In this study we measured changes in science teachers' conceptual science understanding (content knowledge) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) while participating in a problem-based learning (PBL) model of professional development. Teachers participated in a two-week long workshop followed by nine monthly meetings during one academic year…

The Norwegian school system gives a high priority to information and communication technology (ICT), and its ICT density is high, with one laptop per student considered desirable and being nearly accomplished. This study seeks to find the reasons for aspects of Norwegian teachers' pedagogical behaviour and choices by focusing on their thoughts and…

Research supports the position that specialists are the preferred providers of physical education in elementary (primary) school settings. We examined whether specialists delivered more physical education lessons and provided greater opportunities for moderate and vigorous physical activity and whether barriers to curricular and extracurricular…

This article focuses on how the teachers' pedagogical awareness is displayed and shaped while they learn to use information and communication technology (ICT) in their teaching and the aim here is to increase our understanding of university teachers as learners and as developers of their pedagogical awareness. The pedagogical awareness of teachers…

Web 2.0 tools offer new possibilities for teaching and learning. PrimaryAccess is a Web 2.0 tool designed for K-12 history education. PrimaryAccess shares many of the characteristics of other Web 2.0 applications, but its educational focus makes it different from generic Web applications. Our work developing and researching PrimaryAccess has…

Adapted primary literature (APL) refers to an educational genre specifically designed to enable the use of research articles for learning biology in high school. The present investigation focuses on the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of four high-school biology teachers who enacted an APL-based curriculum in biotechnology. Using a…

Within the past few years, there have been numerous studies that suggest that preservice teachers need and want opportunities to observe, visit, interact, and collaboratively reflect with teachers who are attempting to implement reform-based teaching strategies. Unfortunately, for many schools of education, it is logistically difficult to locate a…

Research indicates that U. S. teachers' mathematical knowledge continues to be weak, and there is an inherent difference between the mathematical knowledge needed to be an effective teacher and that needed by a mathematician. In this article, the author discusses pedagogical content knowledge. According to Schulman (1987), pedagogical content…

The Stupski Foundation has focused on the implementation of a comprehensive aligned instructional system as a critical lever for district reform. In the challenging environment of urban education, reforms focusing on only one system component (i.e., assessment, curriculum materials, professional development, resource utilization, regulatory…

Purpose: The overarching purpose of this paper is to empower K-12 educators, colleagues in teacher education programs, and educational leadership personnel to address social justice issues within communities where divergent perspectives abound. Design/methodology/approach: The authors use a discursive method to uncover the historical and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is the investigation of Chinese students' learning styles through managed learning environments. Despite the diversity of cultures in the world and the implications of it within the teaching strategies and learning styles, knowledge transfer across cultures has been one of the most challenging tasks for the…

In assessing the utility of a test, two issues stand out: whether it provides information of interest to test consumers, and whether scores generated by the test assist in making good decisions. Validity addresses these two issues, making an assessment of test validity the single most important product provided by test developers. Unfortunately,…

This paper describes how a frame has been used to articulate the intentions of a preservice chemistry education course to students of that course. The frame, which draws on appropriate knowledge bases for teachers of science, is also used through the teaching of the course as a diagnostic and development tool to assist the learning of these…

Most experienced high school science teachers are asked at some point to serve as a mentor to a novice teacher. While mentor-training programs have been established in many states, they often only focus on how the mentor can help new science teachers understand and negotiate the school culture, such as how the school runs and where supplies are…

Aggressive federal recruitment and training programs for teachers during the 1970s created a brief respite, but those programs ended in the early 1980s. Severe shortages of math and science teachers were rampant again by the 1990s and continue today. Especially in predominantly minority schools, many math and science courses are now taught by…