This paper covers three interrelated study projects that were launched in order to explore teachers' pedagogical knowing. Within the study projects, teachers' pedagogical knowing was treated as a broad concept and practice. "Pedagogical" was not simply what happened in schools and classrooms; it was also found inside teachers and outside…

A number of studies concerning the mentoring of beginning teachers and their induction process are found in recent educational publications. A review of this literature guides professional educators as they formulate and implement the work of educating a scientifically literate populace. This literature synopsis addresses critical issues…

This paper raises the question of what K-12 teachers need to know in order to teach mathematics and science well. It begins by examining reform proposals for K-12 science and mathematics teaching with an eye toward defining what "good" teaching practice consists of. It then examines a wide range of literature to delineate the varieties of…

This paper reports on the perceptions of preservice teacher candidates (students) regarding their personal content- and context-specific pedagogies toward a strategy that promotes the development of these important teaching abilities; the elementary science teaching rationale. Perceptions about a science teaching rationale were surveyed at the end…

Casa en Casa, a popular education project of an Oakland, California, community health clinic, has two key weaknesses: volunteers received little orientation to the role of health promoter, and promoters were given content knowledge without development of the skills needed to use it. (SK)

Reports on a study that investigated prospective elementary teachers' knowledge and convictions regarding content, pedagogy, and pupil needs as well as their rationales for mathematics teaching. Discusses results by way of confronting the school as a locus for serious learning, and perceiving the school as a playhouse. Contains 44 references.…

Alternative certification programs in Texas, Georgia, and Florida are less rigorous and do not emphasize teaching knowledge and experience. Such programs purport to solve teacher shortages and address quality concerns but may exacerbate the latter. (SK)

A variety of models of the scholarship of university teaching have been advocated since Boyer first proposed that the scholarship of teaching be considered as one of four forms of scholarship associated with university practices. These models have evolved from theoretical and empirically based analyses, and have as their core value concepts as…

This paper explores the use of study groups in a preservice primary mathematics education subject where discipline knowledge (mathematics) is integrated with pedagogical knowledge (mathematics education). In order to address the well-recognized fear and competency levels of preservice teachers in the study of mathematics, study groups were…

For well over 25 years, critical thinking has been declared an educational ideal. However, though institutions are committed to teaching "critical thinking" (CT), there are numerous important questions that need careful treatment if this goal is to be met. First, the faculties must arrive at a shared understanding of what they mean by…

In this interview, Andy Hargreaves posits that teachers need a high level of creativity and flexibility to be effective in their work, and they must understand their larger social mission. Yet standardization is working against those very qualities. Real professional learning communities, more than just teams of teachers solving problems, can help…

In the Fall of 2007, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students (OELA) established the following strategic priority: Develop policy and program recommendations to improve the professional development of English language learner…

This article is about an investigation of six middle school science teachers' beliefs and instructional practice about the coherence of the science they teach as articulated by National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996). Many well intentioned reform efforts focus on improving content knowledge of teachers, but many classroom teachers…

Elementary school children in the United States are not developing acceptable levels of mathematical proficiency (National Center for Education Statistics, 1999), and a major concern of teacher educators is that teachers lack the depth and flexibility of mathematical understanding and the corresponding beliefs they need to teach for proficiency…

The first year college experience is anxiety producing, and for college students who represent traditionally underserved populations, particularly ethnic and linguistic minorities, the anxiety can be even more pronounced. Add to the mix a requirement for students to complete at least one course in mathematics during the first semester and the…