The purpose of this study was to assess student perceptions of the faith-learning integration process in instructional methods courses taught by a single professor. Thirty-one students were asked by the professor to complete an open-ended questionnaire at the end of their course experience. Results indicated that students in this study described…

In this paper, the author, who teaches a secondary arts method course at a southwestern university, describes how curriculum planning enabled her to introduce students to the art of lesbian and gay artists, thereby helping the students to understand what they can expect in the real world of teaching and what they might be up against should they…

Although some of the literature on teaching qualitative research methods courses has included students' experiences during courses, these experiences have not been made a primary focus of study and examined systematically. To gain a fuller understanding of students' experiences during a graduate-level qualitative methods course, 13 reflective…

This descriptive study uses narrative analysis to examine the nature and quality of pre-service teachers' initial attempts at reflection via the genre of memoir writing in a social studies methods course. The paper begins by reviewing other uses of narrative reflection and autobiographical writing in teacher education. This is followed by an…

In this paper we describe a model for a science fair, within the context of an elementary science methods course. We first describe the theoretical perspectives from which the idea of science fairs derives and we provide definitions as we sketch the characteristics of commonly used science fairs. We then describe the context and processes of a…

To provide the best learning environment for their students, teachers need to have good classroom management skills. Teaching future teachers how to infuse democracy into student discipline offers them a way to improve such skills. Sixty secondary social studies education candidates engaged in such a process in their social studies methods class.…

Reflection is widely embraced in teacher education as a necessary process in becoming a good teacher. While there is broad acceptance of this idea, the nature of reflection has been challenged, particularly by those seeking reflection that is socially situated and critical, implicating teaching in its broader social context. This paper examines…

This study documents one teacher candidate's conceptions about the inclusion of children with special needs in the general education classroom and how these conceptions changed over time. The study illustrates which experiences contributed to an individual's evolving understandings and changing attitudes towards inclusion. Throughout a 15-week…

In this article, the author shares her experience in successfully teaching elementary students how to create a tornado using a guided-inquiry approach. The guided-inquiry approach is a form of teaching in which the teacher poses the question, but lets the students decide how to answer the question. Students were so excited about the process they…

This study sought to assess the influence of an intensive social studies teacher preparation program on the belief of a cohort of graduate preservice teachers. In particular, it sought to determine whether the participants' methods courses, field experiences and student teaching led to changes in their beliefs about teaching and learning social…

This study investigated the mathematics beliefs and content knowledge of 103 elementary pre-service teachers in a developmental teacher preparation program that included a two course mathematics methods sequence. Pre-service teachers' pedagogical beliefs became more cognitively-oriented during the teacher preparation program with these changes…

One prominent issue in contemporary special education is that teaching techniques found by research to be effective in improving the educational outcomes of students with disabilities are not routinely implemented. One way to enhance teachers' use of research-based practices is to disseminate information on effective teaching techniques in ways…

Drawing on extant theorizing and research on reflective teaching, this paper discusses the impact of an innovative methods course designed around the activity of student teachers' reflections on their own classroom discourse, for their understandings of the connections between theory and practice. Situated in the context of foreign language…

Preparing special educators who are knowledgeable about evidence-based interventions for teaching reading to students with reading difficulties and who are capable of using curriculum-based assessments to monitor student progress and differentiate interventions is vital to the success of current school reform efforts. The primary purpose of this…

This study explores the extent to which an activity used in an elementary science methods course affected the preservice teachers' content knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy. The participants were 172 students enrolled in five sections of elementary science methods. Students participated in a 9-week investigation on life cycles using…