Evaluating the Effectiveness of University Programs for Teacher Education.

Overview & Synopsis

This paper suggests a number of steps for evaluating the effectiveness of teacher education programs. The contents include: "Introduction," which looks at studies documenting the need for improved teacher education, educational accountability, and ten models for teacher preparation; "Role of the University in Teacher Education," which discusses the cybernetic principles of task analysis and instrument analysis for evaluating teacher education programs; "Leads to Marked Program Improvement," which emphasizes the importance of professional organizations setting standards which novice teachers are expected to meet, college educators suggesting changes for undergraduate courses, school systems communicating their expectations in the preparation of teachers, and colleges adopting competency-based teacher education programs for the realization of long term and short term goals; and "Conclusion," which stresses that the validity of a teacher education program is determined by the performance of teachers in the classroom. (WR)