The purpose of this research was to investigate instructional conditions aimed at improving future teachers' reflective thinking, to systematically trace how features of a guided instructional procedure influenced these teachers' pedagogical reasoning. The reflective thinking protocol that formed the basis of the instructional approach was built…

The primary focus of this study is the use of portfolio development in an in-service teacher education course that aimed to help primary school teachers develop a better understanding of, and ability to implement, an innovative teaching approach--namely, task-based learning (TBL)--in Chinese language. It explores the impact of portfolio…

Computational estimation has not yet established a place in the Kuwaiti national curriculum. An attempt was made to include it during the early 1990s, but it was dropped by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Education because of the difficulties teachers had teaching it. In an effort to provide guidance for reintroducing the concept into the curriculum, this…

This paper reports research from a three-year Australian science teacher professional learning project, the Science Teaching and Learning (STaL) Project, in which groups of science teacher participants (across years K-12) worked with academics over a one-year period as teacher researchers. Through reflecting on their experiences within the STaL…

The biological processes of photosynthesis and plant cellular respiration include multiple biochemical steps, occur simultaneously within plant cells, and share common molecular components. Yet, learners often compartmentalize functions and specialization of cell organelles relevant to these two processes, without considering the interconnections…

There has been a considerable amount of work on what knowledge student teachers need to develop to become effective teachers. The purpose of this study was to look at the development of knowledge of student physical education teachers in England. Six secondary student physical education teachers completed a journal on a monthly basis throughout…

Giving effective instructional explanations requires a special type of pedagogical content knowledge, that is, foreseeing where students could employ different assumptions in building their understanding of a specific content. This paper proposes the importance of rehearsing instructional explanations and fine-tuning the coherence and…

The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate inservice elementary and middle school teachers' conceptions of photosynthesis and respiration, basic concepts they are expected to teach. A forced-choice instrument assessing selected standards-based life science concepts with non-scientific conceptions embedded in distracter options was…

The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in preservice teachers' understanding of the nature of science (NOS) as a result of four activity-based interventions that represent three instructional approaches used in a middle grades science methods course. Ten participants' understanding of NOS and their perceptions about the…

It is no longer possible to conceive of teacher education without ICTs. It is imperative for the teacher education institutions to wake up and reorganize their curriculum to accommodate the changing face of knowledge. This study conducted by the researcher in teacher education institutions related to availability and access of ICTs in these…

This study aimed at designing a model of teaching reading comprehension based on the objectives of teaching reading at the senior high school and the teachers' understanding of the school curriculum and to describe the implementation of the model. The subject consisted of 24 teachers, 167 students of five SMAs (senior high schools) in South…

United States policymakers have taken measures to improve learning for all students emphasizing the use of scientifically based research in choosing educational programs to promote school improvement and student learning. However, educators, researchers and policymakers debate about which factors are most important in affecting student…

Social studies education is a field in which those involved--teachers and students--encounter what can be called "difficult knowledge". Difficult knowledge is a theoretical construct suggesting that when an individual encounters representations of social and historical trauma in a learning situation there exists a host of emotional and pedagogical…

The study was conducted to examine preservice, elementary teachers' efficacy for teaching science and mathematics as compared with other elementary content. The instrument assessed efficacy for teaching (EFT) five elementary content areas: science, mathematics, reading, classroom management, and general instruction. Three hundred twenty-five…

The purpose of the research was to improve the effectiveness of instruction in constructivist pedagogy in a college elementary mathematics education course through intentional integration of instruction in mathematics content. Instructors of this course previously used examples involving mathematics content on an ad hoc basis in an attempt to…