In this paper, the author, who teaches a secondary arts method course at a southwestern university, describes how curriculum planning enabled her to introduce students to the art of lesbian and gay artists, thereby helping the students to understand what they can expect in the real world of teaching and what they might be up against should they…

Although some of the literature on teaching qualitative research methods courses has included students' experiences during courses, these experiences have not been made a primary focus of study and examined systematically. To gain a fuller understanding of students' experiences during a graduate-level qualitative methods course, 13 reflective…

This descriptive study uses narrative analysis to examine the nature and quality of pre-service teachers' initial attempts at reflection via the genre of memoir writing in a social studies methods course. The paper begins by reviewing other uses of narrative reflection and autobiographical writing in teacher education. This is followed by an…

This qualitative study investigated effective instructional methods to train elementary education preservice teachers to apply reading comprehension strategies as readers and teachers. Four comprehension strategies and the components of two instructional models that have proven their efficacy were selected for the content and instructional…

The need exists for methods courses to address the pedagogy issues of using graphing calculators. There needs to be a teacher candidate forum to examine their pedagogical perspectives on using graphing calculators in teaching, to explore when and how to use graphing calculators in the classroom, and to provide opportunities to practice teaching…

This article deals with the use of Problem-Based Learning. The emphasis on high stakes testing, classroom size, diversity, school violence, and much more impact public education and professional preparation programs relative to teacher education. Issues are presented dealing with Accrediting Commissions and Professional Organizations, and the use…

The purpose of this study was to investigate adult singing anxieties arising within the context of a music methods course. Participants were three female elementary education majors who reported suffering from anxiety related to singing. Anxiety toward singing was evidenced through observations and participants' descriptions of cognitive, somatic,…

This research examined the effects of case-based instructional strategies on the development of Pedagogical Technology Integration Content Knowledge (PTICK) in alternative teacher preparation students. The study was part of the Crossroads Project funded by the Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers for Using Technology (PT3) grant from the United States…

In Single Subject preservice programs across the U.S., literacy professors are coping with the demands of preparing their candidates to teach reading and writing across the content areas. The professors are challenged to establish a credible rationale for why teachers in content areas such as physical education, art, and music should be required…

This paper communicates the generative potential of classroom skits as curricular openings in teacher education. Although assorted incidences of the use of skits in classrooms have been documented, literature on the use of skits as a learning tool is very limited. I suggest that skits allow for the generally absent observation component during…

In preparing teachers of English language learners (ELLs), teacher educators face a formidable challenge in the area of reading. Reading is a complex skill that is critical to ELLs' academic achievement. Given the complexity and importance of reading and reading instruction, what topics should be addressed by teacher educators in methods courses?…

A mediating approach is implemented into a section of Block I courses elementary pre-service teachers took in a cohort setting in Spring 2002. The paper discusses the components of the approach as well as the logistics of the initial implementation. Furthermore, the paper provides qualitative and quantitative analysis of a set of data gathered…

Standards challenge educators on a regular basis to integrate technology into their content and methods courses. Students today access the Internet which in many cases, if students see it on the Internet they believe it. In this article, the authors present an experience wherein teacher candidates were randomly assigned a twenty-minute lesson to…

This study examined changes in personal science teaching self-efficacy (PSTE), outcome expectancy (STOE), and science conceptual understanding and relationships among these in preservice teachers. Seventy preservice teachers enrolled in science teaching methods courses participated in this study. PSTE, STOE, and science conceptual understanding…

The purpose of this article is to propose the use of technology integration in elementary and middle level education courses, specifically, the use of WebQuests as vehicles for the infusion of content knowledge in preservice and in-service education courses. Observation in content area teaching methods courses found that teacher candidates often…