Enacting the vision of NCTM's "Principles and Standards for School Mathematics" depends on effective teacher professional development. This 7-year study of 48 projects in the National Science Foundation's Local Systemic Change Through Teacher Enhancement Initiative investigates the relationship between professional development and…

In Finland teaching of technology has traveled a long road during its 140-year history. It has gradually gone from the copying of the model series dating back to the 1860s to the building of computer controlled robots. Materials, techniques and technology have developed wildly but the pedagogic contents are restricted regrettably still often only…

This study represents an attempt at determining if a construct, rather than an instructional method, is supported by scientifically-based research. The purpose of this study was to examine the credibility of evidence-based claims underlying the literature related to Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) (Shulman, 1986). Using a hybrid…

Good teachers form the foundation of good schools, and improving teachers' skills and knowledge is one of the most important investments of time and money that local, state, and national leaders make in education. Yet with the wide variety of professional development options available, which methods have the most impact on student learning?…

Inquiry-based research is recommended as a method for helping more students understand the nature of science as well as learn the substance of scientific knowledge, yet there is much to learn about how teachers might adapt inquiry for science teaching and what teachers need to know in order to do this. This case study of an exemplary teacher's…

This paper covers three interrelated study projects that were launched in order to explore teachers' pedagogical knowing. Within the study projects, teachers' pedagogical knowing was treated as a broad concept and practice. "Pedagogical" was not simply what happened in schools and classrooms; it was also found inside teachers and outside…

A number of studies concerning the mentoring of beginning teachers and their induction process are found in recent educational publications. A review of this literature guides professional educators as they formulate and implement the work of educating a scientifically literate populace. This literature synopsis addresses critical issues…

This paper raises the question of what K-12 teachers need to know in order to teach mathematics and science well. It begins by examining reform proposals for K-12 science and mathematics teaching with an eye toward defining what "good" teaching practice consists of. It then examines a wide range of literature to delineate the varieties of…

This paper reports on the perceptions of preservice teacher candidates (students) regarding their personal content- and context-specific pedagogies toward a strategy that promotes the development of these important teaching abilities; the elementary science teaching rationale. Perceptions about a science teaching rationale were surveyed at the end…

Casa en Casa, a popular education project of an Oakland, California, community health clinic, has two key weaknesses: volunteers received little orientation to the role of health promoter, and promoters were given content knowledge without development of the skills needed to use it. (SK)

Reports on a study that investigated prospective elementary teachers' knowledge and convictions regarding content, pedagogy, and pupil needs as well as their rationales for mathematics teaching. Discusses results by way of confronting the school as a locus for serious learning, and perceiving the school as a playhouse. Contains 44 references.…

Alternative certification programs in Texas, Georgia, and Florida are less rigorous and do not emphasize teaching knowledge and experience. Such programs purport to solve teacher shortages and address quality concerns but may exacerbate the latter. (SK)

A variety of models of the scholarship of university teaching have been advocated since Boyer first proposed that the scholarship of teaching be considered as one of four forms of scholarship associated with university practices. These models have evolved from theoretical and empirically based analyses, and have as their core value concepts as…

This paper explores the use of study groups in a preservice primary mathematics education subject where discipline knowledge (mathematics) is integrated with pedagogical knowledge (mathematics education). In order to address the well-recognized fear and competency levels of preservice teachers in the study of mathematics, study groups were…

For well over 25 years, critical thinking has been declared an educational ideal. However, though institutions are committed to teaching "critical thinking" (CT), there are numerous important questions that need careful treatment if this goal is to be met. First, the faculties must arrive at a shared understanding of what they mean by…