Being a first-year teacher in New York City is not easy. The author received much of the same preparation and advice that he and his colleagues give their students. But even the best education courses and a positive student teaching experience do not seem to be enough to take the edge off of a year he remembers barely surviving. The author…

This study considered the problem of ineffective fieldwork experiences in the English Single Subject Credential Program at California State University, Long Beach prior to student teaching by combining structured fieldwork into a newly established state-mandated assessment, Teaching Performance Assessment Task 1 (TPA 1). This combination of a…

What do pre-service teachers learn from their observation stint during school experience attachment? This paper will present insights into the cognitive contents of the pre-service teachers' reflection log. Preliminary analyses revealed that different cultures and pedagogical practices were observed to be in operation in different school contexts.…

This paper reports the use of a research-based, web-delivered, technology-and-science education context (the Generative Virtual Classroom) in which student-teachers can develop their ability to recognize, describe, analyse and theorize learning. Addressing well-recognized concerns about narrowly conceived, anachronistic and ineffective…

Collaborative problem solving is an activity in which special education teachers and other school professionals work together to solve the academic or behavioral problems of their students. The purpose of this study was to understand preservice teachers' perceptions of a collaborative problem solving activity they implemented with other…

In the USA, authority over teacher education and certification rests with the individual states rather than the federal government. Nonetheless, US mathematics teacher-education programs bear a strong resemblance in their fundamental structure to one another and to the earliest such programs established in the 1890s. This paper examines an…

This study examined 49 student teachers' actions and perspectives when implementing a curricular innovation (the tactical games approach). Data were collected via videotaped lessons, interviews, and follow-up questionnaires. Questions for interviews and questionnaires were pilot tested and data were analyzed using the constant comparison method.…

This qualitative study evaluated the Technology Supported Induction Network's (TSIN) effect on 15 elementary education student teachers in isolated rural schools. The student teachers were 50-300 miles away from their university; thus, it was difficult for faculty to provide support and supervision. The TSIN provided student teachers with…

Over recent decades, there has been compelling evidence describing the powerful effects of teachers' sense of efficacy on their instructional activities as well as student outcomes. The present study explored the change of efficacy of prospective teachers over the student teaching period and the factors that might contribute to the change. Data…

This article describes collaborative efforts to frame university teacher preparation program activities within transfer of learning and transformative learning theories to promote teacher leadership. Specifically, we describe (a) a community sponsored, public school, campus-based experience during an introductory teacher preparation course; (b) a…

This article is a descriptive account of a professional learning community established among university professors, university teacher candidates, a school district instructional supervisor, the high school principal, a high school literacy coordinator, and teachers of a Mid-Atlantic high school in the United States. This learning community…

Background: A paradigm shift in educational policy to create problem solvers and critical thinkers produced the games concept approach (GCA) in Singapore's Revised Syllabus for Physical Education (1999). A pilot study (2001) conducted on 11 primary school student teachers (STs) using this approach identified time management and questioning as two…

This is an account of student teachers' role concept based on the writings of 26 student teachers who completed their practical training in East London. Student teachers participated in a 13-week course of teaching practice combined with community work. Typical fears of these student were related to their ability: (1) to negotiate their…

This study examined the perceived effects of six major elements that may operate in the "ecology" of the student teaching experience: the school supervisor, the college supervisor, the students, the placement environment, participant expectations and efficiency, and skill/applications from the campus-based program. The Student Teaching…

The Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Central Missouri State University, Warrensburg, Missouri, has designed an experience for student teachers in elementary schools to prepare them for reflective thinking in their own classrooms. Student teachers conduct action research by reflecting on what they do in the classroom, identifying…