One of the most hotly contested issues in mathematics education today is the use of calculators in elementary schools. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has gone on record recommending the use of calculators in the earliest grades. NCTM's recommendation that calculators be introduced under the guidance of skilled teachers is…

The English government has focused upon a pattern of professional development that involves demonstration and modelling as a key element in the improvement of the teaching of 11-14 year olds (Key Stage 3 strategy). From 1997 the Nuffield Primary History Project (NPHP) has implemented a programme for the professional development of teachers built…

Primary teacher preparation courses to need support students in developing not only science content knowledge, but also pedagogical knowledge appropriate to the effective translation and representation of subject matter for learners in classrooms. In the case of the generalist primary trainee, this constitutes a considerable challenge. This study…

Echoing the current emphasis on examining changes in teacher beliefs, combined with the central role of inquiry in reform, this article argues that science "education" research experiences should hold promise in shaping preservice teachers' beliefs about the role of inquiry in understanding classroom science teaching. The aim of this…

One of the most relevant issues in classrooms today is the incorporation of technology, specifically computers, into classroom instruction. A review of the literature reveals that six of the most important variables in determining the degree to which teachers integrate computers into their instruction and planning are knowledge, anxiety, personal…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between science teacher knowledge and changes in student content knowledge after students experienced microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL) instruction about heat energy and temperature. Investigation of teacher knowledge included evaluation of content knowledge and pedagogical content…

At Sage Colleges (New York) the Faculties of Arts and Sciences and the Faculty of Education have collaborated to involve undergraduate students in actively thinking about teaching subject matter. First an education/liberal arts advisory group was established to bring the faculties together. Out of this group came one collaboration between…

The goals of secondary preservice science teacher education are to prepare future science teachers with competency in both science content knowledge and science teaching ability. The study reported in this paper investigated the development of pedagogical content knowledge of three preservice chemistry teachers in Taiwan during one year of a…

This report presents the results of a study in which one of the job analysis surveys for the Praxis Series: Professional Assessments for the Beginning Teacher was administered to teachers and teacher educators in California. The purpose of this special administration was to determine if the multidisciplinary content in the test form (Form 1 of…

A job analysis was conducted to define the content domain important for newly licensed (certified) music teachers to perform their jobs competently. The results of the job analysis will be used to develop test specifications for the subject assessment in music of the Praxis Series: Professional Assessments for Beginning Teachers. An initial draft…

This paper examines what teacher educators, policymakers, and teachers think they know about the current mathematics reforms and what it takes to help teachers engage with these reforms. The analysis is organized around three issues: (1) the "it" envisioned by the reforms; (2) what teachers (and others) bring to learning "it"; (3) what is known…

This study explored views and attitudes toward full inclusion and collaboration among 43 directors and coordinators of special education in randomly selected school districts in eastern Kentucky. Although both collaboration and full inclusion were in effect in parts of each school district surveyed, results showed that only about half of the…

The Educational Testing Service is developing a new generation of teacher assessments--the Praxis Series: Professional Assessments for Beginning Teachers. The assessment series consists of three components. An academic skills component will assess the candidate's basic academic and enabling skills. Subject assessments will test the candidate's…

This brief discusses some of the results and conclusions from the Professional Development Project of the National Institute for Science Education (NISE). The project was intended to explore whether the science, mathematics, and professional development communities share a common understanding of what professional learning experiences look like…

A survey was conducted of teachers and administrators from schools for the deaf to analyze the poor mathematics performance of deaf and hard-of-hearing students. The insufficient training of deaf education teachers in mathematics, based on the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Professional Teaching Standards and the proposed…