Young children are capable of engaging in STEM investigations when they are guided by skilled and knowledgeable teachers. However, many elementary teachers may lack sufficient STEM content knowledge and report feeling unprepared to teach STEM content. Two university faculty members in mathematics and science education, worked to cultivate and…

This study examined the ways in which PDS participants use language to co-construct knowledge about literacy teaching and learning during debriefing conversations following shared instructional experiences in K-3 classrooms. The debriefing conversations were part of a collaboratively developed pedagogical model situated in a literacy methods…

Revisions to Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) proposed alternative models, such as Response to Intervention (RTI), as a preventive measure that supports students at risk. As teachers' roles evolve in response to RTI, teacher preparation programs must adjust their focus and curriculum accordingly. A mixed-methods…

Teacher efficacy is the belief teachers have in their ability to impact student learning. Efficacy includes teacher confidence in instructional, management and collaboration skills. The following study addresses teacher efficacy in an Early Childhood Professional Development School (PDS). The PDS experience provides an opportunity for mentor…

Taking the form of a personal essay, the author describes developments within teacher education in the USA over a 40-year period, since the founding of "JET." Beginning with his work within teacher education as a graduate student and moving across time, he describes major movements in teacher education, discusses several of the most…

In this wide-ranging interview with Educational Leadership, Stanford University Professor of Education Linda Darling-Hammond discusses the kind of preparation and support new teachers need to survive their critical first years in the classroom. Among her central recommendations are more intensive mentoring that lasts through the first year of…

School after school in the Phoenix area has a banner hanging on the side of the building: iTeachAZ. It is shorthand for Arizona State University's new flagship undergraduate teacher education program, which integrates several high-profile--and hotly debated--reforms to teacher preparation today. Under the program, which debuted formally this…

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…

Over recent decades there has been pressure on schools and teachers, in England, to transform teachers' working practice by advocating an improved role for teaching assistants. In reforming the workforce, the government also intended to support schools in building the momentum for change, whilst raising standards of pupil achievement and enhancing…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a summer science camp teaching experience on preservice elementary teachers' science teaching efficacy, science content knowledge, and understanding of the nature of science. Master's degree students enrolled in the elementary Fairfax Partnership Schools (FPS, n = 21) cohort served as the…

In this article, the author discusses some of the most serious challenges--intellectual, institutional, and political--that he sees for the future of professional learning in education. He states that one common solution to these challenges would be for educators to begin to act more like professionals. One thing is clear about the early stages of…

A survey of 23 Canadian student teachers in conventional placements or professional-development schools (PDS) found that their practica had taught them about curriculum, pupils and pupil-teacher interactions, discipline and classroom management, and the teaching profession. Compared to others, PDS student teachers relied more on weekly seminars…

To date, the professional development school (PDS) preservice teacher preparation literature base is long on attitudinal analysis and short on comparative analysis of outcome variables. This article reports on a 2-year study comparing the lesson planning, teaching effectiveness, postlesson reflectivity, and content retention of professional…

Describes professional development schools and how they provide a seamless field experience for prospective teachers. Provides historical background information on the Holmes Group and the development of the sites. Contains 30 references. (DDR)

An analysis of a number of university-school collaborative efforts in the United States and Canada to establish professional development schools, and of action research efforts in the United Kingdom, has shown that the partnership efforts studied devote significantly less attention to ideas about the nature of learning, teaching, schools, and…