Date of Award

8-1-1979

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Teaching & Learning

Abstract

Purpose: This study was undertaken for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of an alternative teacher education program at St. Cloud State University. The Teacher Education Alternatives Model (TEAM) Project provided an optional means of training for undergraduate elementary education students. The traditional program and the TEAM Project coexisted as the two avenues to teacher licensure over a span of three years.

The evaluation of TEAM's efforts and outcomes was needed to aid program decisions in the college of education at St. Cloud State Univer sity. The study would also generally contribute to research about teacher education.

Procedure: The evaluation design was developed around a dual theme: exter nal and internal program assessment. The External Evaluation Study Questions provided comparative data between the traditional elementary students and the TEAM students on the Personal Orientation Inventory, the Ames Philosophical Beliefs Inventory, and the Situational Test for Identifying Teaching Strategies. The Internal Evaluation Study Questions examined materials and information collected from among the program participants as documentation of the project's outcomes.

Statistical treatment of the data gathered for the external evaluation included primarily t-tests and analyses of variance. The internally gathered data were not given statistical treatment; these data were generally descriptive narratives which elaborated TEAM's intended outcomes. The internal evaluation documents to what extent the TEAM Project's goals were met.

Results and Conclusions: Both the TEAM and the non-TEAM students appear to have similar personal and philosophical orientations at the termination of their training experiences. Scores on the APBI and POI show that the control group and experimental group ranked the philosophical beliefs alike and were alike on the self-actualized, inner directed values. At the time of graduation both sets of students appeared to be equally prepared as beginning teachers.

TEAM students, however, outscored the elementary major students on the teaching strategies test. There was also positive agreement with internal evaluation instruments which assessed the acceptance and implementation of TEAM's goals and assumptions. The internal assessment indicated support for the successful components of the project. Based upon these results, the following recommendations are made:

1. Further study of both TEAM and traditional students should be undertaken to determine any long term differences between the groups.

2. Increased collaboration between public school personnel and teacher trainers should be undertaken.

3. The TEAM Project should be continued as an alternative to undergraduate education majors at St. Cloud State University.

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