The focus of this study was to analyze the learning benefits accrued by the experienced teacher from supervising a secondary social studies student teacher. Teachers in the Puget Sound region of the state of Washington were surveyed. They were asked to respond to questions to determine how well participating in the supervision of the student…

The purpose of this study was to determine what is being offered by colleges and universities to prospective teachers in methods of teaching secondary school journalism. A review of the literature was made, and a questionnaire was sent to 138 colleges and universities, asking whether the institution offered a publications course, a methods course…

Elementary education majors might be better able to guide children in self-directed learning if they are exposed to such an experience in their formal training. A reading methods course stressing self-directed learning is described and a bibliography is provided. (JMD)

Achievement scores of student teachers in the areas of science, humanities, and social studies on tests of five process skills are compared. Fifty-four subjects were assigned to treatment (auto-tutorial) and control (lecture-discussion) groups. Subjects experiencing auto-tutorial instruction were found to achieve significantly higher than those in…

Reports on a survey of secondary school English teachers and English methods professors that was conducted to determine what they considered the actual content of English methods courses was and what they felt ideally should be included in the courses. (HOD)

The value of using more than one data collection procedure to investigate an educational question is illustrated. A semantic differential instrument provided an index of the direction and intensity of teachers' attitudes, but an unstructured interview provided a more detailed portrayal of their opinions. (RM)

Examines six randomly selected reading methods textbooks to determine the authors' perspectives on commercial reading materials and their use in elementary school classrooms. Concludes that most authors are relatively uncritical in their advocacy of commercial materials. (FL)

In an examination of methods courses for students of vocational agriculture education, concern is expressed about whether Vo-Ag teachers are mastering techniques which invite student participation. A national survey in which methods course syllabi were analyzed for emphasis on developing competence in teaching techniques is described, and…

This study compared outcomes from undergraduate subjects (N=21) who had attended seminars in the wholetheme instructional approach with controls (N=21) who attended a seminar on the writing process. The wholetheme approach of Asghar Iran-Nejad emphasizes thematic, nondirectional, and intuitive teaching. The study was designed to determine if…

The purpose of this study was to enhance the reflection of pre-service science teachers by infusing museum resources and context into a methods course. Qualitative methods were used for data collection from 21 students who took the course. The data sources came from field notes, reports, diaries, and interviews. The findings showed that when the…

This paper establishes a use for digital video in developing preservice teacher metacognition about the teaching process using a lesson plan-rating sheet as a guide. A lesson plan was developed to meet the specific needs of the methods instructors in a professional development program at a large public institution. The categories listed on the…

Describes the use of a teaching technique described as "miniature teaching episodes", in which elementary mathematics and science methods students teach a small group of children for approximately one hour. Reports the results of an evaluative study of the effectiveness of miniature teaching episodes. (JR)

This study examined the effect that instruction about and participation in groupwork/cooperative learning had on preservice teachers' attitudes toward cooperative learning, especially their knowledge of related academic and social benefits, and their pedagogical competence to organize classrooms for group work/cooperative learning. Surveys…

Data are presented from a study of cooperative learning as a teaching strategy in teacher education courses. Two university methods courses were restructured to incorporate learning teams and interactive practice activities. Results indicated that students who had difficulty mastering specific content performed better with cooperative learning…