This study examined how methods courses affected preservice teachers' knowledge of and attitudes toward cooperative learning. Data were gathered utilizing a pre/post course attitude survey, a pre/post class true/false test, postclass interviews, and interviews conducted with subjects during their respective student teaching experiences.…

A comprehensive approach to the supervision and training of teaching assistants (TAs) in the proficiency-based classroom might include a pre-service workshop, in-service methodology courses linked to appropriate teaching assignments, and systematic observations and evaluations of their performance as instructors. An intensive pre-service workshop…

With the historical difficulty of changing classroom practices as background, this paper represents a teacher educator's critical investigation of the outcomes of her own instructional practices. Grounded in critical feminist theory, the narrative inquiry critiques epistemological stances taken over 4 years by a literacy educator for elementary…

To obtain practical experience, a research methods class at the University of Colorado (Colorado Springs) undertook a special project to help a nearby county (Park County), assess its planning needs. The county was chosen for its characteristics as a rapidly growing rural area faced with the problems created by mounting population pressure on…

This study considers the enrichment of social studies methods through the integration of videoconferencing in a telecollaborative format. The purpose in developing this study was threefold: (a) to describe the perspectives of teacher candidates while participating in a telecollaborative social studies methods course experience, (b) to determine in…

This paper reviews some of the basic issues and concerns which are reflected in the literature and which either directly or indirectly influenced the development of a syllabus for a mathematics methods course for preservice elementary teachers. These issues include: (1) What should be the content in mathematics for elementary school children? (2)…

In the summer of 1986 the Institute for Independent Education brought to Washington, D.C., 27 teachers who teach mathematics to children enrolled primarily in grades five to eight at independent neighborhood schools that serve mainly African-American children in inner-city neighborhoods. The program included a training course in mathematics…

Presented is a discussion on the negative attitudes of elementary school teachers toward mathematics and some of the research done in this area. Results of an attitudinal questionnaire, given to 120 perspective elementary teachers, are also presented. Fifty-three females and 8 males responded that they liked mathematics, while 55 females and 4…

THIS STUDY OF THE ILLINOIS STATE-WIDE CURRICULUM STUDY CENTER IN THE PREPARATION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL ENGLISH TEACHERS (ISCPET) WAS DESIGNED TO DETERMINE THE PRESENT STATUS OF THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH IN GRADES 10, 11, AND 12 OF ILLINOIS SCHOOLS. IN THE SUMMER OF 1965, 500 QUESTIONNAIRES WERE SENT TO MEMBERS OF THE ILLINOIS ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS…

Research was conducted regarding the lack of information about (1) the relations of open-closed mindedness (dogmatism, authoritarianism, and rigidity) to reactions to a social studies methods course; (2) the possible biasing effects of drawing samples of teacher education students from different groups, subcultural and educational; and (3) the…

Problems involved in evaluating preservice methods courses, such as the difficulty of isolating the specific contribution of a single course, are discussed. The training factor of a methods course must be distinguished from the selection factor influencing the capabilities of a student population. Methods courses should be evaluated if they are to…

Many classroom teachers are not teaching children to read at proper levels because they lack skill administering diagnostic tests and need practice interpreting children's reading behavior during testing. The text-lecture approach may be adequate for imparting information about diagnostic procedures, but it is not adequate for developing skill in…

The Competency Based Teacher Education (CBTE) effort in science methods has been responsible for generating a different approach to university-level instruction. Student achievement of specified goals is greater than in the traditional program, and study perceptions of the instructional experience suggest that competency-based instruction…

A competency-based teacher education program is the most complete approach to training bilingual teachers because trainees know what is expected to be certified, change is built into the program, and students receive credit for life experiences. In the sample program described here, an interdisciplinary committee first stated an integrated view of…

The Yazigi Project for the Teaching of English in Brazilian High Schools, a 2-year, nationwide program for the retraining of high school teachers of English as a foreign language, involved 2,210 teachers and a team of 60 teacher trainers and retrainers. Each training session lasted 6 days and totalled a minimum of 30 hours, with a maximum of 50…