This study identifies some of the questions mathematics educators must address in designing methods courses for graduate students in preservice teacher education programs. The questions emerge from a pilot study of preservice early childhood graduate students' beliefs about the nature of mathematics and science. In a combined mathematics and…

The Learning Community program at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh brings together four individual teacher education methods courses in an integrated block with clinical field experience. The program provides teacher educators the opportunity to integrate their instruction with other courses and contextualize the learning of students with…

If portfolios are to be used to assess students' progress, it is essential for preservice teachers to have the opportunity to become familiar with the use of this technique prior to beginning their teaching career. At Eastern College, Pennsylvania, portfolio assessment is first introduced in the Developmental Reading course and further refined in…

The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to compare attitudes that male and female preservice elementary science methods teachers have toward science and science teaching. The stratified random sample (n=80) was drawn from the population of preservice elementary teachers enrolled in an elementary science methods course during fall 1990,…

This self-instructional curriculum module was developed to assist with early childhood special education program planning, by providing references to curricula and textbooks, curriculum guides, journal articles, videos, and demonstration model materials appropriate for self-instruction. The module is designed to help individuals locate information…

A study investigated the effects of actively involving students in a social studies methods class on instructor evaluations given by students. Subjects were 30 undergraduates who were all elementary education majors except for one special education major. Subjects (27 female and 3 male) ranged in age from 21 to 53 years old. The experimental…

A teaching/learning strategy called "Content-Field Synergy" (C-FS) promotes systematic instruction in the use of naturalistic inquiry as a higher order thinking strategy in social context. C-FS is a total course of study design that synthesizes and extends material from the required course text and lectures with observations from a…

Provides a simplified method of self-evaluation of lessons taught which is inexpensive and requires little training before utilization. (CP)

Describes an open-ended project designed to have preservice elementary teachers regard science as inquiry. The problem deals with how many pencils could be made from the wood in a telephone pole. Several methods of solving the problem are described. (BR)

In response to criticism of methods courses, this paper takes the position that the development of a body of knowledge concerning professional practices is central to the education of professional teachers. Focusing on the complexity of the teaching situation, a discussion is presented on the importance of mastering methods and models of teaching.…

A report is given of a study conducted to create a basis for necessary decision-making in the revision of a secondary methods course at Seattle Pacific University. A review of literature was conducted covering studies about secondary education, suggested practices and materials, and teacher effectiveness research on instruction, classroom…

This paper presents a means to analyze the interactions that take place during a supervisory conference between a student teacher and the college supervisor. The theoretical perspective is described and transcripts of conferences for the Michigan State University Multiple Perspectives Teacher Education program are used as examples. Following…

Designed to provide teacher-trainees with practice before entering a real classroom, a microcomputer-based simulation of classroom interaction became a key component in the curriculum of two introductory methods courses offered at the University of Virginia. Twenty-two participants used IBM-PC equipment to complete two skill modules. Each module…

Four full days of classroom instruction, devoted to the modeling of effective curriculum integration, were designed for preservice elementary school teachers. The unit was the result of a conviction on the part of teacher educators that children learn best when learning is not separated into forty-minute periods of math, social studies, language…