Asks to what degree should social studies preservice teachers be prepared to deal with academic freedom issues? Argues that preparing students for citizenship can involve teachers in controversial issues and challenges to curriculum content. Reports that methods professors agreed that preservice teachers should be required to investigate academic…

Examines the most common constraints preservice teachers perceive about teaching science, the locus of control for these constraints, and strategies for overcoming the five most common constraints so that teachers can resolve feelings of powerlessness. Constraints include time allotted, financial resources, curriculum standards, peer pressure to…

Presents a model for methods classes that shows what can be accomplished on a small scale by one professor. Suggests that teacher educators can impact the future one class at a time--they can use their expertise and status in the local educational community to improve the experiences of novice teachers. (SG)

Describes a social studies methods course in which students explore the buildings where they live and then develop lessons on "buildings" for elementary students that connect to the themes within "Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies." (CMK)

Describes the project called "U2U," a collaboration among the University of Minnesota School of Music, The University of Minnesota dance department, and two urban public school districts in Minneapolis-St. Paul (Minnesota). Presents strategies for collaboratively developing an interdisciplinary curriculum around William Walton's "Facade." Includes…

Describes efforts to integrate technology into a reading methodology course for secondary English majors. Discusses the use of e-mail, multimedia, distance education for videoconferences, online discussion technology, subject-specific software, desktop publishing, a database management system, a concept mapping program, and the use of the World…

Science teachers must adapt curriculum materials, so preservice teachers must develop beginning proficiency with this authentic task of teaching. What criteria do they use when they critique these materials in preparation for adapting them, when they develop the criteria themselves and when they are given a set of criteria from which to choose?…

This study examined the views, and the retention of these views, of 19 preservice elementary teachers as they learned about nature of science (NOS). The preservice teachers participated in a cohort group as they took a science methods course during which they received explicit reflective instruction in nature of science. Through Views of Nature of…

This exploratory study examined the feasibility of (a) a reading methods course promoting habits of inquiry in preservice teachers and (b) using "video cases" as a means of both promoting habits of inquiry and measuring the extent to which a preservice teacher has developed the dimensions of inquiry-based teaching. Three dimensions of inquiry were…

A growing body of research in the fields of mathematics education and literacy supports the inclusion of children's literature with the teaching and learning of mathematics. When mathematics is couched within a story and presented using pictures and informal, familiar language, students can more readily grasp the mathematical ideas and concepts.…

To date, very little has been written about what kind of experiences foreign and second language teachers had during their preservice teaching internships and the implications of these experiences on the quality of foreign and second language instruction in the United States in K-12 settings. This article presents the case study of one student…

The construct of "situational interest" involves the identification of classroom factors that arouse student interest, but previous research has focussed on non-science domains such as reading or mathematics. The first aim of this study was to identify the sources of situational interest in a science content/methods course for primary teacher…

This study investigated prospective secondary science teachers' understandings of and intentions to teach about scientific modelling in the context of a model-based instructional module. Qualitative methods were used to explore the influence of instruction using dynamic computer modelling. Participants included 14 secondary science prospective…

The development of new courses is strengthened by assessment and a response to the assessment. Two new science methods courses for elementary and secondary preservice teachers were developed, fostered by the Great Salt Lake Project. The preservice teachers designed and performed research projects that they then converted into inquiry-based…

Many preservice primary teachers initially have a low self-efficacy, or belief in their ability to teach science, but well-designed science education courses can produce significant positive changes in efficacy beliefs. However, the extent to which the belief changes are durable, or maintained over time, is yet to be established. The purpose of…