Background: In response to reform recommendations calling for students' engagement in scientific practices and the lack of the enactment of such practices in science classrooms, we explored the implementation of scientific practices with special emphasis on model-based inquiry in a secondary science teacher preparation program. Sample: The…

There is currently a consensus in mathematics education that favors constructivist instructional models, which are based on the inquiry of knowledge by students. There are, however, different views that consider objectivist models, based on knowledge transmission (direct or explicit teaching) more effective in the teaching of scientific…

This qualitative study examines the transition of eight elementary preservice teachers into student teaching after participating in a science methods course that included a significant amount of teaching after-school science to elementary grade students. These eight participants had a chance to practice teaching inquiry-based science and to reform…

In this article, the authors' intent is to focus in on one elementary teacher education program and, specifically, on the ways in which that program has grappled with and continues to grapple with the questions of whether and how teacher education works relative to the claim that this is a program committed to social justice and designed to…

This article examines a method for working with undergraduate teacher candidates as co-researchers to foster their development as teachers who nurture an inquiry stance toward their practice and who reflect on their pedagogy in systematic and intentional ways. These undergraduates put on "teacher research goggles," as one referred to the…

Our article is based on a study of our integration of social foundations coursework with filmmaking and participatory action research, bringing teacher candidates and middle and high school students together. The project was carried out in partnership between an urban university and two nearby public schools within a Midwestern city known for high…

As we strive to help pre-service teachers understand both why and how to teach for social justice, we face the challenge of making whole language teaching less abstract and intangible. Frequently pre-service teachers understand the principles of teaching for social justice but have no sense of how to infuse them into their teaching. They accept…

Urban public schools and their teachers are under siege. From increased standardization, privatization and testing to a growing number of students whose needs are not being met by schools, urban public school teachers face a daunting task. Without a space in which to critically examine their daily experiences within schools, many well-intentioned…