Chapter 13: Becoming a Professional Teacher

the steadily increasing political influence and status of teaching as a profession; National board certification, state-sponsored teacher networks, shared decision making, peer review, teacher-mentor programs, and the growing influence of teacher researchers

maintaining classroom discipline, motivating students, responding to individual differences, assessing students' work, maintaining positive relationships with parents, organizing classroom activities, securing adequate teaching materials and supplies, and dealing with problems of individual students

programs that provide teachers with support during their first year(s) in teaching; lead to improved teacher practices, increased student achievement, and increased teacher retention

opportunities for teachers in training to experience firsthand the world of the teacher by observing, tutoring, and instructing small groups

field experiences wherein a teacher education student observes a specific aspect of classroom life such as the students, the teacher, the interactions between the two, the structure of the lesson, or the setting

a brief, single-concept lesson taught by a teacher education student to a small group of students; usually designed to give the education student an opportunity to practice a specific teaching skill

an activity in which teacher education students participate in role-plays designed to create situations comparable to those actually encountered by teachers

a short field-based experience during which teacher education students spend time observing and assisting in classrooms

a journal of classroom observations in which the teacher education student systematically analyzes specific episodes of teaching

instruction provided by temporary teachers who replace regular teachers absent due to illness, family responsibilities, personal reasons, or attendance at professional workshops and conferences

a collection of various kinds of evidence documenting the achievement and performance of individuals in an area of professional practice

an intensive form of teaching in which a wise and experienced teacher (the mentor) inducts a student (the protégé) into a professional way of life

A teacher who combines part-time classroom teaching with leadership roles in a school or district.

A national network of schools that provide enriched, rigorous curricula to speed up the learning of students at risk.

The appraisal of teacher performance by recording classroom events in terms of their number of frequency.

The appraisal of teacher performance through the use of written, open-ended descriptions of classroom events in terms of their qualities.

A teacher who assumes a key leadership role in the improvement and/or day to day operation of the school.