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As part of the West Virginia phase of the Multi-State Teacher Education Project (M-STEP), the Pilot Center for Student Teaching was operated from 1966-68 to improve the laboratory experiences of student teachers through increased cooperative participation of five higher education institutions, the Kanawha County Public Schools, and the State Department of Education. (See SP 003 019.) Key characteristics of the Center plan include the employment of a Center Coordinator and an inservice program for supervising (cooperating) teachers. During the 1968-69 school year the Center (Kanawha County Center for Student Teaching) operated exclusive of M-STEP sponsorship (see SP 002 862), and M-STEP funds were used to conduct a series of dissemination meetings and activities to encourage the establishment of Centers in the Mercer, Wood, Harrison, and the Ohio county areas of the state. Action taken at several regional meetings and reaction to presentations at statewide meetings of the W. Va. Association of Student Teachers, the Council for Directors of Student Teaching, the State Advisory Council for Teacher Education, and the Academic Deans of W. Va. Colleges and Universities have resulted in the conclusion that a climate for acceptance for the Center concept of student teaching has been established in W. Va. (Included are evaluation instruments used in the Pilot Center Program and a preliminary draft of an agreement between participating institutions.) (JS)

This publication contains questions and answers regarding the establishment, operation (1966-68), and impact of the Multi-Institution Pilot Center for Student Teaching. Included are (1) a review of the need for change in the laboratory training phase of West Virginia teacher preparation programs; (2) objectives of the pilot center and principles guiding its student teaching program; (3) responsibilities of the cooperating agencies (five teacher education institutions, one school district, and the State Department of Education); (4) description of the roles of supervising (cooperating) teachers, student teachers, and building principals; (5) objectives of the weekly student teacher seminars and the inservice program for supervising teachers; (6) selected evaluative comments by students and teachers; (7) a summary of the project's impact on teacher education in the state. Appended are proposals for the continuation of the M-STEP concept in West Virginia; new State Board of Education-approved Guidelines for Experimental Programs in Teacher Education; the permissive legislation enacted in 1969 to permit the organization, funding, and operation of cooperative teacher education centers; and charts showing the organizational structure of M-STEP, of the pilot center, and for teacher education in West Virginia. SP 002 862 and SP 003 032 are related documents. (JS)