Harmful oversights remain in elementary social studies curricula which overlook or misrepresent minoritized communities. This dissertation explores designs for teacher education which address these oversights through community collaborations. This multi-manuscript dissertation is an empirical-conceptual inquiry design (Cochran-Smith & Lytle,…

A STEM methods course was developed for undergraduate preservice teachers at the faculty of education. The course model design had three phases: 1) review of the STEM literature and conceptual considerations, 2) planning of the STEM methods course, and 3) evaluation by experts and revision based on their feedback. Research literature and other…

This collaborative self-study examines the critical friendship of two doctoral students charged with teaching a methods course in elementary social studies. The authors formed a critical friendship in Fall 2010, initiated by participation in a teacher educator community of practice that encouraged collaboration. With limited experience in…

A discussion is presented of a semester-long collaborative project in whole language at the college level. Eight preservice teachers, seven inservice teachers, a school principal, and a university instructor worked together in Friday afternoon seminars. This paper gives an overview of multiple theoretical foundations: learning theory, critical…

Discusses, through a dialogue between an education professor and a student, a course entitled "Teaching Language Arts in the Elementary School." Describes selected aspects of the course, including purpose, plans, and results. Explains how the course helped prepare the student for teaching and how the dialogue helped the professor refine the…

Describes the development of a seamless curriculum of four methods courses--literacy, math, social studies, and science--within a transdisciplinary framework, defining transdisciplinary teaching and learning as a context and conveyor for knowledge influenced by the synergy between learners and teachers, which embraces collaboration,…

To learn what visual arts education training early childhood and elementary teachers are receiving, questionnaires were mailed to 50 state departments of education. Results showed that children below the age of six are being taught by teachers with little training in the visual arts. Teacher education is needed. (RM)

Describes the activities associated with lesson plan development in an elementary social studies methods class. Recommends developing lessons about "international day" as designated by the United Nations. Includes a listing of International Days and Weeks. (CFR)

Professors in a Communication Arts methods course for preservice and inservice elementary school teachers sought to move the content of the language arts curriculum from a direct instruction to a whole language model. A transformation came about as one professor realized that her efforts to enthusiastically convey the importance of authentic…

To summarize the implemented program, this report makes use of the practice profile. Inputs, processes, and outputs statements are the ideals for the practice profile and are adapted from the outputs stated in the Discrepancy Evaluation Model. The major project components are: (1) "Critical Mass" (which is what is needed before the…

TO DECREASE CULTURE SHOCK TO THE TEACHER IN A DISADVANTAGED CLASSROOM, A PROGRAM OF ON-SITE TRAINING CONDUCTED UNDER PROJECT "TEACH" WAS ADMINISTERED TO 30 SELECTED ELEMENTARY-EDUCATION MAJORS. THE AIM OF PHASE I WAS TO CREATE AND IMPLEMENT CURRICULA INCORPORATING MEANINGFUL COURSES DESIGNED FOR TEACHERS OF THE CULTURALLY DEPRIVED. STUDENTS WERE…

Describes a project conducted in a reading methods course for preservice elementary education students to model how technology can be incorporated into the curriculum to facilitate learning. Preservice teachers collaborated with practicing teachers via electronic mail to gain a greater understanding of different philosophies of reading.…

This paper is a progress report on an ongoing, longitudinal study of the preparation of preservice elementary teachers in science. The study builds on previous work and explores the experiences of an intake of preservice students in 1994. These students were required to take a core course in science content in their foundation and subsequently a…

Describes one college's program requiring preservice elementary educators to take their methods courses in an integrated block during one semester before student teaching, noting pitfalls of and advantages to this network of classes and reporting data collected from cooperating classroom teachers who subsequently had these student teachers in…

This paper describes a preservice health education course for elementary educators that incorporated a technology component to help the students gain computer literacy. All students received instructional computer accounts and had access to a class bulletin board. One class session focused on learning the systems. Throughout the semester, students…