Examines emerging trends in teacher education, focusing on accountability, alternatives, and demand. Discusses high stakes testing for teachers, the impact of teacher quality on student learning, alternative teacher certification, the role of community colleges in teacher preparation, and the true nature of the much-publicized teacher shortage.…

Addresses four common barriers to academic writing and publishing: identifying appropriate journals that might publish one's work; making time to write; organizing information and the writing process; and continuing productive writing while waiting to hear from a journal, and learning from rejection. (SV)

Compares Angoff and Nedelsky methods for setting passing scores on tests. Using one of the methods, 84 college students were taught to estimate their probable scores on a vocabulary test. Estimates were compared to their later actual scores. The Nedelsky method was considerably less accurate under certain conditions, and both methods…

A Wisconsin program aimed to amplify the achievement benefits of class-size reduction by requiring supplementary pupil services, a standards-based curriculum, and related staff development and accountability. In one urban school district implementing the program, the program's achievement gains were marginalized by high per-student costs and…

A study examined the academic success rates of 484 high school students enrolled in Collegiate Connection (CC)--a high school/university dual enrollment program in the Fort Wayne (Indiana) area. The grades of CC students surpassed those of college freshmen in all seven courses where enrollments allowed meaningful comparisons. (Contains 26…

Suggests that stories about the classroom experiences of expert teachers can provide novice or struggling teachers with knowledge useful to their own situations. Presents a cyclical model of learning from expert stories--the textual assimilation interchange--in which the text of the story brings the reader (learner) into the expert's world and…

Predictions about the future of education are made against a backdrop of the history of the university and the historical effects of technology on higher education and education in general. The role of the university professor will shift from content area expert to that of instructional developer, instructional troubleshooter, and instructional…

Teacher educators and policy makers must provide teachers with the tools, processes, and supports to help students across the socioeconomic spectrum achieve standards according to their multiple intelligences while avoiding undermining influences of reductionism, superficiality, inequity, and pseudo-change. Seven elements for successful reform…

Teacher education lacks structural coherence, often results in training regimens or decoupled practices but not professional education experiences, and resists change. Two reforms to enhance professionalism are proposed: creating tracked programs that consider special populations and contexts, such as rural or Catholic schools, and developing…

The bilingual education debate often focuses solely on quick mastery of English versus native language maintenance, ignoring the more important issue of overall academic success for English language learners. Research suggests that the effectiveness of late-exit bilingual programs may be related to their provision of long-term academic support and…

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction proposes to eliminate "stand-alone" teacher certification in bilingual education (BE) or English as a second language (ESL), creating an ESL/BE license to be added to an elementary or secondary license. The proposal promotes ESL/BE licensure of subject area teachers but ignores foreign language…

Examines essential components of quality two-way bilingual immersion programs. Discusses language acquisition research underlying context-embedded content-area instruction in a second language; research on the benefits of bilingualism in terms of academic, cognitive, and metalinguistic development; and the link between bilingualism and positive…

Examines the educational foundations of a proposed two-way bilingual/bicultural charter school for adolescent Latino parents in Milwaukee (Wisconsin). Discusses teenage pregnancy in the two contexts of Hispanic cultural values and educational alternatives available to teen parents in Milwaukee; the school-community partnership; and arguments for…

"Hmong Language, Culture, and Learning" is a new required course for ESL and bilingual education minors at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Course elements include ethnographic research within the Hmong community; classroom discussion of Hmong language, culture, and learning issues; observing/volunteering in bilingual Hmong/English classrooms; and…

A third-grade teacher and an English-as-a-second-language (ESL) teacher collaborated to ensure the academic success of English language learners through "a priori" teaching. The ESL support teacher used verbal and interactive strategies to pre-teach key concepts, skills, and academic language relevant to the subject matter being covered in the…