Problem based learning (PBL) is an instructional method aimed at engaging students in collaboratively solving an ill-structured problem. PBL has been presented and researched as an overhaul of existing curriculum design, yet a modified version may be attractive to college instructors who desire active learning on the part of their students, but…

We discuss an innovative task used in teacher education--Lesson Play--that involves presenting a lesson in the form of an interaction between a teacher and students. We describe the motivation for the development of this task and, through specific examples, describe the iterative design process in which the task was refined and improved. We…

Effectively engaging students in mathematics discourse is challenging, especially in a language other than the one in which you learned mathematics. Teachers must manage the academic as well as social function of language. In Spanish-English bilingual classrooms in the U.S., changing the language of instruction to Spanish may not be enough to…

The purpose of this study is to understand the phenomenon of the "professional journey" of elementary teacher candidates (ETC) both as learners and as teachers by exploring their learning experiences and practices regarding the virtual reality (VR) platform called Second Life (SL). Using the grounded theory approach, we designed an…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine preservice physical education teachers' (PPET) service learning experiences planning and implementing course assignments aligned with comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) recommendations. Methods: Based on service learning principles, PPETs (N = 18) enrolled in a physical…

Through a case study, this article sheds light onto generative text sets as tools for developing and enacting critically inclusive early childhood teacher education pedagogies. In doing so, it positions teaching and learning processes as sociocultural, historical, and political acts as it inquires into the use of generative text sets in one early…

Leading a whole-class discussion is a complex and critical skill, and pivotal to learning and achievement. Classroom teachers have been challenged to engage students in meaningful dialogue, and successfully meet educational standards and requirements. Teacher education programs are responsible for preparing future candidates--preservice…

Methods courses provide a rich opportunity to unpack what it means to "learn history by doing history." To help explain what "doing history" means, the author has created history labs to walk teacher candidates through the historical process. Each lab poses a historical problem, requires analysis of primary and secondary…

In this article, Denise D. Cunningham presents a project that emerged from informal discussions with early childhood pre-service teachers during their content area methods courses at a large, Midwestern four-year university. Students stated that they needed personal experience with materials and practices that they will be expected to use in…

This study explored the impact of authentic learning exercises, as an instructional strategy, on preservice teachers' technology integration self-efficacy and intentions to integrate technology. Also explored was the predictive relationship between change in preservice teachers' technology integration self-efficacy and change in intentions to…

This study describes two years of findings with a unique field experience (teaching science inquiry activities to African-American girls in a summer STEM camp) for preservice elementary education majors. It reports on the effects of the field experience, in conjunction with blocked science and mathematics methods courses, on preservice teachers'…

Over the last several years teacher preparation programs have strived to adequately prepare pre-service teachers for more diverse populations in the classroom. However, little research has been done to examine the attitudes of pre-service teachers related to white privilege. This is the qualitative report from a mixed-methods study which examined…

This article has two aims: (a) to offer a new model for a teacher preparation course that features reflection and teaching as integral, inseparable actions and (b) to provide empirical evidence from an exploratory ethnography to demonstrate teacher development possibilities with this model. The model, termed "Transformative Reflection,"…

Response to intervention (RTI) is a general education intervention system used by classroom teachers to assist struggling learners and provide individualized, academic support to help all students succeed academically. This process is also vital as a prereferral process as a prerequisite to special education referrals and eligibility…

Background/context: Tensions between university-based teacher preparation courses and field placements have long been identified as an obstacle to novices' uptake of promising instructional practices. This tension is particularly salient for writing instruction, which continues to receive inadequate attention in K-12 classrooms. More scholarship…