As a Methods Professor in a Research I institution in the Midwest and the largest education program in its respective state, I faced a crisis after ten years in higher education. The concern I faced was whether or not the repertoire I taught my students was appropriate and meaningful in their training. While staying abreast of current research and…

This article reports on a one-year research project that used peer coaching and collaboration between two reading professors to study the effects of collaborative classroom activities on student engagement. In order to address professors' concerns about student participation, two undergraduate reading-methods classes were revised through the…

Presents a qualitative study that problematizes the authors' classroom authority as they sought to enact critical inquiries with preservice teachers. Contends that preservice teachers must face the reality of having to function as authority figures while still maintaining a classroom conducive to meaning making. Provides three lenses through which…

Presents a portrait of a content area reading course taken by undergraduates in a health/physical education teacher preparation program. Discusses how resistance was anticipated and rallied as a way of driving the work done over the course of the semester. (RS)

A study examined students' reactions to the Student-Directed Discussion technique (an attempt to develop a class "text" from the students' joint construction of meaning) as used in a methods course on language development. The students (25 of 27 were present the day of the survey) responded anonymously concerning whether they thought the…

Describes how a team of college instructors framed a humanities methods course within the concept of classroom community-building to address issues relevant to preservice teachers in such areas as moral commitment, professionalism, caring, and concern, providing examples of how the community was built, discussing strengths and limitations of that…

Described is a pilot study at North Carolina State University that assessed introductory science education students' reactions to the effectiveness of three instructional techniques (small group discussions, role-playing, and computer-based simulation) in dealing with incidents of classroom management. Conclusions indicated no statistical…

Describes a program placing college juniors in elementary school classrooms as part of their teacher methods courses. Stresses the importance of communication with and involvement by the school teachers and administrators in implementing such programs. Presents summary results of the program's qualitative evaluation. (PAA)

Reports on an action research study of one male science education professor's experience teaching elementary science methods to females. Presents the perspectives of co-researchers and examines what each learned about the professor's practice. Contains 97 references. (DDR)

Methods classes in teacher education are under attack. If teacher education programs are to survive with a methods component, teacher educators need to begin living and demonstrating the models of pedagogy they advocate. Methods courses must go beyond the lecture mode to democratic practice in which students and instructors build social learning…

Shares an experience from a mathematics methods course for elementary teachers that used concrete materials to teach the concept of rounding in different bases. Discusses how this experience modeled recommendations by the NCTM "Professional Teaching Standards" in creating classroom climate and conducting discussion. (MDH)

This paper describes an intervention which was designed to: (1) provide opportunities for preservice teachers to collaborate with and network with inservice teachers; (2) create an environment which facilitated collaboration and interaction among early childhood, elementary, and special education majors; and (3) model collaborative teaching and…

Noting that many teachers and some states have abandoned traditional testing methods of public school students in favor of authentic and performance-based assessment, this paper shares alternative assessment methods used by two teacher educators. After a brief introduction to the issues of authentic assessment in reading education courses, the…

This paper is composed of three sections: "A Brief History"; "A Litany of Transgressions"; and "A Quest for Egalitarianism: Strategies and Techniques for Fairness in Inclusive Classrooms." In the first section, projects and resources are mentioned as data that chronicle the legacy of gender inequity. The second section provides a list of…

The purpose of this article is to describe how a collaborative partnership between a public school teacher and university teacher-educator positively influenced their thinking about effective literacy practices in schools. The collaboration began when the two attended a state initiative summer literacy project. During the workshop they engaged in…