Knowledge concerning continuously improving branches of science such as biotechnology in particular is difficult to be understood properly by students, or they learn it incorrectly. One of the most important reasons for this is that students cannot associate in their mind the relevant concepts. The aim of this research is to determine prospective…

This report describes a model for mapping cognitive structures related to content knowledge for teaching. The model consists of knowledge elements pertinent to teaching a content domain, the nature of the connections among them, and a means for representing the elements and connections visually. The model is illustrated through empirical data…

This article examines pre-service secondary school teachers' responses to a learning situation that presented a student's struggle with determining the area of an irregular hexagon. Responses were analyzed in terms of participants' evoked concept images as related to their knowledge at the mathematical horizon, with attention paid…

Many pre-service teachers enter teacher education with problematic or unexamined assumptions about learners and teaching. This article reports on an authentic learning opportunity offered to 22 pre-service teachers in their first year at university, which attempts to disrupt these perceptions about learning and pedagogy. Using a new application of…

A curriculum is a knowledge structure outlining what is to be learned in what order. The Australian curriculum for English emphasises creation of a "coherent" and "cumulative" "body of knowledge about how the English language works", with learning that is "portable and applicable to new settings across the school…

When students ask for a study advice, many professors would say something like this: "Read carefully. Write down unfamiliar terms and look up their meanings. Make an outline. Reread each chapter." That's not terrible advice. Some scientists would say that professors left out the most important step: "Put the book aside and hide the notes. Then…

Addresses issues related to the ways teachers learn mathematics and the teaching of mathematics, and the relevance of those ways to their professional development. Mathematical experiences need to be congruous with the kind of teaching expected of the reflexive, adaptive teacher. Presents both practical and theoretical considerations of how these…

Discusses what important ideas about forms of knowing mathematics should be included in mathematics methods courses for preservice teachers. Proposes ideas related to Shulman's framework of teacher knowledge. Provides a brief discussion of the implications each idea holds for teaching mathematics, and makes some suggestions about experiences that…

Considers the strategies of peer group review and concept mapping, both of which faculties in higher education might employ in partnership with schools to reestablish the fundamental role that subject matter knowledge has in science teaching. (DDR)

This study explored preservice teachers' (n = 25) knowledge structures and their mastery of content knowledge in relation to their ability to diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of a fourth grader's videotaped explanations of a scientific phenomenon, i.e., molecular kinetic properties of air. Participants' knowledge structures were analyzed…

Explores high school students' and preservice teachers' knowledge of light, vision, and related topics before and after commonly practiced instruction. Suggests a hierarchical structure to represent the collective conceptual knowledge of students and teachers in terms of facets and schemes of knowledge. Makes suggestions for designing instruction…

This study examined the subject-pedagogical content knowledge transformation process associated with middle school physical education teachers' curricular decision making. Findings indicated that teachers shared a common subject content knowledge base but demonstrated personalized pedagogical content knowledge repertoires. Classroom curriculum was…

Examines changes in knowledge structures and beliefs related to class management experienced by middle school preservice teachers (n=23). The study charts changes in concerns, skills, and attitudes through the initial, middle, and concluding student teaching stages. A framework of change for class management concepts is reported and influences…

A "Motivation" eliciting the "Aim" of each lesson initiates each lesson in the orthodox "developmental lesson-plan" that has dominated classroom instruction in NYC public schools for at least the past half-century. An action-research study of 38 lesson-plans (over 5 each from 5 teachers) drawn from student-teaching…