Prospective elementary school teachers presented with a persuasive article advocating the use of discovery techniques in science teaching and presenting science as a "dynamic, analytical, flexible way" of problem solving scored higher on a post-test science attitude instrument than a control group who read an unrelated passage. Role playing did…

Cites concern for teachers' (new and experienced) need for direct and extended training in the implications and various techniques and strategies for maintaining effective discipline within the classroom. Suggests institutions of higher education need to offer graduate and undergraduate students specific training in the area of discipline. (AH)

Describes a survey of 100 library school deans and directors conducted to determine the current status of bibliographic instruction. Results indicate that interest in such courses is high and that preparing effective instructors to teach involves skills in communication, teaching techniques, and evaluation techniques.

Describes an individualized approach to teaching a methods course for secondary teachers. (IRT)

Contends that research methods can play an important role in undergraduate education, especially in mass communication, and that methods courses help students develop an appreciation for the tentative nature of knowledge. States also that such courses can help communication departments demonstrate centrality to their respective universities. (PA)

Describes how one teacher educator uses book clubs as a way to model and confirm the value and power of shared reading experiences. Considers how preservice teachers will act upon their new knowledge gained in book clubs to inform their planning and practice. Suggests bringing book clubs into classrooms. (SG)

Proposes that preservice elementary education majors encounter five hurdles as they experience their science methods course: (1) reservations and hesitations or the anxiety stage; (2) awareness/enjoyment stage; (3) intrinsic shift; (4) rapid building of self confidence and self efficacy; and (5) empowerment. (MVL)

The special education methods sequence at University of Virginia is a two-semester training program which emphasizes a behavioral approach to teaching. The first course emphasizes methods; the second focuses on integration of curriculum and methods. Course goals, format, teaching methods, texts and student evaluation are outlined. (IAH)

Outlines the essential conditions of cooperative learning. Describes six cooperative learning structures modeled in a reading methods class that can be used to create literacy activities appropriate in fourth through sixth grade. (SR)

Offers an outline of the social studies methods course taught at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. (SR)

Presents methods of using data sets to explain the concepts of ecological fallacy and psychological reductionism to beginning methods students. Includes information on variables, an appendix on data and software sources, and statistical results. Suggests that students will learn the concepts described as well as the principle of uncertainty in…

Reviews a number of books for language arts methods course instructors that address a tension between their professional obligation to represent a broad range of theoretical issues current in the field and their students' urgent desire for practical skills and information that will help them get an English class up and running. (TB)

Defines components of activity systems shaping readers' responses to literature. Applies a framework to responses of "advanced" and "regular" high school students to a story about a regular student going on a field trip with advanced students. Applies the framework to responses of teachers in a graduate writing methods course…