Describes a procedure for teaching experimental design to students in the social sciences. Argues that by replicating Solomon Asch's and H. Kelley's classic studies on impression formation, students learn how to conduct experiments, analyze data, and evaluate the significance of research. Provides instructions for implementing the strategy. (DSK)

Examines the interplay of two added components to a reading/language arts methods course: professional readings informed by diverse viewpoints; and participation in a multicultural literature discussion group. Explores how this methods course extended students' understanding and beliefs about teaching the history and lives of the varied groups of…

Issues-centered teaching is considered an alternative to the monotonous, fragmented and coverage-oriented approach characteristic of most approaches to social studies instruction. This paper sought to investigate how six second-year middle and high school social studies teachers attempted to implement an issues-centered instructional model taught…

This article presents a case study of the use of digital video technology with a new pedagogical approach under a constructivist framework in an elementary school foreign language methods course. Data were collected through interviews with the methods course instructor, field notes, analytical notes from videotaped student presentations of their…

In this study, category-based self and peer assessment were applied twice in a semester in an Elementary Science Teaching Methods course in order to assess individual contributions of group members to group projects as well as to analyze the impact of Individual Weighting Factors (IWF) on individual scores and individual grades. IWF were…

Given a sociocultural framework of teaching and learning, argumentation and discourse become central elements of education, particularly in science education because of argumentation's key role in scientific communities. This study documents preservice teachers' perceptions of and aptitudes related to argumentation as they participated in a…

Interteaching is a new method of classroom instruction that is based on behavioral principles but offers more flexibility than other behaviorally based methods. We examined the effectiveness of interteaching relative to a traditional form of classroom instruction--the lecture. In Study 1, participants in a graduate course in special education took…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a summer science camp teaching experience on preservice elementary teachers' science teaching efficacy, science content knowledge, and understanding of the nature of science. Master's degree students enrolled in the elementary Fairfax Partnership Schools (FPS, n = 21) cohort served as the…

Teacher education programs are cognizant of the need to prepare preservice teachers (PTs) to work effectively with children from diverse cultural backgrounds. Well-constructed field experiences can help PTs develop awareness and gain understanding of important cultural considerations related to effective teaching and learning (Sleeter, 2001). This…

This inquiry uses teacher-candidate critiques of science lessons as a means of evaluating the effectiveness of an instructor's pedagogical approach to promote teacher candidate understanding of the nature of science (NOS) in a science methods course. Three cohorts of teacher candidates enrolled in a middle-years teacher education program were…

The majority of middle school teachers are prepared in either generalist elementary programs or subject-specific secondary programs, yet researchers and teacher educators have little understanding of the ways in which these divergent pathways prepare teachers for working at the middle school level. In this study, preservice teachers from an…

As a teacher educator in a large public university, the author's methods courses are frequently comprised of both pre- and in-service teachers who are, or will be, working with culturally, linguistically, and cognitively diverse (CLCD) early language learners. It is incumbent upon the author to equip them with skills, strategies, and a sound…

This paper examines the strategies used, challenges faced and lessons learned in meeting the diverse learning needs of graduate initial certification and graduate certified teachers in the same cross-listed early childhood mathematics class. Questions investigated included "How can instructors best meet the learning needs of diverse candidates in…

The author asserts that it is time for social studies teachers to engage students in a review of the rift between historical reality and mythology about Viet Nam, especially in light of recent comparisons that many have made between the Viet Nam War and the current situation in Iraq. Few teachers dealt with Viet Nam at the time of the war, and…

We collected data from 149 graduate teaching assistants at a Midwestern university concerning their classroom duties, experiences with TA training and supervision, sense of self-efficacy toward teaching, preference for supervisory style, and feedback on those modes and skill domains in TA training they felt were most effective and best prepared…