The purpose of this mixed methods research was to investigate the development of 55 preservice elementary teachers' science teaching self-efficacy beliefs through analysis of their reflective practices in a science method course. This year-long study was conducted at two public universities located in the USA and Canada. Within the theoretical…

Education reforms in the United States and abroad have increased efforts to improve student interest and capacity in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Despite these attempts, students still have little opportunity to engage in STEM learning in K-12 education. This qualitative case study was designed to investigate how…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine undergraduate elementary education teacher candidates' abilities to successfully integrate social justice teaching into their interdisciplinary ELA and social studies thematic units. The projects were analyzed to determine the extent to which, if any, social justice education has been addressed.…

Prior to the fall semester of 2017, the elementary preservice teachers who were enrolled in a science methods course engaged in a variety of field experiences across different settings, mostly informal. Beginning in the fall semester of 2017, students enrolled in this science methods course completed their field experience in formalized classroom…

Mathematical writing is one way for primary students to communicate their mathematical thinking. Research in the field of writing has shown that to become an effective teacher of writing, preservice teachers must have experience engaging in the kinds of writing given to their students. The study reported in this paper explored how 27 preservice…

Even though K-12 educators must assess student learning and adjust instruction based on learning data, many teachers lack confidence in their ability to assess. Because low confidence levels may be due to inadequate teacher preparation, this study invokes the pivotal SoTL project, Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT), as it examines TILT's…

Secondary mathematics preservice teachers enrolled in a methods class at a large Midwestern University were supported to develop their TPACK knowledge. Instructional tasks included engaging with explorations using technology to support reasoning and sense making, creating entries for a technology portfolio, studying theoretical constructs about…

Geography education research has identified several concerns in geography education and recognizes several systemic and cyclical issues which serve to impede effective implementation of geography education. A pattern to be recognized in the review of literature is the consistent communicated concerns of ill-prepared geography teachers.…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine how preservice teachers (PSTs) developed their adaptive competence in lesson planning through repeated rehearsals and reflections in an online learning environment. Methods: A case study design utilizing descriptive analysis was used to analyze data collected from a series of lesson plan iterations…

The purpose of this study is to examine pre-service chemistry teachers' orientations towards chemistry teaching during chemistry teaching method courses. This study was conducted with ten pre-service chemistry teachers for 28 weeks. The Draw-A-Science-Teacher-Test Checklist (DASTT-C), card-sorting activity, interviews, observations, and reflection…

The purpose of this study was to develop pre-service chemistry teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) regarding atoms and the periodic table via mentoring. Two pre-service chemistry teachers with different levels of academic achievement participated in the study. The development of the participants' PCK was investigated in terms of the…

This study contributes to a body of research exploring sets of learning experiences for developing global competencies among middle childhood social studies teacher candidates. This multi-year study examines data related to teacher candidates' global knowledge, skills, and dispositions using a convergent parallel mixed methods design. Findings…

Preservice educators are required to enroll in multiple methods courses to prepare them to effectively teach content to students. With the increase of online teacher preparation programs, methods courses are also being offered virtually. This study sought to investigate the overall attitudes, beliefs, and preparedness of candidates after…

Approximations of practice in teacher education provide learning opportunities for teacher candidates (TCs) in a space that is less authentic than classroom teaching, yet still maintains the complexity and interactive nature of core teaching practices. There exists a need for more research focused on documenting TCs' learning through such…

There is urgency for teacher educators to instruct preservice teachers in the tenants of social justice education. This urgency is based upon the American demographic landscape and the responsibility of educators to teach for social justice. Preservice teachers report feeling inadequately prepared to educate for social justice when entering the…