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…

Models play an important role in science education. However, previous research has revealed that science teachers' content knowledge, curricular knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge on models and modelling are often incomplete or inadequate. From this perspective, a research project was designed which aimed at the development of beginning…

The authors consider the role that multiple literacies and new literacies might play in shaping preservice education. They review existing literature on multiple and new literacies in preservice education and examine in-school and out-of-school enactments of new and multiple literacies to answer the question, What can we do in preservice teacher…

Teacher education programs are at a critical link for the preparation of teachers who possess an ethical stance regarding the knowledge, skills, and dispositions required to intervene effectively with all students. Therefore, teacher education is taking center stage in the discussion relevant to teacher quality and its effectiveness on the…

There is an expectation that new science teachers will be able to effectively use a range of information communication technology (ICT) related resources in the science classroom in order to enhance student learning. All school systems in Australia are in the process of providing teachers with ICT professional development and infrastructure. This…

Coming from architecture, through computer science, pattern-based design spread into other disciplines and is nowadays recognized as a powerful way of capturing and reusing effective design practice. However, current pedagogical pattern approaches lack widespread adoption, both by users and authors, and are still limited to individual initiatives.…

Issues facing schools abound from No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. In science and mathematics teacher pre-service and in-service preparation, these issues are paramount for institutions of higher education, especially in terms of the definition of a "highly qualified" teacher. Within this paper, the authors discuss the science…

The objective of this study was to examine the nature of preservice teachers' evaluations of elementary mathematics problems using the Mathematical Tasks Framework (MTF), a model designed to discriminate among tasks according to their cognitive complexity. We also tested the relationship between mathematics content knowledge and problem length on…

This paper explores tensions arising from the dynamics of educational change. The focus is on higher education programmes preparing teachers for the learning and skills sector (LSS) in England. Recent policy initiatives relating to this provision have insisted on the development of subject specialist pedagogy. Powerful social, political and…

In this article I build on the review of research by Black and Wiliam which provided extensive evidence of the role of assessment for learning for raising standards in pupils' attainment. The purpose of the present empirical study was to explore the extent to which science teachers use assessment for learning practices when they teach physics…

The job analysis study described in this report was conducted to serve as one of the bases for documenting the content validity of the Praxis II: Subject Assessment in Elementary Education, one of a series of assessments for beginning teachers being developed by the Educational Testing Service. Two inventories of knowledge elementary school…

The semi-structured interview was investigated as a content-based assessment designed to take into account the complexity of teaching. A semi-structured interview licensing assessment for secondary mathematics teachers was developed and tested by the Connecticut State Department of Education. The scoring system converted the open-ended verbal…

"R&D Alert" covers issues affecting schools in the Western Regional Educational Laboratory's four-state region--Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah--and throughout the United States. This issue of "R&D Alert" shares what WestEd is learning from a sample of their latest work, focusing on three points in the process:…

The paper reports a study of the knowledge preservice secondary school mathematics teachers [PSSMT] hold of problem solving and the role of a reflective-inquiry approach in creating self-awareness of, and in enhancing, this knowledge. The approach included solving problems, narratives, flow charts and observations. The finding shows that the…

Noting that children's early mathematics experience is a significant factor in their future mathematics outcomes and attitudes, this paper discusses the importance of developmentally appropriate practices in mathematics instruction for young children and explores how teachers' pedagogical content knowledge determines their teaching practices in…