The Experimental Student Teaching/Differentiated Staffing Program involved hiring selected elementary education students in their senior year as half-day teacher aides for the full public school year. Within this program, teaching methods courses were conducted at the site by university personnel on selected afternoons during the fall semester;…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between a laboratory-content-oriented secondary science methods course and the development of selected teaching competencies by pre-service secondary science student teachers. A sample of five student teachers were selected for study during their student teaching experience. Several…

Dimensions of personality and value structure were related to preferences for field activities among preservice teachers. These dimensions included authoritarianism; traditionalism of educational views; progressivism of educational views; child centeredness; institutional centeredness; situational knowledge of practical wisdom in teaching; and…

The Partnership in the Education of Teachers (PET), a cooperative venture between Southeastern State College and Colbert, a small disadvantaged rural school, was initiated to revitalize the college elementary teacher training program through earlier field experiences for students; on-the-spot observation, teaching, and consulting by the college…

A "pre-student teaching" project initiated at the University of Delaware is discussed. (MM)

Dscribes the format and content of a three-quarter-long methods course taught to teaching assistants in the German Department of the University of California at Davis. This includes a preteaching orientation program, a year-long methods course, continuing supervision, and rotating teaching assignments. The benefits of this expanded course are…

To promote diverse learning strategies, teacher education programs should use their local environments. For example, students in elementary education methods courses at the University of Maryland spend one week in the Mall area of Washington, DC. They must use all the sources in the Mall to research specific problems. (RM)

Some colleges are moving the reading methods course from the college classroom to an elementary school so that students may obtain first hand practical experience along with theory. (JH)

This study aimed to determine whether different orientations toward qualitative and quantitative methods can be found among students. Data were collected during 3 years from different research methodology course students. There were 195 Finnish students and 122 U.S. students who answered a questionnaire about the appreciation of research methods…

This study was conducted to determine if there were any differences in the opinions of preservice teachers about the effectiveness of a new block structure for elementary education and methods courses and opinions about the previous course structure. The new structure implemented in the 2000-2001 academic year reduced the courses in elementary…

This study investigates the impact of a field-based methods course on the reality of teaching experienced by preservice biology teachers. Four questions guided the research: (1) What are the perceptions of the preservice teachers about biology teaching? (2) What are the preconceptions of preservice teachers about high school students? (3) What…

This paper presents the results of a survey that was administered to mathematics methods instructors, mathematics supervisors, inservice elementary school teachers, and preservice elementary teachers to investigate their beliefs about what should be taught in a preservice mathematics methods course. Current trends, doing mathematics, teaching a…

Suggestions for improving the method of group work in classroom situations are helpful in introducing teacher education students to committee research techniques. (Author/KM)