The materials developed by teachers in England for the Mathematics Teacher Education Project (MTEP) draw on such disciplines as philosophy, educational psychology, sociology, history, and curriculum studies. In the attempt to provide a coherent, well-rounded mathematics methods course for prospective teachers, MTEP can encourage interdisciplinary…

More colleges should offer a FLES methods course. Through student teaching, language teachers encounter typical situations with administrators and classroom teachers. Courses should provide techniques, materials and assistance. Teachers would support FLES and become more creative in teaching if given such a methods course. (CHK)

Uses "novice educators" in an introductory reading methods course to examine basal readers, compare basal stories and trade books, and consider the teaching of reading using these two primary tools. Finds that the merits of using an integrated or eclectic approach far outweigh the "ease" of using preplanned instruction provided…

Preservice teachers, with no student teaching experience, in a literacy methods course wrote profiles of themselves, pretending that they were first-year teachers, and profiles of actual experienced teachers. Findings from analysis of the profiles focus on preservice teachers' expectations about classroom environment, language arts teaching,…

This article describes an effort to employ cooperative team learning (CTL), specifically the Jigsaw technique, as a vehicle for helping prospective middle school teachers enrolled in a social studies methods course translate theory into practice. Recommendations are made for broader implementation of CTL in middle school teacher education…

Results from a study of elementary student teachers (N=79) indicate that these student teachers only variably employed instructional strategies emphasized in university methods courses. Possible explanations for this behavior are considered, and implications for preservice teacher education are discussed. (IAH)

This article presents findings from the longitudinal study, Research about Teacher Education (RATE). The data presented represents the perceptions of faculty (N=250) and students (N=1130-1140) in elementary teacher education about several programatic aspects of teacher preparation including curriculum, conceptions of teaching, faculty instruction,…

This article describes the design, development, and outcomes of a curriculum module entitled, "The Teaching Biography of (Student Name)." This student-centered methods-practicum course was designed to foster reflection and individual and group inquiry into both the ends and means of education. (IAH)

Surveys elementary reading educators to discover their preferred theoretical perspective and the instructional strategies used by them to teach reading methods courses. Finds that reading faculty who reported a whole-language preference also reported using more teaching strategies that increased learner involvement. (SR)

Comments on Reba Page's methods of teaching about interpretive research methodologies. Points to four potential problems: (1) students have little knowledge of underlying epistemological debates; (2) students are unaware of broader "conversations" between texts; (3) students have read little qualitative research; and (4) students must learn to…

Reports the results of three similar case studies of preservice teachers enrolled in literacy methods courses. Describes preservice teacher beliefs about literacy through the use of multiple data sources before, during, and after the course. Supports a field-based model of teacher education for development of a complex view of the process of…

Reports on a collaborative project to explore the work of teacher educators as an effort to reconstruct a stance as teachers in relation to students. Shares the discovery of the ironic in desires for authoritative knowledge, effective methods, coherent organization, and harmonic relationships. (CMK)

This paper illustrates ways to employ teacher portfolios to improve the quality of methods course experiences for prospective mathematics teachers. Based upon research conducted in an undergraduate teacher preparation program, this case study describes how the author used teacher portfolios to mentor prospective teachers in new ways. The case…

A significant element of teaching is identifying goals and assessing whether the instruction is helping students achieve those goals. That is especially true in teacher education courses, because those taking the courses will eventually affect hundreds of students. Results, however, are difficult to assess in teacher education courses because the…