The purpose of this study was to determine how contributing to a class wiki affected the learning of pre-service teachers enrolled in a language arts methods class. Participants included 37 preservice teachers enrolled in three sections of a field-based language arts methods class during two semesters. Data collection included online observations…

This qualitative case study aimed to focus on the experiences and subsequent science and science teaching beliefs, attitudes, and self-efficacy of an elementary pre-service teacher, Heather, with extremely positive attitude and high self-efficacy. For this particular population of pre-service teachers, possessing a high science teaching…

There is an alternative to conventional teacher mentorship. The authors describe and analyze a promising model of mentorship where multiple mentees and mentors, each with varying levels of experience, engage collaboratively in the study of teaching practice. They have found that well-designed contexts in which beginning and experienced teachers…

The paradigm of content area literacy instruction is shifting from a view of literacy as generalizable across the curriculum to a disciplinary perspective of literacies specific to the specialized language, text structures, and habits of thinking within particular subject areas. Preservice STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)…

An alternative mathematics preparation program for K-8 teachers is described as an existence proof that steadily increasing effectiveness of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) preparation is possible. The program is based on treating every lesson in each of five mathematics content and methods courses as objects of study.…

Teacher education graduates in their early years of service are ill-prepared to act as building-level change agents who can advocate for the enhanced use of technology in the classroom. In this study, a group of experienced teachers seeking the M.Ed. in Educational Technology suggest that the lack of confidence which new teachers show in relation…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of group testing as a pedagogical technique to enhance learning in a difficult subject such as statistics. Individual test scores were compared to their group test scores for the same, identical test. A t test was used to compare the scores for 157 randomly selected MBA students enrolled…

Identity lenses are forever changing even for the most seasoned teacher. But for pre-service teachers, their developing identity lenses are changing minute by minute as they strive to be autonomous in every aspect involved in the art of teaching whether it be in their teacher preparation program or in the field as a novice teacher. This…

The purpose of this experimental study was two-fold. The first purpose was to explore the levels of self-efficacy of pre-service teachers regarding their own reading and writing processes and their abilities to be effective literacy leaders. The second purpose was to implement two different interventions in literacy instruction for pre-service…

Teaching computer science (CS) in high schools, rather than just programming or even computer literacy, is important as a means of introducing students to the true nature of CS, and enhancing their problem-solving skills. Since teachers are the key to the success of any high school educational initiative, any discussion of high school programs…

Nineteen pre-service and in-service teachers taking a chemistry teaching methods course at a university in Hong Kong were asked to take a diagnostic assessment. It consisted of seven multiple-choice questions about the chemistry of the lead-acid battery. Analysis of the teachers' responses to the questions indicated that they had difficulty in…

This study investigated contextual changes in perceptions of science teaching self-efficacy through pre-, post- and retrospective administrations of the Science Teaching Expectancy Belief Instrument (STEBI-B) among preservice elementary teachers when exposed to a science teaching methods course. Findings revealed that the number of postsecondary…

This study examined the effect of using blogs as reflective journals during a methods course and practicum period on preservice science teacher reflections. The researchers investigated blogging and commenting as potential catalysts for critical reflection using an action research approach. The participants were 10 graduate preservice secondary…

In this mixed-methods study, we investigated how doctoral students used asynchronous online discussions that were added to a face-to-face research methods course. We focused specifically on what sociocognitive tools the students used and what they thought about the value of the online discussions for their learning. Our data included three online…

Teacher preparation programs have been under attack by policy makers in the last decade, and teacher educators are constantly striving to improve their programs. Yet, there are several research-based practices that have been shown to be effective for developing teachers. In this article, the author summarizes a study in one science methods course…