Robert F. McNergney

Educating for democracy : case-method teaching and learning

Contents: Preface. Part I: Using Case Methods in Teacher Education. R.F. McNergney, E.R. Ducharme, M.K. Ducharme, Teaching Democracy Through Cases. M.R. Sudzina, Organizing Instruction for Case-Based Teaching. T.W. Kent, Making Connections: The Democratic Classroom and the Internet. V.J. Risko, C.K. Kinzer, The Power of Multimedia Cases to Invite Democratic Teaching and Learning. A. McAninch, More and Less Acceptable Case Analyses: A Pragmatist Approach. Part II: Cases. E.R. Ducharme, M.K. Ducharme, Leslie Turner: A Teacher Under Stress. B. Hallenbeck, A Case of Cruel and All-Too-Usual Punishment. E. Potter, A Delicate Dilemma: Religion in the Classroom. D.S. Libby, Stripped of Dignity. J.M. Herbert, M.E. Hrabe, The Unwritten Amendment: Freedom of Curriculum. T.D. Peacock, C.E. Keller, H. Rallis, A Case of Freedom to Learn: Balancing the Needs and Rights of All Children. C.A. Grant, Full Democracy by Students of Color: A Case From Two Urban Classrooms.

Should a Master's Degree Be Required of All Teachers?

The feasibility of requiring a masters degree for teachers is explored. Several states that require teachers to obtain a masters degree are identified. Evidence on the impact of a masters degree or advanced study on teaching effectiveness is reviewed to show that the relationship between graduate study and teaching success is modest. The cost of such a proposal in Virginia is esti mated. On the basis of policy considerations, empirical data, and the cost analysis, it is con cluded that a universal masters degree requirement is an inefficient method for improving ele mentary and secondary education.

Telecommunications in Teacher Education: reflections on the first Virtual Team Case Competition

ABSTRACT In the spring of 1994, the University of Virginia piloted the first Virtual Team Case Competition. This event combined telecommunications and case‐method teaching to promote the use of technology and problem solving among teams of pre‐service teachers from three countries. Participating teams subscribed to a general mailing list to receive instructions, a schedule of events, and a case based on a real classroom situation. Teams had approximately ten days to email their analyses of the case to judges and to administrators of the competition. Judges scored each teams responses to the teaching case and to follow‐up questions and sent their evaluations by private email to the administrators. Results of the competitition were then posted over the mailing list. This paper describes both how the competition worked and what we learned from our experiment with the first Virtual Team Case Competition.

Training for Pedagogical Decision Making

The University of Virginia program focuses on creating a reasonable blend of the available empirical research on teaching and the knowledge that comes from other sources such as the wisdom of practice. The authors describe how new methodological and technological developments are used to enhance the pedagogical knowledge and skills of pre service teachers. Of particular interest is howthe UVa preservice curriculum inter faces with the curricular focus of the Virginia Beginning Teacher Assistance Program.

Making and Implementing Policy on Teacher Licensure

The authors describe one states efforts to formulate and implement policy with regard to the licensure (or certification) of its public school teachers. They dis cuss conditions that led to the develop ment of certification policy, the rather unique evaluation system that was de veloped to assess teacher competence, and the assistance provided by the state to those teachers who fail to demon strate the competencies required for cer tification. Consideration is also given to factors that will eventually determine the success or failure of this policy and similar policies in other states.

Assessing Professional Decision-Making Abilities

This paper describes a computer-based method of diagnosing supervisors’ abilities to make professional decisions, with supervisors being defined as principals, staff developers, and /or curriculum coordinators in elementary or secondary schools. The diagnostic approach-Teacher Development Decision Exercises or TeDDEx-was designed to simulate the assessment of supervisors’ abilities to use their professional knowledge to solve problems encountered with teachers in the field. Preactive or planning decisions were the focus of the exercises.