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Applying a modified-Delphi technique, this research study sought consensus from business education mentor teachers regarding the top three areas in which business education student teachers were prepared as well as underprepared for their roles as teachers. Further, the mentor teachers provided recommendations for business education teacher preparation programs to implement to better prepare their teacher candidates for the student teaching internship. To that end, the mentor teachers did not gain consensus on the top three areas their student teachers were most prepared. However, they did agree classroom management and working with special needs' students were among the top three areas their student teachers were least prepared. The mentor teachers agreed business education teacher preparation programs could provide more experiences with classroom management in public schools and provide their teacher candidates with more information about the workload and commitment needed to be effective teachers.

Background: The student teaching internship is the culminating experience and has been cited as the most significant, exciting, and difficult experience teacher candidates will encounter throughout their entire teacher preparation program. In order to prepare business teacher candidates for their internships, it is critical to understand the issues and challenges they will face during their student teaching. Purpose: As such, the purpose of this research study was to explore the unique lived experiences and frames of references of business teacher candidates regarding their issues, challenges, and barriers during their student teaching internships. Method: A qualitative phenomenological approach was implemented based on three data sources: (a) an online questionnaire; (b) a semistructured focus group interview; and (c) an analysis of weekly journal reflections. Results: Based on 16 business student teachers, this qualitative study found three primary concerns: (a) addressing classroom management; (b) issues with the quadratic relationship; and (c) having compromising priorities. Conclusions and Recommendations: Thus, it is critical that teacher educators discuss strategies and techniques for classroom management, help form synergistic relationships with qualified and passionate mentor teachers and university supervisors, and only assign coursework that are critical for the development of the student teachers in their internships.

The majority of studies regarding the preparation of teachers in the area of content knowledge indicate there is a lack of deeper understanding of the subject matter in which teachers are licensed to teach (Wilson, Floden, & Ferrini-Mundy, 2001). The purpose of this Delphi research study was to identify the perceptions of recent business education graduates in regard to their preparedness to teach the content areas in which they were licensed to teach, and the university coursework and clinical and field experiences that were most helpful in preparing them for their first year of teaching. Based on 30 recent business education graduates from a Midwestern university, results from this study indicated the respondents were most prepared to teach Computer Applications, Keyboarding/Word Processing, and Personal Finance/Consumer Education. The participants perceived they were unprepared to teach Computer Programming, Web Page and Interactive Media, and Economics. Participants also believed that student teaching was the most beneficial component of their teacher preparation program, followed by business education and Methods courses. Implications of this study call for business teacher educators to examine the perceptions of their graduates regarding their preparation to teach in order to revamp curricula to equip their graduates with the necessary knowledge, skills, and dispositions to be effective teachers for the 21st century classroom.

This study examined the validity of various measures of speed and accuracy for assessing proficiency in speech recognition. The study specifically compared two different word-count indices for speed and accuracy (the 5-stroke word and the 1.4-syllable standard word) on a timing administered to 114 speech recognition students measured at 1-, 2-, and 3-minute intervals. Speed scores measured by 5-stroke words were consistently 9% gross words a minute higher on 1-, 2-, and 3-minute timings than scores measured by 1.4-syllable standard words on the same timings; this difference was statistically significant. Speed increased with the length of timing; the effect was small but statistically significant. Accuracy scores were similar across assessment methods and length of timing. The findings indicate that the most valid and reliable measure of speech recognition speed was gross words a minute on timings with 1.4 syllabic intensity measured by the standard 1.4 syllable word count. In contrast to keyboarding timings, 1-minute, 2-minute, and 3-minute timings in speech recognition are reliable measures of speed and accuracy. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

Outlines seven essential questions to guide critical thinking. Provides a rubric for assessing student thinking, sample critical thinking learning activities, and a list of teaching principles. (SK)