The effects of clarity training on preservice teachers' instructional clarity were examined with regard to effects on their ability to produce student learning and satisfaction. Teachers were observed and students interviewed; training was found to help teachers develop more instructional clarity, which facilitated student learning. (SM)

Three cooperative learning methods--inquiry task design, two level content study groups, and test review teams--are described. Ways in which to incorporate these teaching techniques in a science methods course are included. The outcomes of using these methods on attendance and observed performance, product development, and performance on midterm…

Briefly described is Project Impact, a British project which (1) developed and evaluated a modular diploma for teachers of students with special educational needs; (2) developed and evaluated short courses on special educational needs; and (3) conducted a follow-up study of a course on behavioral methods of teaching students with severe learning…

Describes a course that was designed to provide instruction in the methods and procedures that can be utilized to enhance student comprehension of textbooks and other printed materials that are encountered in a content area. Discusses instructor concerns, the support system, planning, course assignments, students, instructor workload, and course…

Studies the ways in which three graduate students applied theoretical and pedagogical tools in a collaborative independent study course. Concludes that the students' use of research tools was more consistent with the teacher's understanding of profitable uses than was their appropriation of the conceptual tools advanced in the course readings. (TB)

The purpose of this study was to describe salient aspects of pedagogical content knowledge that preservice physical education teachers acquired and found problematic while learning a specific skill theme approach (Graham, Holt/Hale, & Parker, 1993) to teaching elementary physical education during their field-based methods course. The participants…

This study examined the difficulties and factors that led to understanding the learning cycle teaching strategy. Participants included 83 preservice elementary teachers (PTs) enrolled in multiple sections of a science methods course taught by the same professor, one of the authors of this study. Analysis revealed that there were four categories of…

This article is concerned with the different ways in which teacher education pedagogic discourse is structured, and the potential of different types of structure to successfully induct student teachers as effective practitioners. The article uses Bernstein's concepts of classification and framing as axes of variation in describing different types…

The study investigated the relationship between mathematics anxiety and mathematics teacher efficacy among elementary preservice teachers. Participants included 28 elementary preservice teachers at a mid-size university in the southeastern United States who had just completed a mathematics methods course. Data sources included the Mathematics…

With the increasing number of online courses within many higher education institutions, experienced instructors are facing the possibility of teaching online. These faculty members may face the task of converting their well-established face-to-face teaching strategies into an online environment. To better understand this transition, we analyzed…

This paper describes a model for utilizing national science reform initiatives in an elementary science methods course. By focusing particularly on Project 2061 benchmarks, the reform movement initiated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), teacher candidates were able to successfully analyze, integrate, and utilize…

Literacy methods coursework usually uses an approach in which prospective teachers are asked to apply domain knowledge (concepts and methods of literacy teaching) in field situations structured for its application. However, that methods can be learned in this way and incorporated into actual situations of schooling has been called into question. A…

It is argued that, given the importance and the increased use of multivariate techniques such as factor analysis and canonical correlation, students need to be made aware of multivariate methods and the appropriate ways in which they can be applied. As a general linear model that subsumes all other parametric measures, canonical correlation…

Describes a methods course which places great emphasis on getting and/or making appropriate concrete manipulative materials in the classroom. Presents the rationale for this materials emphasis and explains the value of this approach. (GS)

A study explored the perceptions of 155 early field experience (EFE) elementary education majors who were in one of six sections of a reading methods course at a midwestern university. Responses to an open-ended final examination question at the end of three consecutive semesters asked students to describe and evaluate the classroom reading…