For nearly 40 years the quality and value of the contribution of universities to initial teacher education has been brought into question. This is particularly so in England where the ongoing 'discourse of derision' has resulted in universities no longer being seen as necessary partners in the process. More recently, similar challenges have taken…

Shouldn't teachers learn how children think during their training? In this essay, the author considers why they don't and what we might do about it. Many U.S. teachers report that their education is overly theoretical and not of great utility. It's clear that they are required to learn some basic principles of psychology as part of that education,…

In this essay I explore the constraints and opportunities confronting me as a newly qualified teacher and how these affect my pedagogy. I have reflected on my own development from beginning to newly qualified teacher and considered how such forces have shaped my identity as a teacher, my values and my approach to the job. As part of my exploration…

Feedback from post graduate domestic and international students has highlighted the difficulties many have in coping with academic expectations of critical analytical thinking, reading and writing skills, academic language, referencing and expectations surrounding plagiarism and assessment. Many international students indicate that these concepts…

The purpose of this article is to describe how preservice teachers are prepared to make on-the-spot instructional decisions at the University of Northern Iowa. On-the-spot instructional decision making, also known as "improvisational" or "interactive teaching", occurs in three distinct episodes: an initial assessment of…

Preservice teachers generally are confident and enthusiastic about their abilities to teach effectively. These desirable qualities are based, for the most part, on the preservice teachers' previous experiences as students in the classroom, not as teachers. While the personal experience a preservice teacher brings to his or her teacher-preparation…

This paper supports the position that Piaget's theory (including both structural and functional components), methods, and empirical data have a central role to play in the development of an effective, comprehensive pedagogy. A structural-developmental theory coordinates the teacher's knowledge of curriculum with knowledge of cognitive demands…

An early childhood teacher education program using developmental perspectives as an organizing framework for formulating competencies and interweaving courses and practicum experiences is described. Emphasis is placed on understanding the cognitive and behavioral development of children and their maturation patterns. Included in this document is a…

In this essay, the author describes her experience with an experiential model of learning through teaching that gives college students the opportunity to use what they learn in the college classroom to develop curricula and then teach those curricula in an elementary school. Her specific experience was with a science course for non-science majors,…