Exposure to nature can improve mental health and cognitive abilities, while creating enhanced engagement with biological course material through interactions with organisms and ecosystems. Remote biology education was suddenly implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic at many universities, and such distance education continues to provide broadened…

Fresh from teaching his first full school year the author reflects on his traditional teacher preparation path into the classroom and finds he was instilled with a common sense of ethics, compassion, a demand for reflective practice, and a robust guiding philosophy. As a college student, he learned theory and was able to augment that with…

Describes a comparative psychology course in which advanced college students learn by observing animals in their natural habitats in Kenya. The author tells how the objectives of master of observation, taxa adaptive behavior, echo systems, conservation, and field methods are satisfied. (RM)

Describes an elementary school classroom project in which university student artists are invited to participate in the classroom prior to their student teaching experience. Discusses the mechanics for developing such a project. Points out ways in which this is beneficial for all concerned. (KO)

This report summarizes the results of a pre-student teaching field experience for elementary education majors at Pennsylvania State University. A program was organized in which public school teachers agreed to work with students to provide on-the-spot tutorial instruction regarding the teaching technique they employed, to provide the opportunity…

The objective of an early field experience program is to force students to confront their assumptions on teaching. The experience, coupled with activities and readings in the university classroom, is designed to make students reconsider a variety of issues--what it means to learn something, the intellectual capabilities of children, the role of…

Describes the concluding activity of a cultural geography course in which students went on a field trip to Venice (Italy) during spring vacation. Emphasizes the representation in relations between land and life, using the metaphor of theatre to conceptualize these relations. (GG)

Placing education majors in field-based experiences before student teaching has become a common practice in teacher preparation. Two introductory education courses offered at Northwest Missouri State University were designed to provide education majors with classroom experiences early in their program of study. The courses, Observation and…

Comparative research was conducted on two preservice teacher education field experience programs. The "Tutoring Program" was designed to place participants in active teaching roles by having them prepare remedial lessons and tutor pupils. The "Teacher Apprentice Program" was designed to expose participants to a full range of teaching…

Presents a story about an extension worker with the Ghana Ministry of Agriculture and discusses a short course in extension developed for the Ministry by the University of Ghana Agricultural Extension Department. Training focus was on active field practice to demonstrate class subjects and techniques. (MF)

Jersey City State College (New Jersey) has assumed, as its primary mission, the challenge to address urban concerns, including urban teacher preparation. The revamped Junior Field Experience Program (JFE) is a required course for all prospective teachers. This requirement intends to prepare prospective teachers to deal with cultural diversity by…

In resident outdoor education programs, students and their teachers attend an outdoor facility for two days or longer and use the outdoor environment as their primary classroom, focusing on natural sciences, outdoor recreation, social skills, and attitudinal and cognitive development. A resident program should have significant impact on social…