Proposals to improve teacher quality often focus on hiring teachers with the right combination of personality, values, and knowledge and skills. The author suggests that although these elements of teacher quality are important, schools also need to pay attention to the conditions of classroom life that can determine teaching quality. She…

Eighty-three teachers across the curriculum were interviewed to explain their views on and approaches to, the teaching of socio-scientific controversial issues to 14-19 year olds, particularly with regard to developments in biomedicine and biotechnology. This study focused on teachers' views on the nature of evidence in controversial issues and…

Distance education is often used as a cost-efficient way to train employees. This research focuses on training for teaching online. A comprehensive literature review revealed the scarcity of scholarly work in this area. To determine best practices in training for teaching online, a faculty training program was examined and experts were…

There are many factors that affect the design of effective professional development (PD) programs. This review of literature focuses on some of the theoretical models used to explain teacher change, the contextual factors that impact teacher behaviors and curricular change, and the role of continuous professional development in changing teaching…

A great deal of the variance in student achievement, motivation, and engagement is explained at the student level. This poses a challenge to educators who typically educate at a group level. This article proposes "pastoral pedagogy" as a key means by which educators can facilitate an individual student's personal connection to teaching and…

A study was carried out involving K-8 teacher candidates enrolled in an elementary mathematics methods course to investigate and document their thinking as they plan for mathematics instruction. The teacher candidates submitted lesson plans at three intervals during a semester-long methods course, which were coded based on the planned use(s) of…

Indicates the importance of induction programs that address the unique pedagogical and content needs of secondary science teachers. Examines the impact of three different induction programs on secondary science teachers. Reinforces the importance of induction programs for teachers and suggests that there is a need for specialized support programs…

Reports on first year college students' opinions regarding their high school chemistry classes. Investigates the relationship between high school chemistry experiences and student attitudes toward chemistry. Identifies characteristics that correlate with positive attitudes such as teacher enthusiasm, teacher effectiveness, the teacher's content…

Professional development for K-12 teachers must become more comprehensive. It should apply findings of cognitive research by including active intellectual engagement, sustained collaboration, and ongoing support. Professional development should be linked to student learning and emphasize subject-specific pedagogical content knowledge. (Contains 28…

Uses L. S. Shulman's three categories of content knowledge as a basis for conceptualizing and examining the knowledge needed by communication educators. Calls for the discipline knowledge produced by communication scholars to be translated into viable school experiences so that students obtain accurate conceptual understandings of communication.…

Explains the format of the AIMS lessons and addresses the teacher who may just be starting to use AIMS activities. Contends that teachers must learn science and mathematics by using hands-on approaches to teach in this way. (MKR)

This study explored the kinds of interpretive frameworks that university professors used in constructing and implementing pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in order to understand better the generic nature of PCK. Phenomenological interviews with professors who were recognized as experienced teachers indicated that they constructed and used…

Discusses ways in which a mathematical pedagogy seminar can be an enlightening, engaging, and sometimes entertaining experience through which to bring together departmental colleagues and their students. Suggests logistics for such a seminar, 25 topics, and readings. Contains 64 references. (Author/ASK)

One rarely engages in a conversation about education without the terms "content" and "pedagogy" finding their way into it. Indeed, the two are inherent to almost everything done in education. Are content and pedagogy separate and separable entities or are they always already implicated in each other? Where does one begin and the other end? Who is…

One of the most recent waves of reform in public education began in 1989 when the governors and legislators identified eight goals for the "Goals 2000: Educate America Act" (U.S. Department of Education, 1994). This legislation promulgated the need for standards-based education and impacted health education in several ways. "Goals 2000"…