The Collaboration for the Improvement of Teacher Education (CITE) is a pre-student teaching program that promotes students' reflective thinking about curriculum, methods, and sociopolitical issues through blocked classes and structured field experiences. The Framework for Reflective Thinking, a coding scheme, was developed to evaluate students' ability to reflect on pedagogical principles underlying teaching decisions, contextual factors affecting the application of the princi ples, and moral, ethical, or political issues surrounding a teaching experience. The initial evalua tion indicated that CITE students were beginning to apply pedagogical principles in making teach ing decisions. Above average students were able to adapt these principles to a specific context. Two additional studies indicated that CITE students showed significantly greater gains in reflection than other methods students not in the CITE program and that the Framework for Reflective Thinking could be used with experienced teachers to note changes in reflective thinking in a year- long staff development effort.

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The study examined the effects of the Revolving Door Identification Model on student creative productivity and self-efficacy as regards creative productivity. Seventh and eighth grade students who had participated in RDIM programs for at least four years were compared with comparable students in a near-by district who received no services. Participation in an RDIM program and number of projects in school were identified as significant predictors of creative productivity outside school. RDIM students who did Type III projects were more likely to report that the project affected their career goals, improved research skills, led to a more positive attitude toward school, and increased insight into personal strengths and weaknesses than students not in the RDIM program who completed major school projects.In the last six years, the number of districts using the Revolving Door Identification Model for gifted education (RDIM) has increased from one Connecticut town to over 300 school districts around the world (RDIM Directory, 1986). Despite the wide acceptance of the model, a number of questions regarding its effectiveness remained unanswered. No longitudinal research had examined the effects of the model over a period longer than one year or examined the claim that participation in RDIM programming would increase the probability of creative productivity in students (Renzulli & Reis, 1985). This research studied students who had participated in RDIM programs for four years or longer, examined the effects of RDIM on creative productivity, explored students perceptions of the effects of the model, and identified avenues for further research. In addition, the study proposed self-efficacy with regard to creative productivity as a mediating variable in RDIM and examined the effects of RDIM programming on self-efficacy. Theoretical RationaleThe Revolving Door Identification Model The Revolving Door Identification Model is a model of gifted education in which above average students are provided with opportunities and encouragement to develop creativity and task commitment as applied to particular products (Renzulli, 1986). The model differs from traditional programming practices both in the larger segment of the population identified for participation in the gifted program and in its emphasis not on giftedness as a static characteristic, but on the development of gifted behaviors &dquo;in certain people ... at certain times ... under certain circumstances&dquo; (Renzulli, 1984, p. 164). Enrichment activities in the Revolving Door IdentificationModel are organized using the Enrichment Triad Model (Renzulli, 1984), a model of educational enrichment designed to parallel the techniques and accomplishments of productive adults. The cornerstone of RDIM is Type III enrichment, or individual or small group investigations of real problems. Type III enrichment is considered to be the only component of the Enrichment Triad that is differentiated and specifically appropriate for the gifted (Renzulli, 1982). It provides students with th...

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The study investigated relationships among perceived need, teacher efficacy, and use of ten teaching strategies recommended for the gifted. It also examined differences between expert and novice teachers of the gifted by comparing patterns of need, efficacy, and use in 318 preservice teachers, classroom teachers, and teachers of the gifted. Data were gathered using a seven point Likert-scale questionnaire. Correlations between teacher efficacy and need and between teacher efficacy and use were consistently higher than those between need and use. Preservice teachers, classroom teachers, and teachers of the gifted were successfully separated by a function of need and efficacy, with the most potent contributions made by efficacy variables. Classroom teachers and teachers of the gifted were separated by a function of need, efficacy, and use, with the most powerful contributions made by use of strategies.Proponents of education for the gifted and talented have asserted that students with superior abilities require curricula and teaching strategies that are differentiated from those in mainstream education (Davis & Rimm, 1985;Gallagher, 1985;Ward, 1961). While many special programs have been proposed, it has also been noted that gifted and talented students benefit from enriched curricula and teaching strategies within the regular classrooms in which many bright students spend the majority of their school hours (Cox, Daniel & Boston, 1985;Renzulli & Reis, 1985). This study examined factors that may influence implementation of broadbased enrichment in the regular classroom by identifying relationships among perceived need, teacher efficacy, and teacher use of ten strategies recommended for education of the gifted and talented. Additionally, the study examined differences between expert and novice teachers by comparing the patterns of relationships among need, efficacy, and use of differentiated instructional strategies among preservice teachers, classroom teachers, and teachers of the gifted. The following research questions were proposed:1. What are the relationships among perceived need, teacher efficacy, and teacher use of ten teaching strategies for education of the gifted in preservice teachers, classroom teachers, and teachers of the gifted? 2. In what ways do preservice teachers, classroom teachers, and teachers of the gifted vary in perceived need, teacher efficacy, and use of the ten identified strategies? Theoretical Rationale Self-efficacy. Bandura (1977) described self-efficacy as a cognitive mediator of behavior. The construct is defined as an individual's belief in his or her ability to perform a behavior in a given situation. Unlike self-concept, self-efficacy is not a global trait, but is specific to a particular activity or situation. For example, Jane might have high self-efficacy with regard to rebuilding automobile engines but low self-efficacy with regard to skiing. Perceptions of self-efficacy affect whether a behavior will be initiated, how much effort will be expended, and whether the behavior wi...