The purpose of this research was to learn about the short-term residue of composing and improvising activities experienced in a woodwind lab course. Five undergraduates enrolled in a Music Learning and Teaching program in the United States shared what they retained after completion of the course and how they were thinking about composition and…

This paper is a report of a design-based research project undertaken to build a blended teacher education program that focuses on cultivating teachers' competencies for personalized and blended learning in K-12 classrooms. Two iterations were designed and examined in total, with 10 teacher educators and two teacher candidate cohorts. Teacher…

To address a statewide demand for elementary teachers, a midsized Midwestern (U.S.A.) university created an undergraduate licensure program for para-educators, nontraditional students who are already working full-time in schools. Although fieldwork experiences and mentoring occur in the schools where they work, the para-educator preservice…

Teacher candidates in a special education teacher training program and candidates in a master's in applied behavior analysis (ABA) program both require learning and applying evidence-based practices with fidelity to effectively instruct students with severe disabilities. This study evaluated the effects of behavior skills training (BST) via…

This article explores the researcher's use of field trips as an experiential learning tool in a social studies methods course as a pilot study. The researchers analyzed course evaluations and student reflection papers using document analysis to determine (a) the positive and negative aspects of utilizing field trips during the course, and (b) the…

To better prepare physical education (PE) teachers, this study explored a group of pre-service teachers' understanding, application, and development of critical thinking (CT) in a capstone methods course. Participants were 12 pre-service teachers from a PE teacher education (PETE) program at a large university in the southwestern United States.…

To guide and support teacher candidates in developing the knowledge and skills they need in the classroom, teacher preparation programs must prepare students in acquiring the experience and expertise needed to demonstrate mastery of general knowledge in the specific subject or content area. In addition, teacher preparation programs must support…

Traditionally, teacher education programs have placed little emphasis on preparing mathematics teachers to work with students who struggle in mathematics. Therefore, it is crucial that mathematics teacher educators explicitly prepare prospective teachers to instruct students who struggle with mathematics by providing strategies and practices that…

To address shortfalls in the preparation and achievement of U.S. students in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), instruction in these areas must begin in the elementary grades, as early as kindergarten (American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, 2007; Natural Academy of Sciences, 2007; National Research…

This study examines the effect of promoting inquiry-based teaching (IBT) through collaboration between a science methods course and mathematics methods course in an elementary teacher education program. During the collaboration, preservice elementary teacher (PST) candidates experienced 3 different types of inquiry as a way to foster increased…

Teaching computer science (CS) in high schools, rather than just programming or even computer literacy, is important as a means of introducing students to the true nature of CS, and enhancing their problem-solving skills. Since teachers are the key to the success of any high school educational initiative, any discussion of high school programs…

An alternative mathematics preparation program for K-8 teachers is described as an existence proof that steadily increasing effectiveness of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) preparation is possible. The program is based on treating every lesson in each of five mathematics content and methods courses as objects of study.…

The purpose of this action research study was to better understand and improve my efforts as a Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) instructor to transform the attitudes, beliefs, and understandings of preservice teachers (PSTs) with regard to issues of social justice, specifically by achieving equality by providing opportunities and…

There is a continuing emphasis in the United States to improve student's mathematical abilities and one approach is to better prepare teachers. This study investigated the effects of using lesson study with preservice secondary mathematics teachers to improve their proficiency at planning and implementing instruction. The participants were…

Research on learning to teach mathematics reveals that mathematics teaching is a complex process (Lerman, 2000) and classroom teaching and learning is a "multifaceted, extraordinarily complex phenomenon" (O'Connor, 1998, p. 43). Moreover, research reveals that the mathematics reform agenda has had an impact on what happens in the mathematics…