Reform efforts in science education have focused on engaging students in authentic scientific practices. For these efforts to succeed, detailed articulations of scientific practice need to be linked to understandings of classroom practice. Here we characterize engagement in practice generally in terms of "3Rs": routines, roles, and…

This self-study examined the 1st-year science teacher educator's integration of instructional technology into a science methods course and modeled the reflective practice of her own teaching. Elementary science methods students participated in a series of inquiry-based activities that utilized various instructional technologies. Data sources…

In this article, the authors describe a cross course collaborative research project designed to provide students with an opportunity to integrate aspects of sociological study that are typically addressed in a compartmentalized course by course manner. They used this approach on two separate occasions. The first involved collaboration between a…

This investigation assessed the impact of situating explicit nature of science (NOS) instruction within the issues surrounding global climate change and global warming (GCC/GW). Participants in the study were 15 preservice elementary teachers enrolled in a science methods course. The instructional intervention included explicit NOS instruction…

If issues in the history and philosophy of science and those related to science, technology and society are generally accepted in policy, how ought these be handled in practice? Mandate in policy does not guarantee implementation in practice. Indeed, HPS and STS have for decades been marginalized in the curriculum. Subject areas designated to…

This study investigates the impact of a field-based methods course on the reality of teaching experienced by preservice biology teachers. Four questions guided the research: (1) What are the perceptions of the preservice teachers about biology teaching? (2) What are the preconceptions of preservice teachers about high school students? (3) What…

Describes an exploratory program for student teachers consisting of a course in social studies curriculum and methods, student teaching seminars, and supervision and direction of classroom activities by their co-operating teachers. (DR)

Reviews the many uses of video tape recordings in science education such as (1) teacher improvement, (2) training prospective science teachers, (3) educational research, (4) testing, (5) supervision of student teachers, and (6) teacher placement. (LC)

Describes a course in listening comprehension methodology given to teachers of English as a Foreign Language. The course includes: (1) sub-group and total group discussions of what is meant by listening comprehension, (2) listing of listening comprehension difficulties, and (3) a discussion of students' individually prepared listening…

Examined difficulties Finnish university students experienced in learning quantitative methods. Education and sociology students rated different topics on the basis of their difficulty. Overall, students considered statistics and quantitative methods more difficult than other domains. They tended to polarize academic subjects into…

Reports on a study that asked 31 inservice secondary science teachers to complete a survey on topics for inclusion in a secondary science methods course. Concludes that the majority of prespecified potential topics were judged important enough by these teachers to warrant inclusion in a methods course, though no individual-added topic appeared on…

Provides an initial theoretical discussion of some student and instructor narratives from an action research project in a preservice secondary English methods course. Discusses an expanded role for the instructor within the constraints and possibilities of the debriefing session as one discursive site in the conceptualization of any program-wide…

The purpose of this study was to assess student perceptions of the faith-learning integration process in instructional methods courses taught by a single professor. Thirty-one students were asked by the professor to complete an open-ended questionnaire at the end of their course experience. Results indicated that students in this study described…

This study sought to assess the influence of an intensive social studies teacher preparation program on the belief of a cohort of graduate preservice teachers. In particular, it sought to determine whether the participants' methods courses, field experiences and student teaching led to changes in their beliefs about teaching and learning social…