Implementation effects of a pre-service training course for secondary education teachers

A quasi-experimental, treatment-control group investigation was designed to test the effects of a pre-service training course for secondary education teachers. Previous findings from teacher effects research and cognitive strategy instruction were translated into two direct instructional models: a model of executive acting directed at well-structured skills and a model of strategic acting directed at higher-level thinking strategies. Pre- and post-training comparison of classroom observations by trained observers revealed significantly more effective instruction by the student teachers after training. No treatment effect was found for pupil engagement rates. The ratings from the supervising teachers did not show significantly better use of the recommended instructional skills by the trained student teachers than by the untrained student teachers.