For the last nine years, Ukpokodu has taught an elementary social studies methods course. As one who is grounded in multicultural education, global education and critical pedagogy, she approaches the course from a transformative and social reconstructionist perspective (Banks 1996; Sleeter and Grant 1994). That means that the course reflects…

This study reports on student experiences in an inquiry-oriented elementary science methods course. Students in this course designed and conducted an independent investigation, and then adapted that investigation to develop an inquiry-oriented lesson and a corresponding performance assessment. Students' written reflections expressed increased…

This report presents findings from a 2006 national survey of all Title IV degree-granting 4- year postsecondary institutions on how teacher candidates within teacher education programs for initial licensure are being prepared to use educational technology once they enter the field. The "Educational Technology in Teacher Education Programs…

This paper describes an experimental exploration of special procedures used in a game-like online expository writing experience that was designed to help preservice language arts teachers develop descriptive writing skills. Participants were asked to describe a target picture within a picture set to their cohorts in an online discussion in order…

Reform in the fields of adolescent and content area literacy have focused on broadening a definition of literacy beyond the ability to read and write. In a broader definition the language processes of reading, writing, speaking and listening become literacy tools to engage students in the learning of concepts and afford the learner ways to…

The purpose of this study was to identify and compare the teaching concerns of two groups of preservice teachers who were taught language arts methodology through the use of different approaches. A traditional approach (lectures and demonstrations by the professor) was used with one group (n=43) and a field-experience approach (lectures by the…

This study explored whether the addition of visual examples through laser disc instruction influenced the learning and application of convergent and divergent questioning techniques and wait-time by preservice elementary education teachers during their clinical experience. The study compared the difference in the frequency of convergent and…

A common belief among teacher educators is that different academic backgrounds may influence student entry level and rates of matriculation through the curriculum. This report describes a study using a "pretest/posttest" method to evaluate student academic progression, and to determine variance in scores between two groups of graduate students…

Preservice teachers must see appropriate instruction in action; they must see content in conjunction with process. Content, process, and active student involvement are necessary for the creation of new cognitive structures that are congruent with the view that reading is an interactive-constructive process. Three types of literacy course…

This paper describes multiculturalism courses in teacher education at Bethany College (California) and at the University of Southern Mississippi and argues that an increasingly global society creates the need for unity that can be achieved through multicultural education, which if effectively designed and implemented enlightens individuals to the…

Public schools are increasingly investigating portfolio assessment as a means of evaluating student performance. A project examined student participation in portfolio assessment and cooperative learning in a "Reading in the Content Areas" class for preservice teachers. Students were a diverse group which included preservice middle school…

This paper is a progress report on an ongoing, longitudinal study of the preparation of preservice elementary teachers in science. The study builds on previous work and explores the experiences of an intake of preservice students in 1994. These students were required to take a core course in science content in their foundation and subsequently a…

A study investigated the effects on student teachers of peer responses offered through dialogue journals on English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teacher education. Subjects were nine students in a student teaching seminar, all involved in practicums in public high schools. Over 15 weeks, students wrote journal entries both on selected topics from…

A survey instrument was developed to examine preservice teachers' understanding of classroom issues related to exceptional needs and cultural diversity. The instrument was administered to 832 preservice teachers at universities in Alabama, Michigan, Montana, New York, and Washington at 3 levels (beginning, middle, and end of program). Data are…

This study examined elementary teacher candidates' understanding of how history is "made" by historians and how texts are analyzed in the process of historical inquiry. Interviews with three elementary student teachers enrolled at a large southwestern state university indicated that they all had a markedly limited background in academic history.…