Students, parents, and sometimes even teachers often believe that complex mathematics is too difficult for certain learners. But the programs described in this article demonstrate that anyone can learn, understand, and use complex math. Lesa M. Covington-Clarkson boosted the confidence of black 6th graders by teaching them to use graphing…

The establishment of the European Higher Education Area has involved specifying lists of professional competencies that programs are expected to develop, and with this the need for procedures to measure how every course within a higher education program is aligned with the program's competencies. We propose an instrument for characterizing this…

This study reports on an analysis of preservice teachers' dialogue journal entries for evidence of ways in which teachers develop conceptual understanding for writing instruction. Teachers' propositional statements were identified and coded at a specific level for three themes: (1) level of instructional scaffolding, (2) focus of proposed…

Preservice elementary teachers have been shown to generally possess poor mathematical knowledge (e.g. Goulding, Rowland, & Barber, 2002) and also strong negative attitudes toward mathematics (e.g. MacNab & Payne, 2004). Recently, national organizations have proposed interventions to address these issues (Conference Board of the…

The study investigated the changes in levels of mathematics anxiety among pre-service teachers in six different sections of a mathematics method courses for early childhood/elementary education pre-service teachers. The changes were a function of using Bruner's framework of developing conceptual knowledge before procedural knowledge and using…

The context for this investigation was an undergraduate literacy methods course taught by Cindy, the first author of this manuscript. A central course goal was to prepare pre-service teachers to provide effective literacy instruction for children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The focus of this study was an examination of the…

This investigation examines an elementary social studies methods course taught on an American Indian reservation through a state university. Data were collected from American Indian pre-service teachers over four years through taped interviews, classroom observations, and a review of homework and in-class assignments. A Freirean critical pedagogy…

Purpose: This paper reports on the adaptation of an existing interpretive and critical research methods course in nursing for postgraduate student health professionals in a School of Population Health and Clinical Practice. Methods: A cyclical approach of inquiry, reflection and planning was undertaken by the teaching team to make changes to the…

Over the last two decades a growing number of states have required a content area reading class for secondary education. Preservice teachers in secondary education who are required to enroll in content area reading courses often have little teaching experience and may enter the courses with misconceptions about content area reading. Since…

A review was done of how teacher training programs teach prospective teachers. After searching the literature for research on secondary English methods classes and finding none, the study solicited syllabi from over 300 universities across the country. Syllabi from 81 universities were received. Through analysis of the syllabi the study identified…

The theory and practice of whole language teaching should be integral and simultaneous components of preservice teacher education. A number of instructional strategies and class activities can be used to provide preservice teachers with experiences similar to experiences they will provide to elementary school children. Examples of class activities…

A study explored how reflective inquiry could be used to promote preservice teachers' understanding about reading during a one-semester required reading certification course. Subjects, 22 dual certification elementary/special education undergraduate juniors, 27 secondary education undergraduate juniors, and 11 graduate students in a master of…

It is proposed that professional preparation programs for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers can help teachers become better cultural observers by drawing on their prior experiences in developing perceptions about their own culture and the classroom culture. A theoretical framework and its application in one ESL teacher education program…

It is argued that analysis of variance (ANOVA) and related methods should be taught using a general linear model (GLM) approach, rather than a classical ordinary sums of squares approach. The GLM approach emphasizes the linkages among conventional parametric methods, emphasizing that all classical parametric methods are least squares procedures…

Using Alice's experience in "Through the Looking Glass" as inspiration, this paper recounts how preservice teachers journey through their field-based experiences and gain increasing insights into the teaching profession. The paper illustrates their progression with notes from several reflective logs which will eventually become papers…