view and the impact their assumptions about teachers, school, students, family and so on have on their teaching practice. The brief narrative of one cultural world-view provides an example of…

A study was conducted at Saint Louis Community College, in Missouri, to determine the characteristics that students associated with excellence in teaching. In the first phase of the study, an open-ended questionnaire was administered to 497 full-time students enrolled primarily in English, Natural Sciences, the Social Sciences, and Business…

The purpose of this study was to determine preservice secondary biology teachers' (N=18) ability to transmit knowledge of the subject to pupils through methodologies designed to translate theory into practice. The cooperating teachers (N=12) provided data regarding abilities demonstrated by the student teachers. The student teachers utilized 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…

Using three instances from elementary school teaching experience, the paper examines the ways in which subject matter knowledge influences pedagogical thinking. It is proposed that subject matter knowledge creates two major problems for teachers. First, it results in an explosion of the curricular landscape, for if teachers know subject matter…

A study was conducted to determine what distinguishes the practice of competent educators from that of untrained persons or colleagues who are less skilled. The population for the study was cooperative extension educators. Five individuals identified by district and state leaders as being exemplary in their practice were followed for three days…

Many new vocational, technical, and adult education (VTAE) teachers have never taught before and perhaps have never taken a professional education course. The Wisconsin Board of VTAE has developed a spiral curriculum for new VTAE teachers, designed to aquaint them with basic procedures for planning and presenting a lesson, supervising student…

This document presents four symposium papers on the theme of what might happen in teacher education program research and development if educational psychology were replaced by other bodies of theory, proposition, and research findings. Maxine Green's views, presented in "What the Known Demands," center around the necessity of considering teaching…

This bulletin contains the current specifications from which the questions on the professional education subtest of the Florida Teacher Certification Examination were developed. Information is provided on: (1) competencies and subskills tested by the subtest; (2) generic competencies evaluation strategies; (3) the content base for the professional…

The 13 papers that comprise this collection were, with certain exceptions, presented at the first and second annual meetings of the Society for the Study of Curriculum History. Papers by the society's members, who attempt to achieve more disciplined inquiry into the history of curriculum, include: (1) "What We Can Learn from Our Experiences…

A study to identify variables between more or less effective student teachers tested student gains in learning a psychomotor skill. The student teachers were observed as they trained students to perform the "handstand roll over" in physical education classes. Observation focused on content of instruction, skill attempt reactions, management of…

In response to the expressed needs of students for preparation materials and classes relevant to graduate entrance examinations, a course designed to provide a review of math topics was created as part of a reading and study skills laboratory. Reading specialists are able to interface math teaching with their varied training in diagnosis,…

The Teacher Performance Assessment Instruments (TPAI) were designed to determine (for certification purposes) how well teachers can demonstrate certain minimum teaching skills considered essential to effective teaching. An analysis of the five instruments which compose the TPAI is presented. The topics of the five instruments are: teaching plans…

Intended to help educators create defensible, differentiated programs for the gifted, the paper analyzes the rationale for such programs and discusses program planning aspects. The following topics are addressed: the need for conceptualization of different programs for the gifted; suggested program goals; program prototypes; curricula for gifted…

Following a brief history, rationale, and description of academic gaming, including game types and purposes, two case studies are presented in which game-plays of STARPOWER and THE ROAD GAME are observed and analyzed. In addition, practical suggestions for selecting, preparing for, and running a game and its post-play discussion are presented. For…