The research literature on educational technology has identified a number of important contextual factors that influence how technology is used in educational settings. For six years, the Education Development Center (EDC) has used a variety of methods to investigate the multiple ways in which the Intel Teach to the Future Essentials professional…

This manual represents the collective philosophy and procedures from Texas educators who are actively involved in the management of successful mentoring and induction programs. It is offered as a guideline for school districts, universities, education service centers, or individuals who are developing or enriching mentoring and induction programs.…

The Professional Development Laboratory (P.D.L.) is a model for staff development in which experienced teachers serve as peer coaches for other teachers who want to refine their skills, learn and practice new skills, and share classroom techniques with one another, in selected New York City school districts. Visiting teachers spend 3 to 4 week…

Elementary school students from kindergarten through eighth grade (N=202) used a Student Perceptions instrument to rate the behaviors of the novice and master teachers with whom they worked routinely. Assessments occurred at the beginning of the school year, in October, and near the end of the school year, in May. A 1989 study using primary grades…

A study examined the ability of master teachers to maintain the learning environment and those competencies by which they were awarded master teacher rating. The five subjects studied were physical education teachers who obtained their Master Teacher degree at West Virginia University during the 1982-83 school year and who had been evaluated for…

This paper illustrates the tensions that can arise between mentors and administrators as they seek to implement a new definition of their respective roles. The paper focuses on the strains of the mentor/principal relationship in the Los Angeles Unified School District, California. The problem examined is that of the complications faced by mentor…

In response to national calls for educational reform, Maine's legislature established a career ladder certification system with three steps: provisional, professional, and master teacher. The goal was to tie teacher advancement to evidence of improved teaching and classroom management. The 1984 plan required that teacher committees develop…

This document presents notes on the thoughts, wishes, problems, and ideas that came from two and a half days of discussion by leaders of twenty teachers' centers. The notes are divided into four sections, corresponding to the topics addressed: teachers' study groups, the role of the advisor, community involvement, and evaluation. In the first…

NEW JERSEY IS NOW REQUIRING ALL TEACHERS APPLYING FOR A SUBSTANDARD CERTIFICATE WHO HAVE NOT DONE APPROVED STUDENT TEACHING TO PARTICIPATE IN AN INSERVICE SUPERVISED TEACHING PROGRAM. FOR EIGHT SEMESTER HOURS EXTENDING OVER TWO COLLEGE TERMS, THE TEACHER IS HELPED BY SCHOOL AND COLLEGE SUPERVISORS TO (1) PLAN DAILY AND WEEKLY PROGRAMS, (2) DEVELOP…

THE COMPREHENSIVE HIGH SCHOOL SHOULD PROVIDE A BROAD GENERAL EDUCATION FOR ALL, WITH A PHASED CURRICULUM CENTERED ON MAJOR, SERVICEABLE IDEAS. IT SHOULD ALSO PROVIDE VOCATIONAL TRAINING AND GUIDANCE. IN A COMPREHENSIVE DISTRICT, IT CAN TRULY INDIVIDUALIZE INSTRUCTION. SPECIFIC CONSIDERATIONS ON WHICH THE NEED FOR A COMPREHENSIVE DISTRICT ARE BASED…

The purpose of the study reported in this five-chapter document was to develop a model of differentiated teaching personnel based on student learning needs and to test the rationale for developing that model. The resultant semantic model (presented and illustrated in chapter 4 of the report) is designed to provide for effective interaction between…

Circumstances which tend to make teacher education a lower-status role among professional education faculty are examined. Promising practices are identified, and suggestions for establishing a new, shared epicenter for teacher education are offered. (MT)

Discusses the teacher accountability movement in relation to the implementation of teacher-centered mastery approaches in effective schools. Focuses on schoolwide issues, instructional support personnel, institutional support mechanisms, mastery learning, and school district accountability plans that promote student learning of high-level…

Explains provisions of the career ladder section of Tennessee's Comprehensive Education Reform Act including teacher levels, implementation, certification, evaluation procedures, involvement of the Tennessee Education Association, and rationale of legislators sponsoring this education reform package. (NEC)

Describes the career development plan adopted by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (North Carolina) Public Schools. Reviews the preparatory steps through which new teachers rise to career status. Assesses the role of "mentors" or master teachers, the administrator's role, and the impact of the teachers' action-growth plans. (PGD)