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Pages 1-8

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From page 1...
... Department of Education requested that the National Research Council conduct a study of teacher preparation with specific attention to reading, mathematics, and science. The Committee on the Study of Teacher Preparation Programs in the United States was charged to address four questions: 1.
From page 2...
... HOW TEACHERS ARE PREPARED AND CERTIFIED The lack of data related to the first two questions in our charge, about the characteristics of teacher candidates and how they are prepared, is surprising -- at the very least because of the huge scale of the enterprise. There are approximately 3.6 million public school elementary and secondary teachers in 90,000 public schools in the United States.
From page 3...
... Other available research included descriptive and qualitative studies about many aspects of teaching and learning in the three subjects and a substantial body of empirical work on learning and cognition. In addition, the relevant professional organizations have drawn on the available research and their own intellectual traditions and experience as educators to develop content and achievement standards for students and for teachers and, in some cases, for teacher education.
From page 4...
... In science, the key points are similar to those for mathematics teachers: a grounding in college-level study of the science disciplines suitable to the age groups and subjects they intend to teach; understanding of the objectives for students' science learning; understanding of the way students develop science proficiency; and command of an array of instructional approaches designed to develop students' learning of the content, intellectual conventions, and other attributes essential to science proficiency. This was the picture we found of the evidence relevant to teacher preparation.
From page 5...
... These obstacles partly account for the paucity of strong empirical evidence regarding the effects of teacher preparation. Yet we believe that building knowledge about teacher preparation, as in any field of scholarly inquiry, requires ambitious and creative approaches to empirically examining causal relationships.
From page 6...
... A comprehensive data system for teacher preparation would provide meaningful information about teacher candidates, preparation programs, practicing teachers, the schools where those teachers teach, and the students they teach: that is, it would incorporate indicators beyond standardized test scores, degree title, courses taken, or certification category. These data would be integrated so that information about teacher candidates and their preparation can be connected with their knowledge, teaching practices, career paths, school environments, and student outcomes.
From page 7...
... Federal and state policy makers need reliable, outcomesbased information to make sound decisions, and teacher educators need to know how best to contribute to the development of effective teachers. Clearer understanding of the content and character of effective teacher preparation is critical to improving it and to ensuring that the same critiques and questions are not being repeated 10 years from now.


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