In this study, we hypothesize that cases demonstrating exemplary practice in the science classroom can be used as a source for learning content and pedagogical skills that will improve teachers' self-efficacy beliefs. Twelve preservice elementary science teachers are followed as they participate in a case and case method activity illustrating the…

"Review of Adult Learning and Literacy: Connecting Research, Policy, and Practice, Volume 7" is the newest volume in a series of annual publications of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) that address major issues, the latest research, and the best practices in the field of adult literacy and…

This document represents the annual report card of the U.S. Department of Education's efforts and outcomes during fiscal year 2007. This year's report builds on efforts to increase transparency, and more effectively communicate goals and objectives. The report emphasizes achievements and challenges associated with implementing the Department of…

This article revisits the debate between cultural and critical literacy through ethnography challenging popular academic views in education and literacy. Set in a preschool classroom at the inception of the "No Child Left Behind" initiative, this essay focuses on teaching assistant Marylou Anderson. Her experiences growing up in…

This qualitative study describes the outcomes of teachers from three different countries (Ghana, Spain, and USA) enrolled in a graduate educational psychology class taught by the authors. A theory-into-practice teaching approach was used to encourage in-service teachers to conduct a research process guided by the instructors. Participants engaged…

Traditionally, universities focus primarily on instructionist teaching. Such an understanding has been criticized from theoretical and practical points of view. We believe that "socio-cultural theories of learning" and the concepts of "social capital" and "social creativity" hold considerable promise as a theoretical…

A science teacher and her mentor reflect on their participation in the Learning Research Cycle, a professional learning model that bridges research and practice in both university and public school contexts. Teachers do scientific research in scientists' laboratories, then bridge their scientific experiences with the design of new classroom…

Answering the call for a comprehensive textbook on what reading teachers really need to know, this is the book that arms educators with not just the what and the how, but also the why that other texts don't cover. Two prominent literacy experts team with an elementary school specialist to give preservice teachers an easy-to-understand textbook…

The "Educational Media and Technology Yearbook" is dedicated to theoretical, empirical and practical approaches to educational media development. All chapters are invited and selected based on a variety of strategies to determine current trends and issues in the field. The 2009 edition will highlight innovative Trends and Issues in…

This text, designed to be a comprehensive introduction to special education, emphasizes linking research and practice and implementing best practices in the education of students with learning disabilities, mental retardation, behavioral/emotional problems, giftedness, speech and/or language impairments, visual impairments, hearing impairments,…

The authors in this book address the issues that relate to the crisis in American education and review some of the proposed solutions. To transform education, schools must be examined as social systems that are interrelated with families, communities, and the world of work. Following the introduction, section 1, "Conditions for Educational…

Although newer views about the constructivist basis of knowledge and more reflective models of practices have been introduced in most teacher-training programs, this has not been the case for many administration-preparation programs. A result is a growing gap between the knowledge and skills required of new teachers and the knowledge and…

The roles that pragmatics can play in the development of communicative competence are discussed, and three uses are examined in greater detail, with examples offered: (1) for the refinement of the study of speech acts as they occur in different cultures; (2) to help determine the extent to which explicit instruction can increase the rate at which…

This book is divided into three parts. It begins with fundamental principles about reading, texts, and teaching which underlie the way the book approaches its subject; the second part looks more closely at some of the theoretical issues and how they affect reading teaching. The third focuses on the importance of exensive reading, the choice of…

This paper discusses the challenges facing teacher education programs to produce highly sensitive student teachers who are motivated to reflect on their own work, to develop during the preservice process and later as teachers within the professional frame of reference, and to capture a coherent picture of the course of professional development.…