This inquiry was conducted to determine whether an early field experience influences the academic achievement of teaching candidates in subsequent teaching methods coursework. The subjects were secondary education students who had successfully completed a field experience program preceding their enrollment in the methods course. The course was…

This case study looked at the transition of preservice teachers from world language education methods courses at a major U.S. university to a 5-week field experience in secondary school classrooms. Data included lesson plans and self-critiques of two lessons implemented during the field experience, world language teaching philosophies the…

This research investigated the use of electronic journaling to promote collaboration between special education and general education preservice teachers. During the field experience component of their methods courses, the participants responded to weekly prompts, shared experiences with each other, and frequently offered advice about events their…

This paper describes a secondary social science methods course with a lab component that was planned collaboratively by representatives of Nebraska Wesleyan University (Lincoln, Nebraska) and a local high school. The lab component meant that a university instructor taught a high school social studies course for a semester. The advantages of the…

A methods course teacher, as part of a newly developed 12-hour integrated block that combines reading, social studies and science methods courses with clinical field experience, used student-negotiated assessment in one section and teacher-directed assignments and assessment in another section. In the portfolio section, the instructor could see…

This study was conducted to examine the value of analyzing student teachers' metaphors for purposes of early identification of beliefs and teaching orientations. Participants were 2 university professors and 23 female elementary education majors enrolled in a reading/language arts methods course designed as an early field placement. During the…

A review of studies on early field experiences centers on John Dewey's belief that pre-practice teaching laboratory experiences should foster reflective criticism of educational purposes and instructional methods and result in more effective student teaching experiences. Current studies have indicated that early field experiences, by focusing on…

TAPE, Theory and Practicum--Elementary, was founded on the assumption that the integration of theory and practice is vital to a preservice education program. This is a 24-semester-hour, field-based, preservice teacher training option of the Elementary Education program at Texas Tech University. Integrated with a student teaching component, it…

Over a period of five semesters, the attitudes of preservice secondary mathematics teachers participating in seven varieties of educational experiences were measured using the Mathematics Teaching Inventory (MTI). Items on the MTI were scored for modern versus traditional attitudes. Seven subscales were generated by classifying items on the basis…

Reviews recent research which indicates the need for a variety of field-based learning experiences which are closely integrated with teacher preparation. Examines a program at the University of Iowa (Ames) in which the social studies methods course was moved to a high school so that students observed high school classes and received instruction…

This report presents findings from a 2006 national survey of all Title IV degree-granting 4- year postsecondary institutions on how teacher candidates within teacher education programs for initial licensure are being prepared to use educational technology once they enter the field. The "Educational Technology in Teacher Education Programs…

Reform in the fields of adolescent and content area literacy have focused on broadening a definition of literacy beyond the ability to read and write. In a broader definition the language processes of reading, writing, speaking and listening become literacy tools to engage students in the learning of concepts and afford the learner ways to…

The purpose of this study was to identify and compare the teaching concerns of two groups of preservice teachers who were taught language arts methodology through the use of different approaches. A traditional approach (lectures and demonstrations by the professor) was used with one group (n=43) and a field-experience approach (lectures by the…

This study explored whether the addition of visual examples through laser disc instruction influenced the learning and application of convergent and divergent questioning techniques and wait-time by preservice elementary education teachers during their clinical experience. The study compared the difference in the frequency of convergent and…

Cognitive apprenticeships have three essential characteristics: (1) they make use of the learner's prior knowledge; (2) they allow that learned procedures for solving problems may be modified in new situations; and (3) they acknowledge that individuals generate their own solution paths, often through a collaborative process. Preservice elementary…