Restructured schools should be centers of inquiry and reflection, not of unexamined tradition; curriculum and instruction courses in teacher education programs should facilitate critical inquiry and reflection. A graduate level curriculum models course at the Wichita (Kansas) State University was restructured around the basic tenet of critical…

A study examined students' perceptions of what it is that distinguishes effective from ineffective university supervision. Subjects were 83 early childhood education majors enrolled in two field-based reading methods courses offering six weeks of university instruction and four weeks of classroom experience. Students responded to questionnaires…

An effective junior-year student teaching program in elementary education was designed that combines application of theory learned in methods courses with practical school experience. The objective was to prepare education majors for student teaching and to give them an opportunity to evaluate themselves and the prospects of a teaching career.…

This methods book is divided into 13 parts. The first 12 parts (each beginning with a list of performance objectives) focus on: understanding the nature of science and technology; reasons for teaching science to children; a short history of elementary science methods in the United States; the products of science; the processes of science;…

The use of nontraditional adolescent literature in the secondary classroom and teacher training for this usage are discussed in this paper. After outlining a humanistic approach to adolescent literature, in which students are taught to use literature to illuminate their lives, the paper contrasts such an approach to the teaching of traditional…

The total teacher-training program must take into account the needs of the teacher as well as realistic expectations as to further training, school facilities, hours to be taught, etc. Within this context, the methodology course will illustrate and synthesize the general aims of the training, as well as providing specific training in technical…

This is the second module in a series on mathematics methods and materials for preservice elementary teachers. This module focuses on three instructional and learning modes: expository, guided discovery, and inquiry (pure discovery). Objectives for the module are listed, the prerequisites are stated, pre- and post-assessment standards are…

Activities featured in this new compendium--a collection of 26 articles published in Science Scope, NSTA's member journal for middle school teachers--will show how. Technology-Based Inquiry offers fresh approaches that teachers and students can use to explore physical science, Earth and space science, life science, and more. It covers the…

This study investigated how "Classroom With a View" (CView), an interactive multimedia environment, affected education students' understanding of constructivist-oriented teaching. Student interviews and think-alouds before, during, and after CView sessions indicated that CView's integrated structure, content, and tools supported student learning…

Maintains that, despite great strides in geographic education, many social studies methods professors still are using outdated geographic materials, methods, and techniques. Describes an intensive four-day conference bringing together social studies methods and geography professors. (CFR)

Eight articles discuss the teaching of evaluation methods through the process of performing evaluations. Four articles concentrate on evaluation as taught in higher education and professional education, and four articles deal with the four-state East Central Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Education and Training Center Project. (SLD)

Presents recommendations for teacher educators to prepare students to deal with sex bias in the schools (e.g., teacher educators must model what they teach, prospective teachers must study classroom dynamics to eliminate bias in classroom communication, and methods courses must incorporate research on how bias affects teaching methods). (SM)

Preservice elementary teachers were videotaped teaching three self-designed micro-teaching lessons to their peers, and the videotapes were rated by elementary mathematics-methods instructors. Mathematics methods course quiz average, mathematics anxiety score, and spatial ability were investigated as potential predictors of videotape ratings.…

Describes the use of "Water Crossings," a Project WET activity, with preservice elementary teachers in a science methods course. Discusses how the activity integrates applications from physical science with history and geography concepts. Explains that the teaching strategy used is a version of the scientific method. (WRM)

The author learned that the book "The Catcher in the Rye," so important to him as a young man, had been challenged by adults and could easily have been barred from his school's reading list. He started thinking about who had the power to tell him what he could and could not read as a teenager and as a high school student. What were the…