Recent emphasis on teacher effectiveness and accountability has led the education policy, research, and practitioner communities to take a closer look at the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs, motivated in large part by concerns about program quality. Several national- and state-level studies have found new teachers to be underprepared…

This cross-case analysis of three distinct letter writing activities between prospective teachers (PTs) and K-12 learners provides insights into PTs' levels of feedback according to Hattie and Timperley's (2007) framework. PTs' written feedback from letter writing activities conducted in teacher preparation programs were analyzed using this…

In this study, I examined the relationship between teachers' mathematical knowledge and instruction. Twenty-one K-8 teachers who were enrolled in a master's program were followed for 3 years to study how their mathematical knowledge and teaching changed over time. The results of multilevel growth models indicated that gains in teachers'…

Knowledge and understanding of mathematical operations serves as a pre-reequisite for the successful translation of algebraic word problems. This study explored pre-service teachers' ability to recognize mathematical operations as well as use of those capabilities in constructing algebraic expressions, equations, and their solutions. The outcome…

Recent curriculum introductions and revisions on a global scale have highlighted the importance of primary teachers' content knowledge in geography and the lack of research in this area (Catling, 2014). This has become a particular focus in Australia with the introduction of the "Australian Curriculum: Geography" in 2013 and the…

Supporting Teacher Design Teams (TDTs) during local curriculum development efforts is essential. To be able to provide high-quality support, insights are needed about how TDTs carry out design activities and how support is valued by the members of TDTs and how it affects their design expertise. In this study, the design and support processes of…

This article examines prospective elementary teachers' conceptions of unitizing with whole numbers and fraction concepts and operations throughout a semester-long mathematics content course. Student work samples and classroom conversations are used to illustrate the types of unitizing understandings that prospective teachers bring to teacher…

Some pre-service teaching activities can contribute much to the learning of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and subsequent teaching as these activities are "generating" PCK within the pre-service teacher's own classroom. Three examples are described: preparing exhibitions of science experiments, assessing preconceptions, and teaching…

This study explores possible differences in the views on assessment between two groups of teachers teaching technology in compulsory school: (1) teachers with subject-specific teacher training in technology education; and (2) teachers without such training. This topic is of particular interest because of the recent changes in the regulations that…

There is a great deal of contemporary research demonstrating the effective use of picturebooks in the classroom; however, there are few studies recording perceptions and use of picturebooks in Initial Teacher Education [ITE]. This study explores the reported use of picturebooks within a New Zealand university-based ITE degree programme. The data…

Many primary teachers face challenges in teaching inquiry science, often because they believe that they do not have the content knowledge or pedagogical skills to do so. This is a concern given the emphasis attached to teaching science through inquiry where students do not simply learn about science but also do science. This study reports on the…

What learning opportunities in higher education promote the development of content knowledge (CK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and pedagogical knowledge (PK)? In order to investigate this question, a cross-sectional study with a total of 274 German preservice biology teachers (21.5% male, average age 22.8 years) was conducted in German…

How does one evaluate one's own online teaching? Do novice online instructors depend on end-of-semester course evaluations or a Quality Matters rubric? Perhaps their professional development is driven by a personal belief that seeking multiple perspectives from different lenses is core to reflective practice. This work explores one way to…

This article considers the affordances of interactive whiteboards (s) for English teachers by reflecting on the typical use of s by a number of secondary English teachers who use them routinely within their teaching. Drawing on a PhD study, it looks at the practice of these teachers and considers when the technology is used within lessons, in…

The early skills of Emergent Literacy include the knowledge and abilities related to the alphabet, phonological awareness, symbolic representation, and communication. However, existing models of emergent literacy focus on discrete skills and miss the perspective of the surrounding environment. Early literacy skills, including their relationship to…