Presents stories from a student and a teacher regarding efforts to have university-level pedagogy encourage students to identify and pursue personally relevant educational topics. Information comes from a teacher education course organized around individual focus projects designed to promote action research. Highlights of the student's journal are…

Describes pedagogical content knowledge model. Uses interviews and observation to examine development of pedagogical content knowledge of two student teachers in a one-year elementary teacher education program. Concludes student-teacher success requires supervisors' understanding and support. (TES)

Research indicates that most conventional teacher education practicum programs tend to encourage uncritical acceptance of conventional instructional and management techniques. Advances seven basic principles for the design of field experiences that will develop teachers who share the norms of collegiality and experimentation. (97 references, 13…

Five special education student teachers and their cooperating teachers maintained weekly journals reflecting upon successive, prescribed themes. The journal entries of both students and teachers confirmed that a practicum situation provides an opportunity for critical reflection, enhancing the student teaching experience as a shared occasion for…

Two student teachers, one completing her practicum in a rural culturally nondiverse setting and the other in an urban culturally diverse setting, expressed similar concerns about students' impoverished environments, troublesome home lives including abuse and single-parent homes, and difficulties associated with teaching a diverse group of…

Presents results of a study of three student teachers in elementary general music. Uses writings and interviews of student teachers to explore their goals and teaching plans. Concludes that student enjoyment is the primary objective of beginning student teachers. Finds this replaced by student achievement of objectives as teacher gains experience.…

Discussion of research on student teaching experiences and the process of producing effective physical educators examines: origins of student teaching in teacher education, cooperating teacher/supervisor interactions with student teachers, content of teacher-student interactions, reasons for participating in the process, and ways to enhance the…

A graduate teacher education program at the University of Colorado prepares special educators for urban school environments through an urban school immersion experience while learning necessary instructional and collaborative skills. Interviews with graduate students and mentor teachers addressed the special educator's role and the effectiveness…

Before student teaching, student teachers provided linguistic categories (personal constructs) for various science teaching activities and for their attitudes about teaching. After student teaching, subjects collaborated with researchers to analyze personal construct changes that occurred as they became socialized in the teacher role. (SV)

Sixty-seven female elementary education preservice teachers participated in a cognitive self-instructional procedure aimed at eliminating or reducing negative emotions related to student teaching by altering their self-talk. The training program significantly reduced subjects' anxiety about teaching. (SLD)

Evaluation of a metacognitive model designed to promote cooperative instruction among 10 regular education and 10 special education preservice teachers found slight changes in attitudes and perceptions. The model included opportunities for cooperative prelesson planning and postlesson evaluations by prospective teachers, and actual delivery of…

Wichita State University's teacher education program was revised to develop sensitive, nurturing teachers who understand student diversity. Pretests and posttests examining students' professional and personal opinions about diversity found that field experiences created significant differences in attitudes toward diversity and social distance…

Reports observations of Germany's teacher education programs by an Irish teacher educator. Describes lessons on curriculum design and planning instruction. Contends that German teachers believe that education should develop self-confident, knowledgeable students who will be active participants in a democratic society. (CFR)

Schools may not be the best sites for early field experiences of preservice teachers just beginning to work with culturally different children. The paper examines factors limiting public schools' potential as sites, describes an alternative nonschool setting, and analyzes conditions that make the setting better for developing culturally responsive…

Explores perceptions of student teachers of English as a Second Language regarding usefulness of school experience in learning to teach. Describes a training program in Hong Kong involving an additional period of exposure to secondary school before the practice teaching period. This program focuses on acquainting student teachers with school…