A common critique of teacher education centres on the gap between coursework and schools, with ample evidence that novice teachers seldom bring ambitious forms of instruction into classroom placements. We describe a 6-year design experiment conducted in a university teacher education program secondary mathematics methods course focused squarely on…

In this article, the author explores her observations of preservice teachers' technological literacy as it is often enacted across iterations of a writing methods course. Using personal examples and classroom anecdotes, the author argues that the construct of "digital native" is flawed and, instead, the author positions preservice…

The two research questions that guided this study were: (1) How do preservice teachers develop mathematical knowledge for teaching during a coordinated math methods course and field experience? and (2) What types of portfolio tasks lend themselves to documenting mathematical knowledge in teaching? Six, female, elementary (K-8) teacher candidates…

Little research has been conducted to directly compare the effectiveness of different models of field-based learning experiences and little has been reported on the use of the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) standards in establishing a formative assessment for teacher candidates (TCs). The current study used the…

I investigated eight preservice teachers' understandings about culturally responsive pedagogy as they participated in a writing methods course in which they tutored children from different ethnic, socioeconomic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds in an afterschool program at a local community center. I also investigated how these preservice…

Background: In exploring the complexity of teaching, scholars have suggested that greater attention needs to be paid to the teachers' thoughts and actions and to how these affect quality teaching. Up to today, very few studies have investigated the relationship between teachers' beliefs and practices even though it has an important role to play in…

This study investigated the journey of four Thai pre-service chemistry teachers as they sought to develop their Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) throughout a PCK-based chemistry methods course and field experience. In an interpretive case study approach we drew upon classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, chemistry content knowledge…

This study is based on data collected during 6 years (12 semesters) in the secondary science methods courses at an urban university in Southern California. The secondary science credential candidates were teaching on emergency permits or internship credentials in local urban secondary schools. They taught science during the day and pursued their…

Student achievement and attitudes toward mathematics are influenced by the teacher, emphasizing the importance of quality teacher preparation. This study explored different preparations and the impact on pre-service teachers' pedagogical content knowledge. The sample included 96 pre-service teachers enrolled in a math course at one Midwestern…

Fifty-seven elementary education students enrolled in methods courses were asked to respond to an open-ended questionnaire to identify what knowledge and skills had been learned as a result of participating in field experiences required in the courses. Students provided 516 individual statements, with 245 being knowledge statements, which included…

The preparation of music educators involves many facets. Students obtain pedagogical knowledge, understanding, and skill development during the college experience. In addition, preservice music teachers do numerous writing and reading projects as well as peer teaching. One area that tends to be lacking in the preparation before student teaching is…

Methods courses in teacher education programs have made a transition in the last years toward field-based experiences as part of the preparation for teaching science in the elementary school. However, little conclusive evidence exists as to any desirable influence field experiences are having on science teaching attitudes and learning. The purpose…

In recent education reform policies of different countries, scientific literacy was set as the national goal for science education. Understanding how science itself and scientists really work, in other words, understanding the nature of science is necessary to reach the desired scientific literacy level. Students also need to understand the…

This paper describes the development of a course that would improve instruction for preservice teachers and for elementary school students through "real world" integration of reading and the related processes of listening, speaking, and writing. "Integrated Language Arts Instruction in the Elementary School" is presented as a model for field-based…