The ability to engage in informed decision-making about socioscientific issues (SSI) is an important aspect of scientific literacy. Although science knowledge and practice are necessary for developing solutions to SSI, additional skills are also needed to attend to the complex social, political, economic, and ethical concerns of such issues.…

In this paper, we share our collaboration across the disciplines of mathematics and mathematics education to develop and implement a mathematical modeling task for prospective secondary mathematics teachers. Through this collaboration, we identified three key components of mathematical modeling: the "what," "how," and…

This article describes how mathematics method courses could become opportunities for integrating preservice P-5 teachers' mathematics learning experiences to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). I explore varying dynamics that impact preservice P-5 teachers' mathematics-STEM experiences and highlight how teacher educators…

Children who speak with nonmainstream American English (NMAE) dialects represent a growing population in the U.S. public school system. This article provides recommendations for how teacher educators can support novice teachers in addressing the needs of NMAE speakers with or at risk for learning disabilities. This article focuses on four core…

Methods for teaching early childhood mathematics and science are often addressed in a single, dual-content course. Approaches to teaching this type of course include integrating the content and the pedagogy of both subjects, or keeping the subject areas distinct. In this article, the authors discuss and illustrate their approach to such a combined…

This article discusses ways literature is taught at the university. It describes a gap in the way English is often taught in literature programs and the way future teachers are taught to teach English to secondary students. It argues for teaching literature in ways that might be good for majors in both fields, ways that support the work valued by…

Free online survey tools provide a practical learning-by-induction platform for business communication instructors interested in trying out an advanced multidisciplinary survey activity coupled with an innovative teaching design. More than just building skills in marketing, survey projects marshal a wider set of thinking and doing activities that…

The use of quality texts in elementary classrooms plays a major role in children's literacy development. Quality children's literature helps learners develop into skilled readers and writers with increased gains in vocabulary knowledge and comprehension. This paper demonstrates how pre-service teachers gained an understanding of the educational…

In this article, three art educators reflect on their ideas and experiences in developing and implementing innovative projects for their courses focusing on art for elementary education majors. They explore three different approaches. The three areas that are discussed in depth include: (1) understanding child art; (2) visual culture; and (3)…

This essay maps some of the ways in which the professional knowledge of English teaching has been defined and positioned in the present moment in the United States. The first part of the essay traces multidisciplinary shifts in English education/literacy research that have expanded and shifted the discursive boundaries of teacher education and…

With the realities of standards-based accountability, it is imperative to model and demonstrate for students how subject areas and teaching methods transcend across traditional boundaries. In an effort to prepare future social studies educators to teach for global awareness and to meaningfully integrate critical literacy skills into their…

We describe the Science Semester, a semester-long course block that integrates three science courses and a science education methods course for elementary teacher education majors, and examine prospective elementary teachers' developing conceptions about inquiry, science teaching efficacy, and reflections on learning through inquiry. The…

Designed around a practical "practice-what-you-teach" approach to methods instruction, "Your Science Classroom: Becoming an Elementary/Middle School Science Teacher" is based on current constructivist philosophy, organized around 5E inquiry, and guided by the National Science Education Teaching Standards. Written in a reader-friendly style, the…

Helping pre-service teachers to feel competent and courageous about the mathematics they will find themselves teaching as elementary school teachers is a critical component of any math methods course. This paper addresses this aim by highlighting a process that involves pre-service teachers in creating original mathematics literature books. This…

Established in 1880, the University Musical Society (U.M.S.) in Ann Arbor, Michigan is one of the most innovative venues for music and the performing arts in the United States. Each season, it offers performances by renowned American and international artists. Through the society's youth education program, performers entertain and educate…