The materials developed by teachers in England for the Mathematics Teacher Education Project (MTEP) draw on such disciplines as philosophy, educational psychology, sociology, history, and curriculum studies. In the attempt to provide a coherent, well-rounded mathematics methods course for prospective teachers, MTEP can encourage interdisciplinary…

Videotaped model lessons in language instruction methodology classes provide the trainee with an opportunity to evaluate different methodologies, evaluate classroom management tactics, and see what is practical or impractical. These lessons also provide a basis for self-evaluation of initial teaching performance and an alternative to the…

Describes the creation and use of a history media center for under $200 which will improve history instruction and heighten student interest in the subject. For journal availability, see SO 505 448. (Author/DB)

More colleges should offer a FLES methods course. Through student teaching, language teachers encounter typical situations with administrators and classroom teachers. Courses should provide techniques, materials and assistance. Teachers would support FLES and become more creative in teaching if given such a methods course. (CHK)

Uses "novice educators" in an introductory reading methods course to examine basal readers, compare basal stories and trade books, and consider the teaching of reading using these two primary tools. Finds that the merits of using an integrated or eclectic approach far outweigh the "ease" of using preplanned instruction provided…

Preservice teachers, with no student teaching experience, in a literacy methods course wrote profiles of themselves, pretending that they were first-year teachers, and profiles of actual experienced teachers. Findings from analysis of the profiles focus on preservice teachers' expectations about classroom environment, language arts teaching,…

Eastern Kentucky University's secondary teacher education program revised a general methods course and content specific methods courses to increase student teachers' effectiveness. Curricular change included more emphasis on classroom management, professional development, and instructional technology. Participant surveys investigated whether the…

Responds to the article "Social Studies Teacher Educators' Perceptions of Character Education" (Andrew J. Milson). Disagrees strongly with the ideas presented by Milson in his article, stating that the survey discussed is attempting to promote a certain agenda. (CMK)

Responds to Alan Singer in his "Response to Milson on Character Education." States that Singer's account is flawed because his article is based on a misunderstanding of the purpose of the study presented in Milson's original article, "Social Studies Teacher Educators' Perceptions of Character Education." (CMK)

Focuses on helping graduate students reframe their thinking about the teaching of literature to undergraduate students in the various roles undergraduates play as language learners and particularly as "nonintended readers" of texts from cultures very different from there own. Suggests students can be led to engage in a dialogue with texts, to take…

This article describes an effort to employ cooperative team learning (CTL), specifically the Jigsaw technique, as a vehicle for helping prospective middle school teachers enrolled in a social studies methods course translate theory into practice. Recommendations are made for broader implementation of CTL in middle school teacher education…

Results from a study of elementary student teachers (N=79) indicate that these student teachers only variably employed instructional strategies emphasized in university methods courses. Possible explanations for this behavior are considered, and implications for preservice teacher education are discussed. (IAH)

A review of the status and activities of foreign language instruction in Florida elementary schools discusses languages taught (primarily Spanish); state funding and school district programs; teacher certification; and preservice teacher education and methods courses. (CB)

Discusses, through a dialogue between an education professor and a student, a course entitled "Teaching Language Arts in the Elementary School." Describes selected aspects of the course, including purpose, plans, and results. Explains how the course helped prepare the student for teaching and how the dialogue helped the professor refine the…

Youngstown State University offers a "Principles of High School Teaching" course to present prospective secondary school teachers with knowledge and opportunity to examine critically various facets of high school teaching in order to reconceptualize both schooling and teacher's role, focusing on developing understanding of intellectual…