This study examined 158 lesson plans at one institution across two teacher education programs, inclusive early childhood and elementary education, to determine the impact of Internet usage as inspiration on preservice teachers' lesson plans. Fisher's exact test determined statistically significant differences between the Internet use of preservice…

This study analyses the evolution of the personal metaphors of 31 science graduates enrolled in a Master's degree course in Secondary Education Teaching during the 2012-13 academic year. The instrument used was an open questionnaire that included asking the participants to make drawings representing the roles of the teacher. Four categories of…

There is both a growing appreciation of teacher assessment capability for the improvement of school student learning and achievement and a commensurate drive for graduates in Australian Initial Teacher Education institutions to demonstrate impact on school student learning as part of a national accreditation process. We argue in this article that…

Purpose of the present study is to determine views of prospective social studies teachers on community service practicum course. Sample of the study included 24 prospective teachers studying in Social Studies Teacher Program at Artvin Coruh University Education Faculty in the spring semester of 2013-2014 academic year. The present study was…

Research suggests that the most efficient way of improving students' performance, in mathematics and science, is by recruiting and retaining highly qualified mathematics and science teachers. This study augments the body of research aimed at the recruitment of STEM majors to the field of education. The purpose of this study was to determine how a…

This constructivist grounded theory study explored the development of preservice teachers' intercultural competencies. The participants were thirty-two preservice teachers who were participating in a first-year field experience with diverse populations of students. They were asked to examine their understanding of difference, and, in doing so,…

This investigation of teacher candidates' (TCs) learning in their pre-service elementary education program demonstrates how TCs grappled with enacting culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) in their practicum sites. Interviews with TCs, analyzed with Lucas and Villegas's (2002) tenets of CRP, reveal how TCs thought about equitable instruction in…

In this paper, we explore middle school science teachers' learning of inquiry-based instructional strategies through reflection on practice teaching sessions during a summer enrichment program with middle level students. The reflection sessions were part of a larger year-long inquiry professional development program in which teachers learned…

While a practicum is usually regarded as a place to "practice teaching," or as a place to turn what one has learned in the classroom into real practice, an "observational practicum" can also substantially further one's professional growth. Indeed, an observational practicum can be an ideal site for novice ESOL practitioners to…

The study reported on in this article assessed MSW and BSW students' opportunities to practice group work in their field practicum. More than one third of participants had no such opportunity during their yearlong internship, despite their program's requirement that group work opportunities be available. Among the students who did have experience…

Simulations are an underpinning pedagogy and tradition in some professional fields, such as medicine, yet are seldom used in education. In this study, the author reports on the findings of a reading assessment situation activity that she did with preservice early grade (kindergarten to grade 6) teachers. In addition to giving preservice teachers…

This paper reports on results from a recently completed research study conducted with pre-service teachers from Nova Scotia, Canada who completed their final student teacher practicum in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. With our attention directed towards a primary research question related to pre-service teachers' own development, data were…

Little is known about mentoring student cohorts from largely urban backgrounds doing practicum at one school, living alongside the community, and sharing residential facilities with teacher educators in a rural context. This article reports Bachelor of Education students' and mentors' school-based mentoring experiences during a 4-week residential…

Teacher education in Botswana is offered at various higher education institutions (HEIs). Undergraduate pre-service teachers for the secondary school level are trained at the University of Botswana (UB) and the Botswana College of Agriculture, and both HEIs offer different and autonomous teacher-training programmes. The Faculty of Education at UB…

This qualitative study investigated preservice teachers' experiences working with dual language learners within an early university-based practicum with young children. Our data were multiple reflective journal entries that each preservice teacher composed during the practicum. Our initial analysis revealed a subset of preservice teachers who…