This article presents the results of a research study that examined the benefits and limitations of a professional development school program designed to assimilate experienced high school teachers into the fabric of preservice educator preparation at an institution accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.…

This article presents a portrait of practice of one social studies methods professor engaged in teaching his course and analyzes the choices the professor makes during the semester. These choices are linked to his philosophy of social studies education with particular attention paid to his passionate belief in the American story as the core of…

While other research has begun to contribute to our understanding of how pre-college students reason about variation, little has been published regarding pre-service teachers' statistical conceptions. This paper summarizes a framework useful in examining elementary pre-service teachers' conceptions of variation, and investigates the question of…

This report presents findings from a 2006 national survey of all Title IV degree-granting 4- year postsecondary institutions on how teacher candidates within teacher education programs for initial licensure are being prepared to use educational technology once they enter the field. The "Educational Technology in Teacher Education Programs…

Over the last two decades a growing number of states have required a content area reading class for secondary education. Preservice teachers in secondary education who are required to enroll in content area reading courses often have little teaching experience and may enter the courses with misconceptions about content area reading. Since…

A review was done of how teacher training programs teach prospective teachers. After searching the literature for research on secondary English methods classes and finding none, the study solicited syllabi from over 300 universities across the country. Syllabi from 81 universities were received. Through analysis of the syllabi the study identified…

The theory and practice of whole language teaching should be integral and simultaneous components of preservice teacher education. A number of instructional strategies and class activities can be used to provide preservice teachers with experiences similar to experiences they will provide to elementary school children. Examples of class activities…

A study explored how reflective inquiry could be used to promote preservice teachers' understanding about reading during a one-semester required reading certification course. Subjects, 22 dual certification elementary/special education undergraduate juniors, 27 secondary education undergraduate juniors, and 11 graduate students in a master of…

It is proposed that professional preparation programs for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers can help teachers become better cultural observers by drawing on their prior experiences in developing perceptions about their own culture and the classroom culture. A theoretical framework and its application in one ESL teacher education program…

It is argued that analysis of variance (ANOVA) and related methods should be taught using a general linear model (GLM) approach, rather than a classical ordinary sums of squares approach. The GLM approach emphasizes the linkages among conventional parametric methods, emphasizing that all classical parametric methods are least squares procedures…

Using Alice's experience in "Through the Looking Glass" as inspiration, this paper recounts how preservice teachers journey through their field-based experiences and gain increasing insights into the teaching profession. The paper illustrates their progression with notes from several reflective logs which will eventually become papers…

This paper describes the results of a productive collaboration between university instructors who linked the principles and theories in reading methods coursework with the practical field experience of preservice teachers. The objectives of the collaboration were: to counter the effects of the isolation of theoretical premises of reading…

Concept maps provided a measure of subjects' cognitive structures before and after completion of an environmental education course. Concept maps were constructed from expressions taken from the issue "global climate." Expressions were assigned to one of three domains: science, technology or society. Maps were analyzed by constituent…

An action research study examined a teacher's developing collaborative practices in her secondary curriculum development and instructional methods class. The class was composed of 14 women ranging in age from 21 to approximately 50 in a medium sized southwestern university. Data were collected through a reflective journal and from certain student…

A teacher educator incorporates active involvement of students and choice in two different college classrooms. The first class was an undergraduate reading/literacy education class. Students were offered the choice of the RAP (Reading Addiction Process) option or taking the final exam. Students read materials of their own choice on a daily basis.…