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…

In this interview, Andy Hargreaves posits that teachers need a high level of creativity and flexibility to be effective in their work, and they must understand their larger social mission. Yet standardization is working against those very qualities. Real professional learning communities, more than just teams of teachers solving problems, can help…

This article sketches out a comprehensive approach for preparing history teachers. It argues that grounding in historical content knowledge is necessary for success in the classroom, but such grounding is not enough to ensure that success. For beginning teachers, the problem is not merely acquiring content knowledge but acquiring it in ways that…

Research in the area of educational technology has often been critiqued for a lack of theoretical grounding. In this article we propose a conceptual framework for educational technology by building on Shulman's formulation of "pedagogical content knowledge" and extend it to the phenomenon of teachers integrating technology into their pedagogy.…

A qualitative study of faculty members participating in a campus-wide problem-based learning initiative examined the process of transforming faculty pedagogical content knowledge. Researchers found that faculty existing knowledge and the institutional intervention influenced new knowledge of faculty roles, student roles, disciplinary structures,…

The main contribution of this paper is a proposal for a universal pedagogical pattern categorization based on teaching values and activities. This categorization would be more sustainable than the arbitrary categorization implied by pedagogical pattern language themes. Pedagogical patterns from two central patterns languages are analyzed and…

In math classes, teachers often focus instruction on the formulas and processes needed to solve different types of problems, but neglect to teach the concepts on which these tools are based. In this article, the author argues that before they can do this, teachers themselves need to understand "understanding math." Teaching mathematics with…

For the thirty-seventh year, the Research and Theory Division and the Division of Instructional Design of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) sponsored the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Jacksonville, Florida. This year's Proceedings…

This action research study describes a course redesign using scholarly research in two ways. Traditional disciplinary research was used to inform the design of the curriculum, and SoTL was used to measure the success of the course design in achieving its objectives for student learning. The objective of the course redesign was to better engage…