The need for an effective means of enhancing the science comprehension of elementary teachers brought about changes in the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) exit exam for 5th grade students. The overall goal of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of an alternative method of science instruction to train pre-service teachers. Web-based instructional designs are emerging as an alternative medium for disseminating course content in continuing education. A need exists to reach a point where web-based materials can be evaluated in terms of achieving desired teaching and learning outcomes, e.g., course grade, professional development certification, skills development and application of course content. The course offered to pre-service teachers provided the opportunity to build their confidence in teaching science and knowledge of subject matter using a combination of traditional and web-based instructional components. The entire course including lessons, exams, and ancillary materials were included in a WebCt distance education platform at Texas A&M University, for pre-service teachers to access online. During the course of the semester students took six exams which determined their overall grade in the course. Study objectives were measured using students enrolled in WFSC 420 Ecology for Teachers during the Fall 2002 and Spring 2003 semesters. The four required assessments were administered before the first exam and after the fifth exam. Analysis of pre- vs. post-course assessments was conducted using paired t-test analysis of mean scores on two assessments including the Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument and traditional versus web-based instruction. Student scores on the TAKS test were compared using raw average scores pre- and post-course. Additionally, each student's final course grade was correlated to the final TAKS score to determine the level of score consistency. WFSC 420 Ecology for Teachers prepared pre-service teacher trainees to teach elementary science in two ways. First it provided the relevant science content necessary for teachers to adequately prepare their students for the TAKS exam. Secondly, it has been shown to improve students' confidence in their ability to teach science. Both of these provide a firm foundation to properly educate elementary science teachers for the future.

Although no one program exists for leadership development, there is an understanding among practitioners and researchers that leader and leadership development occur in many venues, with one of those venues being an academic classroom where experience and theory are juxtaposed. One such program is the Eisenhower Leadership Development Program. In an effort to strengthen the academic discipline of leadership and to garner further respect for leadership development programs such as ELDP, leadership development programs must be assessed and evaluated in order to ensure that the objective of the program is being met. Brungardt and Crawford noted that, "assessment and evaluation of leadership programs help ground programs in the needs of students while working within the constraints of academe" (1996, p. 37). The purpose of this study was twofold. First, this study sought to ensure that the Eisenhower Leadership Development Program was producing the outcomes the program was designed to produce. Second, this study sought to demonstrate the worth of ELDP to past, current, and future stakeholders. Former ELDP students were surveyed regarding the perceptions of their learning outcomes based on four practical skills (problem defintion, discovery of research alternatives, delegation/teamwork, and achievable challenge) and four complimentary adaptive skills (focusing on an issue, direct attention to detail, management of time and resources, and persistence). This study found that students did perceive to have gained leadership skills in each of the practical and adaptive skill constructs. The comparison between students' perceptions of each skill before participating in ELDP and after participating in ELDP was positively correlated and statistically significant in every construct. In short, the relationship between the practical and adaptive skills taught in ELDP and the learning outcomes is not serendipitous. The findings show that ELDP is improving the development of students in terms of them becoming leaders and in terms of the greater concept of leadership as related to the four practical and adaptive skills emphasized by ELDP. Further research related to the interdisciplinary design through which the practical and adaptive skills are taught is recommended.