Field experience has long been considered a valuable component to the professional development of prospective teachers. This paper describes a program to determine whether consistent training and support of the participants in supervised field experiences would impact the overall achievement of prospective teachers and increase each participant's…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined case-study teaching methods, specifically, the use of case stories in the training of educational administrators. A case story blends aspects of the case-study methods with storytelling. The case-story approach asks students to develop case stories, using their personal experience to create…

This paper explores Luce Irigaray's analysis of gesture in the "praticable" and considers resonances and dissonances between the analytical/conference scene and the pedagogical exchange. Irigaray is a French language philosopher, linguist, and psychoanalyst who uses the French term "praticable" of psychoanalytic practice to…

Case-based teaching as a strategy to effectively weave theory, practice, and problem-solving into the preservice teacher education curriculum is gaining momentum in the preparation of future teachers. Teacher educators have discovered that the case study method provides a valuable link to the "real world" of teaching as well as…

This instructional guide is designed for use by Peace Corps volunteers in teaching basic skills to rural residents of Mali through practical activities on school grounds. Four instructional units provide background information, definitions, illustrated descriptions of procedures, data tables, and suggested exercises for teaching in these areas:…

This research goes with a new tendency in the field of educational psychology--the study not only of students' motivation but also of teachers' motivation. However, the studies of teacher motivation had been only to acknowledge the factors to motivate teachers, without the analysis of motivation as a process that contains several cognitive…

This practical guide is one of a series aimed at assisting academics in higher education in researching specific aspects of their work. Focusing on small-scale insider research in colleges and universities, the handbook covers contemporary issues, research methods, and existing practice and values in the area of assessment and evaluation. Issues,…

Case study as a research methodology was used to provide a dense description and examination of many of the complex factors in the experiences of three selected student teachers and their cooperating teachers. This research effort examined the real or perceived effects of cooperating teachers' supervision on student teachers' attitudes,…

Problem-based learning (PBL) offers students the opportunity to apply the appropriate knowledge to a well-defined problem, allowing students to apply academic problem-solving skills to their own real-life problems. This paper describes outcomes of a PBL program that was used as a tool for school improvement in three South Carolina schools--one…

Professional development is a crucial component in nearly every modern proposal for educational improvement. This book contains a collection of essays by individuals well known for their work in the professional development of educators. Each essay is a systematic effort to illustrate the conceptual grounds from which each professional-development…

This report examines and critiques specific aspects of instruction of two modules of an undergraduate program in Teaching English as a Second Language (BATESL) and describes attempts to transform the curriculum to more effectively foster and reflect applications of theory to the realities of the Hong Kong English as a Foreign Language (EFL)…

A study by teacher education students identified the views on teacher education of 12 professors and administrators involved in teacher education at a large university in the Midwest. It was hoped that these perspectives would provide insights into possible areas of growth and change, and capture various visions of an "ideal" teacher…

Local responsibility for school development in Sweden has led to new possibilities for teacher improvement. This paper looks at using the potential of action research generated by the decentralization for the inservice training of teachers. Decentralization offered opportunities for inservice development work through special funding for projects,…

This paper reports on a study of teacher development practices in Turkey, exploring teachers' perceptions of professional development opportunities in the Turkish elementary school, and the extent to which elementary school teachers believe that these opportunities have helped them improve their instructional practices. Of the 500 teachers from 52…

This report summarizes results of three focus groups which examined teachers' ideas and attitudes about the utility of research on the practice of teaching reading to students with learning disabilities and about forms of communication that would make research information more useful. The focus groups were part of a larger project designed to…