This article summarises the main uses and affordances (the perceived qualities of systems that can support or hinder interactions: Greeno & MMAP, 1998) of interactive technologies commonly used in school science. Its main emphasis, however, is on eliciting and documenting the emerging strategies that teachers are developing for exploiting the new…

The curriculum of the Life Orientation (LO) learning area forms an excellent basis for equipping learners to respond positively to social demands, assume responsibilities, and optimise their life chances. I report on a qualitative study that focused on the extent to which schools and LO teachers succeeded in achieving the outcomes of the…

This paper discusses the need for the renewal of teacher education programs in Finland in order to bring practicing professionals into contact with new knowledge and ideas. To inject new knowledge requires a theoretical understanding of the mechanism of professional change and the process of evaluating professional development. The central factor…

The purpose of this research study was to examine the level of elementary education majors' science content knowledge; pedagogical knowledge; and pedagogical content knowledge in order to evaluate the effectiveness of a new teacher preparation program for undergraduate students with a science area of concentration, developed as part of the Quality…

Lee Shulman's model of pedagogical reasoning and action is related to his theory of pedagogical content knowledge and includes the following components: comprehension; transformation (preparation, representation, selection, and adaptation and tailoring to student characteristics); instruction; evaluation; reflection; and new comprehensions. The…

This case study report provides information that can be useful in implementing rational changes in mathematics teacher education. Considering teachers' thinking about a specific mathematical topic, such as functions, allows one to better understand the broader domain of teachers' mathematical thinking and its influence on teaching and learning.…

The research reported here examined constructs of field dependent or real-world versus field independent or text-driven modes of instruction. It was argued that the level of pedagogical clinical knowledge and reflective thinking among prospective Afro-American teachers differed not only in mode of instruction but in level of instructional emphasis…

This book provides a research background for adults helping three to five year olds learn mathematics, including social and emotional processes as well as key mathematical ideas and common difficulties. It includes implications for practice and proposes presented with a playful and sensitive approach. It is illustrated with examples from the…

This addendum addresses questions of interest to state education policy makers, also elaborating on questions posed in the original work. Issues examined include: the extent to which subject knowledge contributes to teacher effectiveness; the extent to which knowledge of pedagogical theory, learning theory, or child development contribute…

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the knowledge base of prospective science teachers. An important part of their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) consists of concerns about teaching. Most of the research on these concerns is focused on rather general teaching issues, and little is known about their concerns dealing with…

This study used a sociolinguistic and micro-ethnographic approach to examine whether the setting of a mathematics task had an impact on the type and quality of classroom discourse, and it described the teacher's conflicts and resolutions in facilitating student discourse in a sixth-grade mathematics classroom. Data collection occurred from January…

Results are reported from an investigation into the influence of subject-specific coursework in the development of pedagogical content knowledge in English through contrasting case studies of six beginning English teachers, only three of whom graduated from teacher education programs. Implications for teacher education policy, research, and…

Several articles explain the integrated interdisciplinary approach used in Hawaii's PETOM (Preservice Education for Teachers of Minorities) program, which prepares educators to teach students of culturally diverse backgrounds. After an overview of PETOM, the articles look at the mathematics, science, art, and social studies modules. (SM)

Examines similarities and differences between the experienced and novice science teachers' (n=23) pedagogical content knowledge with respect to demonstration teaching. Concludes that experienced demonstrators have a broader understanding for chemical demonstration teaching than do novices. Suggestions are made to assist novice teachers in…

Reports the effectiveness of nine in-service summer institutes designed to improve geography instruction. Discusses strengths and weaknesses of the workshops and the institutes' long-term effectiveness. Finds that participants not only made substantive changes in how they taught geography, but also conducted high-level inservice programs. (CFR)