This study compared preparing science teachers' attitudes towards tests, evaluation and mathematics to those of preparing non-science teachers (N=76) in an upper division psychology course at a state college in eastern Massachusetts. These three attitudes were measured using semantic differentials that assessed both the cognitive and affective…

This study examined the factors that contribute to learners' perceptions of the ease or difficulty of learning a specific task using a specific medium were studied, specifically whether the preconceptions of preservice teachers vary by learning domain (verbal, intellectual, affective, and psychomotor) or medium of presentation (interactive video,…

This paper outlines the application of Total Quality Management to schools and describes schools that are representative of the national trend toward Schools of Quality or Quality Schools. The traditional preparation program for teachers and administrators is described as being driven by certification requirements of the state departments of…

A pentagonal model, based on the star model of function understanding of C. Janvier (1987), is presented as a framework for the design and interpretation of research in the area of learning the concept of mathematical function. The five vertices of the pentagon correspond to five common representations of mathematical function: (1) graph; (2)…

This report on the supply of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) is based primarily on data from the Recent College Graduates (RCG) study of 1991. The survey, which was originally designed to provide information on NQTs alone, was expanded to cover graduates in all major fields of study; however, it continues to emphasize graduates qualified to teach…

The Early Childhood Program (ECP) at Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) was established to train students in the instruction of young children by providing them with theoretical knowledge, skills training, and practical experience. This report provides information on the philosophy, structure, and outcomes of the ECP. The first section…

In 1993 a new mathematics education program was implemented at Utah State University (Logan) in a cooperative effort of the university's Department of Elementary Education and Department of Mathematics and Statistics. The program is designed to increase teacher awareness and classroom utilization of teaching strategies that develop pupil…

To gather information on the importance of current educational-technology innovations for students in the IBM Teacher Preparation Program (an integrated Bachelor's and Master's program) at the University of Connecticut's School of Education, a survey was sent to all students enrolled in the program in April 1993. Responses were received from 115…

The findings of two studies conducted with resident teachers participating in alternative teacher certification programs at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee are reported in three reports; a summary and two study reports. The role of the teacher in diagnosing the physical and learning disabilities of students is not clearly identified, but…

The thoughts of a group of preservice teachers about classroom technology were studied by asking them to visualize their ideal classrooms. They were then asked to visualize, or visually represent, their thinking on paper by completing a map of the ideal classroom. Subjects were 106 education majors, 8 of whom were male. Classroom maps were…

This paper focuses on freshman-level students expecting to major in teacher education. In their long apprenticeship of observation as students, preservice teachers have acquired both a mass of information about schoolteaching and a subjective warrant to teach. In the introductory teacher education course, "Exploring Teaching," the…

Baseline data were gathered from 316 students in 3-year training programs at 6 New Zealand colleges of education in order to determine why the students chose to go into early childhood education, what early childhood service they expected to work in, and where they would be employed after they completed their training. Of the students who…

A divergent thinking (DT) test format, scored for flexible and original thinking, is presented. The DT test format, designed to assess teacher competencies and estimate the transfer of competencies to new situations, was administered to graduate students enrolled in a testing course. The DT format allowed students to list phrases and sentence…

A compilation of descriptions of graduate programs in the field of higher education is presented as prepared by the ASHE Committee on Curriculum, Instruction and Learning. The report is based on a survey of the 92 directors of masters and doctoral programs in higher education in the United States and Canada. For each of 65 respondents, one-page…

Doubts about the reading vocabulary adequacies of today's high school graduates led to an experiment with a list of 199 difficult words culled from the "Reader's Digest." College juniors and seniors (298 in the first stage and 388 in the second stage) were asked to indicate whether they knew the pronunciation and the meaning of the…