This article examines the role that professional experiences (practicum) can play in building resilience in pre-service teachers. In particular it focuses on a learning communities model of professional experience with its emphasis on relationships and its attention to the complex and dynamic interactions between individuals and their…

The theme for the 62nd annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers was Educating for a Just Society. Connie Briggs, previous Program Chair, reminded us that, "Education has always been the foundation of a democratic nation. It is important that our students understand the principles upon which our nation was…

This qualitative study explores the impact of experienced teachers' stories on pre-service teachers. Specifically, it examines what stories pre-service teachers hear and remember, if/how those stories impact thoughts or actions, and what factors influence impact. Analyzing pre-service teachers' reactions to stories and utilizing their direct…

This paper examines the process through which three pre-service teachers learn to use mathematical tools; it also looks at pre-service teachers' instrumentation of tools into mathematics teaching. Three pre-service teachers were studying at a primary mathematics teacher training program at Dokuz Eylul University in Turkey. During an eight-week…

This study focuses on 20 mentoring pairs in an Israeli teacher training program in order to determine in which ways matched and mismatched expectations of the role of the cooperating teacher between student teachers and cooperating teachers contribute to different opportunities for learning to teach. Perceptions of learning reported in student…

Considering how long societies have been educating their youth, the history of teacher education is relatively brief. From the first teacher education innovation in the 17th century through those of the late 20th century--de la Salle, the American normal school, the flood of student teachers into public schools after World War II, the student…

In this article, the authors' intent is to focus in on one elementary teacher education program and, specifically, on the ways in which that program has grappled with and continues to grapple with the questions of whether and how teacher education works relative to the claim that this is a program committed to social justice and designed to…

Though research exists regarding learning styles, none has been completed specifically on the pivotal moments that occur to teachers while transforming from a student to an educator. Though the student teaching experience has been a practice in many universities, this experience is unchartered territory in the scientific community with regard to…

Over the course of two years, data was collected focused on preservice elementary teachers' engagement with mathematics textbooks and curriculum materials in two contexts: (1) a university mathematics education course, and (2) student teaching. To frame the results and suggest opportunities for learning, Feiman-Nemser and Buchmann's (1985)…

The purpose of the current study is to explore the effects of pre-service teachers' language learning beliefs on their practice teaching. Two randomly chosen pre-service teachers were recruited in the study (one male, one female). This research mainly adopted a qualitative approach using a structured interview, philosophy statements, field-notes…

A high-quality field experience is a fundamental part of early childhood teacher preparation where teachers-in-training observe, develop, and practice critical teaching skills and dispositions in early childhood classrooms. Many teachers welcome extra assistance in the classroom but do not know how to provide hands-on training to aspiring early…

Results from previous studies on pre-service teacher technology integration and faculty perceptions of technology integration within the teacher education program at a medium-sized, Midwestern university are compared to account for the self-reported lack of confidence pre-service teachers have integrating technology into their teaching. Also…

Given students' preconceptions of history as fixed information, cultivating students' interpretive and evidence-based thinking is foundational to advancing their disciplinary understanding. This study examines the ways in which preservice history teachers construct tasks that demand students' interpretive and evidence-based thinking and attend to…

Considerable research indicates that high-stakes accountability policies have the capacity to influence language arts instruction, particularly in urban, high-needs schools where pressure to increase test scores tends to be most acute. This article utilizes Cultural Historical Activity Theory to critically examine the constraints and affordances…

Personally, the authors have seen the evolution of teacher education for over 30 years. From "diagnostic/prescriptive teaching" through "reflective practice," the quality of the programs and students has improved greatly. Turning that subjective appraisal into a quantifiable evaluation is a tricky enterprise in education. However, the demand for…