This article highlights two key problems of practice the author faced as the instructor of an elementary literacy methods class for Teach for America corps members in a large, northeastern city during an era characterized by strict state and district control: the deficit perspectives the corps members held of their students and the lack of…

Curriculum materials are crucial tools with which teachers engage students in science as inquiry. In order to use curriculum materials effectively, however, teachers must develop a robust capacity for pedagogical design, or the ability to mobilize a variety of personal and curricular resources to promote student learning. The purpose of this study…

In an effort to correct criticism of elementary curriculum blocks, the University of Delaware introduced the concept of graduate clinical responsibilities. This concept was divided into three levels: observation/participation, planning and implementing limited instructional units with emphasis on team teaching, and extended student teaching. The…

This paper describes a model for utilizing national science reform initiatives in an elementary science methods course. By focusing particularly on Project 2061 benchmarks, the reform movement initiated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), teacher candidates were able to successfully analyze, integrate, and utilize…

This project was designed to develop a model for teaching general music methods for elementary/early childhood education majors using musics of diverse cultures as discrete and infused entities, integrated across the curriculum. The proposed model's primary goal was to develop student awareness of sources of culturally diverse music and related…

Discussed is the elementary science teacher curriculum and its role in students' interest in science. Qualifications, teacher attitudes about science, college preparation, hands-on experience, science instruction, science method instruction, and the role of the administrator are described in terms of effective elementary science programs. (KR)

This study was designed to develop an instrument that would measure preservice teachers' belief efficacy in teaching environmental education (EE). This belief efficacy includes a person's perception of ability to perform the behavior (self-efficacy) and a person's expectation that a specific behavior will result in desirable outcomes (outcome…