Background: The predominant dissertation model used in teacher education courses in Flanders is the "literature study with practical processing". Despite the practical supplement, this traditional model does not fit sufficiently well with autonomous learning as the objective of modern teacher education dissertations. This study reports on the…

Service learning is an effective instructional strategy in preservice teacher education programs for engaging students more actively in the learning process. In spite of the extensive studies on service learning in teacher education programs and courses, few studies are devoted to investigating the implementation of service learning in special…

Two perspectives are used to reflect on the learning design of a postgraduate online course--that of the designer/facilitator and that of the learner. While the course focus is on online pedagogical approaches, the main aim is to connect learners with each other and with the facilitator so that together they may investigate, trial, challenge and…

The study compared the effects of a professional development course delivered in an online and a face-to-face format. The effects examined included changes in teachers' pedagogical beliefs, instructional practices, and understanding of teaching number-sense and related mathematical concepts. The study randomly assigned participants to either the…

The main purpose of this study is not to compare online and traditional face-to-face instruction merely to prove which one is better, but rather it aims to highlight some of the possible risks and strengths which may help to improve the role of teachers in both methods. The scene consisted of various thematic blocks from a training programme, with…

Technology skills instruction is an important component of educational technology courses, which has been shown to raise pre-service teachers' computer self-efficacy. Computer self-efficacy, in turn, is positively related to their self-efficacy for technology integration. Studies of undergraduate technology skills instruction found that classroom…

Video usage in educational contexts is on the rise. We examined 3 alternative theories about cognitive mechanisms of learning and their implications for instructional design when video is employed to enhance text-based learning. Hypothesis-testing procedures followed a falsificationist approach, grounded in philosophy of science literature.…

To be effective, teacher education programs need to engage teachers in learning as professionals. This includes learning experiences grounded in classroom practice and guidance to develop as professionals so teachers can take on roles of leaders and mentors in their classrooms and in partnerships with universities. New web-based communication…

The No Child Left Behind Act requires that all teachers be certified within the content areas that they teach. However, attracting and retaining highly qualified science teachers in rural school districts is particularly difficult due to limited resources and geographic and professional isolation. Science professional development programs could…

The present study focuses on the use of thinking types as a possible way to structure university students' discourse in asynchronous discussion groups and consequently promote their learning. More specifically, the aim of the study is to determine how requiring students to label their contributions by means of De Bono's (1991) thinking hats…

Progress towards inclusive education has been linked to the professional development of teachers, including their initial training. This study explores the range and nature of the experiences that students bring to a one-year Post Graduate Certificate in Education course for prospective secondary teachers in England. The data was gathered through…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the paid and unpaid work time and learning activities of a small longitudinal sample (n=286) of continuously employed Canadians over the 1998-2004 period. Design/methodology/approach: A sub-sample of those who responded to two national surveys carried out in 1998 and 2004 and who were continuously…

Assessing learning outcomes in general education is increasingly important to accrediting bodies. A fertile area of assessment is measuring changes in student attitudes/values in response to general education. University of Maine faculty experimented with such an attitude assessment. In this study, the authors assessed changes in students'…

In this study, we aimed to develop a framework that could be used to describe the value of the learning portfolio for the learning process of individual student teachers. Retrospective interviews with 21 student teachers were used, as were their portfolio-evaluation reports on their experiences of working on a portfolio. Seven functions of the…

The imperial hubris, insecurities and indifference of our bloody new millennium pose profound challenges to feminist anti-racist and anti-colonial educators. For those of us who turn to literature education to create spaces of sustained moral reflection, there is a particular challenge to think through the kinds of reading practices which might…