Donald J. Freeman

Do Textbooks Dictate the Content of Mathematics Instruction in Elementary Schools

The purposes of this investigation were to (a) describe teachers’ styles of textbook use and (b) examine the overlap between content taught and textbook content in elementary school mathematics. Using daily teacher logs and a three-dimensional classification system as guides, trained raters generated detailed classifications of all problems presented in books and all content presented to students over the course of an entire school year. The results of analyses of overlap between textbook content and content taught challenge the popular notion that elementary school teachers’ content decisions are dictated by the mathematics textbooks they use In each classroom studied, there were important differences between the curriculum of the text and teachers’ topic selection, content emphasis, and sequence of instruction.

Differences in Entry Characteristics of Elementary and Secondary Teacher Candidates

Comparisons of entry-level elementary and secondary educa tion majors at a large midwestern university revealed important differences in academic backgrounds, prior teaching experi ences, career plans, and professional expectations. The findings of the Book and Freeman study have clear implications for teacher education coursework and should be useful in making program development decisions.

How do teacher education faculty members define desirable teacher beliefs

Abstract Fifty-seven teacher educators described (a) how graduates of their programs should respond to each item in an educational beliefs inventory, and (b) the extent of coverage they provided for each belief in their courses. Desired beliefs were also compared with measures of educational beliefs from 896 entry-level teacher candidates. Major findings include: Although faculty members said most beliefs should be shaped in a particular direction, they often disagreed on the desired direction. Faculty members were more likely to reinforce prevailing beliefs they judged as appropriate than to challenge inappropriate beliefs or to encourage students to develop their own informed positions regarding open-ended educational issues.

Comparing Academic Backgrounds and Career Aspirations of Education and Non Education Majors

Questions concerning the abilities and background experiences of prospective teachers dominate the recent professional litera ture. Book, Freeman and Brousseau shed additional light on this topical area. A comparison of the academic and social back grounds and the bases for career decisions of teaching and non- teaching majors at a major university indicates that students choosing teaching as a career (a) are as academically competent as their non-teaching counterparts (b) are more concerned about helping others and (c) are less concerned about salaries.

Professional Orientations: An Essential Domain for Teacher Testing.

In the history of educational improvement and reform, teachers and teaching have all too often been taken for granted. The current reform differs from those of the past; teachers and teaching now are seen both as parts of the problem and, more important, as parts of any solution. What is needed seems clear-more competent and effective teachers. Knowing exactly what that means and how to accomplish it is less clear. The task is enormous; there are approximately 2.4 million teachers in the United States, with close to one million new teachers needed over the next five years. 1 Teacher-testing programs required by various states are central to the policies aimed at improving the quality of the teacher corps. As of 1984, over thirty states had introduced or were considering introducing a state test for teacher certification.2 Well over half of these states also had test-score requirements for entry into teachereducation programs.3 There is even talk of a national examination for teachers. To date, testing programs in teacher education have focused on

Do Higher Program Admission Standards Alter Profiles of Entering Teacher Candidates

Entry-level characteristics of teacher candidates who satisfied higher program admission standards were compared with those of candidates who did not. The authors found that those who met the standards scored higher on most, but not all, measures of achievement. The two groups expressed similar educational beliefs and levels of commitment to teaching.

Practical Significance in Program Evaluation

Defining practical significance in program evaluations is a difficult measurement problem, which can only be solved by an intimate familarity with the measures upon which effects are estimated, and their substantive relationship with the goals of the program being evaluated. Past attempts to describe the “size of effect” of instructional programs have characteristically relied on statistical indices that can be estimated and reported without any knowledge of what was measured. This practice is shown to be misdirected. Instead, what is called for is a procedure whereby the substantive instructional intentions of the program, the substantive characteristics of a test, and the interrelationship between the two are made explicit.

Validity as a Variable

In the judicial case of Debra P. v. Turlington, the courts addressed the concept of validity as it pertained to the Florida Functional Literacy examination. Because the test was to be used in certifying functional literacy required for high school graduation, much was at stsake. Out of the controversy surrounding the examination and its use, two new types of validity emerged; curricular validity and instructional validity. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the meaning of these two new types of validity, to show where they fit within the psychometrics tradition, and to touch on some of the practical considerations involved with determining the extent to which a test has curricular and/or instructional validity.

Secondary School Reform: What Does the Public Say?.

Principals know what the studies have recommended to improve secondary schools, but do they know with any accuracy what their publics are saying about the recommendations? This article will help principals to know more exactly what their publics are thinking about the reform movement and at what level they are willing to support the recommendations.

Advice to Doctoral Guidance Committees from Alumni at Two Universities.

This investigation provided a comparative analysis of results of follow-up studies of graduates of doctoral programs at Ohio State and Michigan State universities. The same questionnaire survey and similar sampling procedures were used in both settings. The survey considered alumni perceptions of guidance committee activities, course work, comprehensive examinations, and dissertations. Most findings were consistent across both institutions (e.g., about one-fifth of the graduates from both universities wish they had taken more course work in research methodology). However, some striking contrasts were also found (e.g., the proportion of graduates who published articles based on their dissertations was 40% at one university and 23% at the other). The report offers recommendations for doctoral guidance committees suggested by the findings.