The foreign language program in the Edison, New Jersey public schools is described. The exemplary features of this program are: (1) It is not limited to college-bound students, (2) a significant provision is made for program advocacy, and (3) there are full four- and six-year sequences in French, Spanish, and German. (PMJ)

Presented is a conceptualization of a science-teaching practicum and exploration of supervision dialogue between a student teacher of grade nine science and his supervising teacher. The Schon "hall of mirrors" model of supervision is utilized. The model focuses on "parallelisms" that are created at times between the practice of…

Examines the nature of the relationship between student teachers and associate teachers through a collaborative research project. The study utilized interviews, observations, and journal entries to determine positive and negative aspects. Benefits included new ideas, energetic presentations, and relief time for the teacher. Drawbacks included…

Discussed is the elementary science teacher curriculum and its role in students' interest in science. Qualifications, teacher attitudes about science, college preparation, hands-on experience, science instruction, science method instruction, and the role of the administrator are described in terms of effective elementary science programs. (KR)

Through a collaborative process, mentor teachers at one elementary Professional Development School developed a cohort model for supervision of preservice teachers. Teams of mentor teachers guide the planning of teaching and other experiences, provide formulative feedback, and guide self-reflection for preservice teachers. The university liaison…

Despite the administrative leadership that most principals receive in university courses, their most useful learning doesn't occur until they are on the job. The new knowledge--much of it the result of trial and error, success and failure--is gained in relative isolation. This book focuses on the critical work of school principals, offering…

Effective supervision of student teachers has become a growing concern for teacher educators due to the increased emphasis placed on field experience in teacher preparation programs. Lacking an effective means of providing intervention, feedback, and reinforcement during the process, supervisors, both cooperating teachers and university based…

Pedagogical correctness "is characterized by a set of 'right' and often avant-garde beliefs about how the curriculum and schools should be structured." When supervisors avoid supervisory methods that are considered not "pedagogically correct" or fail to adopt practices considered incorrect, instructional improvement is likely to be compromised.…

The challenges facing urban elementary and secondary schools are like those facing suburban and rural schools, but there are complex circumstances that complicate efforts by urban school systems to carry out their mission. Schools in the cities have more students from impoverished homes, more foreign-born or minority group students, and more…

A comprehensive approach to the supervision and training of teaching assistants (TAs) in the proficiency-based classroom might include a pre-service workshop, in-service methodology courses linked to appropriate teaching assignments, and systematic observations and evaluations of their performance as instructors. An intensive pre-service workshop…

This paper summarizes research on teacher attitudes and performance under clinical supervision. The literature for comparative studies of inservice personnel (not student teachers) in elementary and secondary schools was extensively searched. The 19 complete and 4 in-progress studies reported are grouped as follows: (1) attitudes toward…

A study examined the effectiveness of university supervisors' feedback on the Academic Learning Time in Physical Education (ALT-PE) of students in two student teachers' classes. Subjects used in this study were secondary school pupils (chosen at random) in two student teachers' physical education classes. Students were observed 13 times for a 40…

The social climate in Manitoba has led, in the past 25 years, to an expectation of school reform that has been translated into varieties of political action. However, most of the reforms, instituted by government policymakers, have fallen short of public expectations. This paper explores lessons to be taken from these experiences in school reform…

To guarantee an efficient educational system, effective evaluation and supervision of teacher performance are necessary. However, the evaluation of teacher performance presents two major problems: first, no clear definition or measure of effective teaching exists, and second, evaluation is perceived to have conflicting purposes, either as a…

Focusing on four methods of teacher evaluation (principal visits, student evaluations, achievement tests, and peer evaluations), attitudes of elementary and secondary school teachers in Florida and Utah were gathered through interviews and questionnaires. Teachers expressed little or no hostility to principal visits, but viewed them as perfunctory…