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This article examines how novice teachers in Japan and in the United States, specifically in the state of Ohio, are assessed, evaluated, and supported as they enter the teaching profession. Comparison of practices and tools which characterize the two countries' approaches toward assessment and mentoring reveals that important differences exist in both the competencies assessed for entry into the teaching profession and the induction experiences of new teachers. An emphasis on performance assessment in Ohio is based on the expectation that teachers will demonstrate disciplinary competence and pedagogical skills prior to being granted professional licensure. In contrast, the emphasis on mentoring and professional development during the induction year in Japan reflects a belief that learning to teach takes place gradually within a professional community. (Contains 11 references.) (Author/SM)

This book is part of a series of case studies that demonstrate better ways to educate Ohio's students. The case study is part of the Transforming Learning Communities (TLC) Project, designed to support significant school-reform efforts among Ohio's elementary, middle, and high schools. This report describes the implementation of an innovative program at a middle school in eastern Ohio. The case-study team consisted of three school staff members and three college professors; data sources consisted of interviews, focus groups, teacher journals, surveys, and classroom observations. The text presents the history of the school and its situation in the community. It focuses on collaborative efforts, emphasizing the conversations taking place among teachers, students, the principal, and the community and describes the efforts to build collaborative structures within and outside the school. It also looks at the principal's role in developing collaboration and change. The book examines the role of inquiry at the school, especially as it relates to venture-capital assessment and professional development, and promotes the need to reflect on processes during periods of change. The report explores the reaction to innovation and the forces that have institutionalized the change process. The last chapter reflects on the changes and the future. The appendix describes the project methodology. (Contains 15 references.) (RJM)

Muskingum College in Ohio uses team teaching in Teaching Science and Social Studies in Elementary Schools and Teaching Mathematics in Elementary Schools, an 8-semester-hour inquiry block for preservice teachers. The course includes three areas of integration: coordination of course content among the three disciplines, team teaching of strategies common to all disciplines, and coordination of integrated course assignments. Faculty roles in the teamwork include co-planner, muse, cheerleader, critic, and teacher's aide. Though students get credit for mathematics, social studies, and science methods, teachers also integrate teaching of assessment, curriculum integration, multiple intelligences, national and state standards, classroom management techniques, and lesson planning. Prerequisites for this successful team teaching have included similar philosophies concerning students and teaching/learning processes, a strong psyche, flexibility, commitment to the process of team teaching, commitment to the process of continuous improvement, and trust. Benefits for team teachers have included mentoring, generation of creative ideas, pushing each other to higher standards, acting as sounding boards, supporting risk-taking, reflective teaching, and fun. Benefits for students have included effective modeling of collaborative teaching, experience with multiple perspectives, and improved teacher-student relationships. Problems have included the amount of time the project takes, an increase in vocal and written comparisons of teachers by students, and lack of team teaching role models for students during field experiences. Despite any limitations, the benefits outweigh the problems. (SM)

The faculty of one rural middle school in Ohio received professional development funds to implement a 5-year school improvement plan (Ohio's Venture Capital initiative). A study of the project investigated: (1) how the experience affected teachers' perceptions of their roles as reflective practitioners and as resources to their colleagues; (2) how the experience affected their conceptions of their responsibilities for teacher and student learning; and (3) what conditions increased their commitment to and enthusiasm toward professional development. Researchers examined proficiency test scores, competency-based assessments in reading and writing, faculty opinion surveys, Dimensions of Excellence surveys, student interviews, teacher focus group interviews, a posted checklist of teacher activities, teacher journals, and team Venture Capital notebooks. Results indicate that the school improvement initiative has changed the nature of the school's professional development. Project funding has allowed regular attendance at professional conferences. Teachers have begun to take charge of their own growth and reflect on their knowledge. A core group has identified school needs to be addressed. There has been an increase in building norms of collegiality and cooperation. Teachers have begun to assume more responsibility for their students' learning. (SM)

This study took an in-depth look at the collaborative work of teachers engaged in curriculum restructuring, and explored how individual teachers' perceptions inform and are informed by such collaboration. The objective of the study was to explore how teachers' individual knowledge, experiences, and curriculum orientations affected their contributions to team curriculum decisions. A second objective was to extend the research on teaming beyond the current emphasis on organizational and administrative functioning to examine the factors that facilitate collaborative curriculum work. The project was a 1-year case study of the deliberations of a team of three sixth grade teachers. Primary data sources were four semi-structured interviews with each teacher, weekly observations of classrooms, two interviews with the principal, and analysis of relevant documents. Each of the three case studies is described in detail. Findings based on all three cases indicated: (1) a shared vision of curriculum purposes was believed by the teachers to be the key element in determining the success of the team's change efforts; (2) the teachers' personal beliefs and concerns influenced their rationales for the curriculum envisioned by the team and their choices of the means to interpret curriculum intentions; (3) the teachers' individual knowledge influenced the ways in which they interpreted the team's envisioned curriculum; (4) team collaboration was a source of shared knowledge and of joint construction of new knowledge; and (5) the teachers believed that each played a different role on the team and that the diversity contributed to the team's effectiveness. (Contains 21 references.) (ND)