Compares two high school chemistry teachers with two elementary science teachers from case studies from the Exemplary Practice in Science and Mathematics Education Project in Australia. Concludes that both pedagogical and content knowledge are important ingredients for outstanding teaching. (CW)

This paper investigates prospective elementary and secondary school teachers' understanding of proof in a case where the truth set of an open sentence is broader than the set covered by a valid proof by mathematical induction. This case breaks the boundaries of students' usual experience with proving tasks. The most important finding is that a…

This paper describes how 13 Swedish preschool student teachers and one preservice leisure educator discussed their thoughts regarding their professional work, their life histories, and their ongoing studies in special education. What unified them was their professional education, which was based on their own participation. This project examined…

This collection of papers describes what is known about the effective professional development of literacy educators. The 11 papers are: (1) "Professional Development Scenarios: What Is and Might Be" (Emily Rodgers and Gay Su Pinnell); (2) "A National Overview of Professional Development Programs in Reading" (Marie Tejero Hughes, Michele Mits…

This paper reports on a study of mathematics teachers' thinking in the teaching of contextual or word problems [WP] with particular focus on teachers' conceptions of WP and the relationship to teaching. The 20 participants included Grades 1-12 preservice and inservice teachers. Data consisted of interviews and classroom observations. The findings…

This study focuses on a professional development program that employs action research as a strategy. The goals of the program include encouraging volunteer teachers to conduct research projects that can inform their understanding of student learning and achievement and increasing teachers' awareness of the value of disciplined inquiry to answer…

This paper reports on a study of inquiry and teacher development in a middle school science reform project. A model was developed that examined the dialectical interaction between teachers' concerns about their classroom practice and the culture of their professional setting, the school. This model sees the interaction of these two concerns as a…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the growth of teachers' beliefs through being involved in the process of developing science, technology, and society modules based on the educational resources of a science museum in Taiwan. Action research was the source of data from two elementary and two secondary science teachers who participated in…

This study determined preservice teachers' perceptions about the characteristics of effective teachers and investigated factors (e.g., gender, ethnicity, age, year of study, area of specialization, and parental status) that may have influenced their responses. Participants were 219 students attending a large mid-Southern university. The students…

This publication presents a response from the Ontario College of Teachers to the Canadian Minister of Education regarding the newly mandated teacher certification testing. It sets the stage for the provision of complete, accurate, and reliable advice, containing a summary of the extensive research conducted by the College and providing a wide…

This study investigated teachers' multicultural knowledge and multicultural professional development; teachers' cultural knowledge and/or professional development specific to children of African descent; professional development that teachers have had which increased their effectiveness in teaching children of African descent; and whether…

This paper focuses on how the State of Kentucky has developed performance-based assessment programs, and the concept of continuous assessment in teacher education has formed over the past several years. The paper discusses the work done by the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board, the impact of 1997 legislation regarding postsecondary…

This booklet answers common questions about special education and students with disabilities. It was developed in light of the movement toward inclusion, through which more students with disabilities (and students with more serious disabilities) are being assigned to general education classes. The 28 questions and answers are grouped into five…

An advisory committee oversaw and guided an investigation of credentialing adult education instructors in Illinois. At its direction, a series of focus group inquiries were conducted into issues surrounding the development of a system of professional credentialing. Requirements varied widely in 13 states found to have some form of mandatory…

The Mathematical Sciences Education Board (MSEB) and the U.S. National Commission on Mathematics Instruction (USNCMI) took advantage of a unique opportunity to bring educators together. In August 2000, following the Ninth International Congress on Mathematics Education (ICME-9) in Makuhari, Japan, MSEB and USNCMI capitalized on the presence of…