A Curriculum for an Initial-Year-of-Teaching Program

This article addresses the content and processes for initial-year-of-teaching programs. The general goals of a beginning-teacher program are developed by describing the ways in which beginning teachers differ from both preservice and experienced teachers in terms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, cognitive processes, and their needs in these areas. The article lays out a foundation for such a program based on conceptions of teaching, of knowledge needs of beginning teachers, and of the learning-to-teach process. It suggests that the content of these programs should be organized around the 2 central tasks of teaching-establishing and maintaining social order, and representing and enacting the curriculum-and that programs must focus on providing opportunities for first-year teachers to acquire event-structured knowledge. A promising way to deliver this content is through the study of cases of teaching, and, thus, cases could play a central role in initial-year-of-teaching programs. The article concludes with a discussion of how and by whom cases could be developed, and their costs.