Methods courses, the mainstays of preservice teacher education in social studies, are curiously understudied in general terms although there are numerous focused studies on such topics as methods textbooks, problem-based learning, and critical thinking, including an issue focused on reflections on the methods course in the "International Social…

Relying on only one method of assessment does not necessarily yield an accurate picture of student achievement. This paper discusses aspects of designing, implementing, and evaluating portfolios in a mathematics methods classroom; describes how the use of portfolios has influenced teaching practice; and contains excerpts from student portfolios.…

A study examined "Learning Community" meetings at the College of Education and Human Services at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in which professors, inservice teachers, and preservice teachers in a 15-hour semester block connected with a clinical field experience meet and engage in dialogue about the program. A total of four…

This investigation was conducted to determine changes in the levels of teaching efficacy as a function of the clinical experience in six public elementary schools, among pre-student-teaching novices in four subject areas: science, social studies, language arts, and mathematics. The sample included 58 novices who participated in the semester block…

A 12-hour curriculum/methods block designed to lead elementary education teacher candidates through a constructivist, integrated model of teaching and learning is outlined. This block is part of a graduate level program that leads to licensure and a master's of Curriculum and Instruction in Curriculum and Instruction called Initial Teacher…

Whether for use in a special methods course in teaching chemistry or a general methods course in teaching science, this guidebook is designed to assist the methods instructor in the task of fitting the ChemSource materials into the established patterns of the course. Each of three sections contains a number of units that accommodate the patterns…

A study examined the interaction of teacher and student in a methods preparation course for undergraduate special education majors. The course was structured around several projects, two types of writing logs, and readings. Fieldnotes from an observer participant, records of a debriefing meeting, students' weekly entries on content learning logs…

A study assessed whether means for student evaluations of instruction tended to be lower in research methods classes than in other communication classes. Questionnaires were sent to 126 communication departments listed in the 1993 Speech Communication Association Directory and which were thought likely to require undergraduate research methods…

Intending teachers in two science education methods classes (Fall Quarter, n=27; Spring Quarter, n=21) read and discussed a qualitative study describing science teaching and learning in a culturally diverse middle school. The two primary participants in the qualitative study were a white female veteran life science teacher and a white male…

Seventy-six undergraduate students in an introductory science methods class for prospective teachers were randomly assigned to either a student directed or an instructor directed section. Using analysis of variance, it appeared that neither approach had an overall advantage in the attainment of course objectives, although interaction patterns…

Presented is an attempt (1) to provide operational definitions of the learning objectives that have been clarified through firsthand experience with students in the physical science course for preservice elementary teachers at the University of Washington, Seattle, and (2) to identify some of the problems of intellectual development that have been…

Teacher educators from the preservice programs in the Teacher Education and Learning to Teach Study were interviewed about the purposes of their methods courses, using an interview schedule constructed around individual course syllabi. The respondents seem to have complex, hazy, and perhaps unconscious purposes for these courses. Many of the…

Through specific practices in methods classes, prospective teachers can be taught the benefits of professional activism. One such strategy is to provide students with complimentary copies of "Language Arts" and ask them to read two or three articles that especially interest them. Another strategy asks students to read, select, and submit one or…

This study identified strengths and weaknesses of the components in the general methods course, "Micro-teaching: Practice in Teaching Techniques", prior to a curriculum reorganization. The course included four basic components: (1) classroom instruction; (2) laboratory pre-conference; (3) laboratory teaching practice; and (4) laboratory…

This study assessed the reactions of 39 teacher candidates toward the following components of a general methods course, "Micro-Teaching: Practice in Teaching Techniques": (1) instruction in methods; (2) pre-teaching conferences; (3) laboratory teaching; and (4) post-teaching conferences. The subjects, who were enrolled in two sections of the…