Graduate students enrolling in research methods courses frequently experience significant anxiety. An effective instructor can lessen anxiety and alleviate frustration by using both personal interaction and course activities. This newsletter describes ways to reduce anxiety and help students approach research with understanding and interest. This…

This study investigated whether or not students apply educational theory to practical situations when they are involved in a learning process that starts from their own educational experiences and "Gestalts," the holistic unity of knowledge, feelings, values, and meanings linked to concrete situations encountered before, and colored by…

Instructors of methods classes in social studies for preservice teachers were surveyed concerning their class goals, their instructional methods, and the attributes they believed essential for teacher success and competence. Study findings suggest some factors that may help to account for the alleged lack of impact of teacher education courses.…

Presents tabular and narrative findings from a survey of industrial teacher educators to obtain data on the delivery systems they preferred to use in teaching specific teacher competencies and the categories or clusters of teaching competencies. The educators still preferred print-base materials and the lecture-discussion method. (MF)

Discusses national trends and local variations in teacher education and describes a survey to ascertain students' views on the teacher training process and the debate between classroom technicians and educational analysts. (CK)

This article describes Memorial University's overseas campus program in Harlow, Essex, where special education teacher trainees spend 13 weeks gaining insight into British methods of special education through lecture-seminar courses, practicums in local schools, and field trips. Three field trips to special schools are discussed in detail. (SJL)

This study compared a teacher-directed interactive video classroom management training program, interactive video instruction, and teacher directed instruction for effectiveness in developing preservice physical educators' knowledge of classroom management. Results found that the interactive video method was more effective in developing preservice…

Describes a project that a middle school ESOL teacher and a university professor designed to challenge middle school ESOL students--immigrants from Bosnia and Mexico--to enhance their academic literacy through social interaction by sharing their own expertise as ESOL learners with a group of future ESOL teachers enrolled in a TESL literacy methods…

Discusses changing views of teaching and learning and the focus on various integration efforts taking place nationally. Highlights integration for relevancy and staff development and teacher inservice. Presents a rationale for an integrated science and mathematics methods course as a vehicle for enhancing future teachers' understanding of both…

The case study reported here describes two student teachers' thinking related to emergent issues during their first field placement for a course exploring elementary reading instruction. The students submitted journals, lesson plans, portfolios, field notes, and discussion group reflections. Data analysis indicated the students had very different…

The role of methods courses to help prospective elementary teachers learn to teach mathematics was investigated. The influence of past experience on preservice teachers, their lack of subject knowledge, and the lack of time set aside for a methods course are discussed. (KR)

Examines the dimensions of preservice teachers' resistance to content reading instruction. Finds that preservice teachers hold surface misconceptions about content reading common among teachers. Finds resistance deeply rooted in beliefs and traditions of school life relating to teachers' roles and allegiance to content disciplines. Suggests…

This article discusses the conceptual framework, methods courses, student teaching component, and evaluation results of the science teacher education program at University of Iowa. (IAH)

Reports on a study undertaken to validate the practicality of using the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (Perceived Form) (CLES) in a preservice elementary science methods course. Suggestions are made to potentially revise the CLES for more accurate measures in college classrooms. (LZ)

Presents a narrative account of an activity designed to extend the understanding of both science curriculum and alternative assessment for prospective science teachers enrolled in an advanced undergraduate course. The activity models instructional practice in a methods class. (LZ)