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A study was conducted to test the effectiveness of center vs. noncenter student teacher training. Effectiveness was defined as the degree to which student teachers accomplished goals in one term of student teaching. Comparisons were made using four self-report inventories administered to student teachers and cooperating teachers at the beginning and end of a practice teaching term. The preterm inventory asked the student teacher and the cooperating teacher to rate what each expected the student teacher to accomplish during the term; the postterm inventory asked both parties to rate what they had accomplished. Accepted chance of false rejection of the null hypothesis (i.e., that there is no difference between the groups) was set at an alpha level of .05. On no single category of student teacher self-reports was there a significant difference in expectations. The major hypothesis, that center student teachers would accomplish more of their learning goals than noncenter student teachers, was rejected. Further unanticipated results indicated that center cooperating teachers' expectations for their student teachers were no higher than noncenter teachers'. Hence, teacher education centers helped student teachers no more or no less than cooperating teachers who deal with student teachers on a one-to-one basis; i.e., mode of student teaching alone did not significantly improve the quality of learning. (JB)

This report presents the proceedings of the conference on Optional Learning Environments and the External Degree, sponsored by Dyke and Ursuline Colleges. It was attended by 67 educators and students representing all of the accredited institutions of higher education in the Cleveland areas. The conference introduced basic ideas and methods of external learning and degree programs and reviewed the issues faced by ongoing external degree programs in New York, Minnesota, New Jersey, and abroad. Faculty and staff explorations of the multiplicity of problems raised by the conference participants are broken into 5 groups: (1) The Evolution, Development, and Current Status of the External Degree and Other Learning Options; (2) The External Degree: Examination of Administration, Curriculum, and Program Evaluation; (3) The Learning Contract; (4) The Students' Point of View; and (5) Summary. Conference participants are included. (Author/PG)