Proposes a model of teacher knowledge situated in school science teaching that is the synthesis of a number of models, metaphors, and notions. Uses this model to examine the ways in which science teachers design and implement science lessons. Indicates that the model is sufficiently robust enough to provide simple and rapid yet effective and…

Uses in-depth interviews to explore the understanding of a non-random sample of 12 practicing primary school teachers in four areas: (1) biodiversity; (2) the carbon cycle; (3) ozone; and (4) global warming. Identifies those underpinning science concepts that were well understood, and those which were not so well understood. (Author/SAH)

Summarizes and critiques research on the role of mathematics content knowledge in the preparation and teaching practice of elementary (K-8) teachers in the United States. Calls for future research to give us longitudinal "videotapes" of teachers' knowledge and how it is developed and used in a variety of contexts. (Author/MM)

Investigates first year prospective secondary school teachers' beliefs about and attitudes toward mathematics. Finds that prospective teachers generally perceived good mathematics teaching to include the provision of enjoyable experiences. (Contains 31 references.) (Author/ASK)

This article elaborates on the notion of mathematical knowledge for teaching. It argues that the well-known conceptual/procedural distinction is limited and limiting, and that a more useful notion has to go beyond dichotomies in conceptualising knowledge, as well as beyond dichotomies between knowledge and practice. The article argues that…

Criteria for judging performance are traditionally and unproblematically invoked as a resource to be used (1) to make the assessment requirements evident to learners and (2) to provide a tool for rendering teacher judgments consistent, reliable, and fair. This paper explores the use of criteria and standards in the process of teacher judgment of…

The concept of teaching effectiveness is challenging for researchers to define. Hypothesized as a multidimensional construct, it encompasses content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, personality characteristics of the teacher, and classroom dynamics. No single dimension, trait, or behavior, however, fully captures what it means to be an effective…

This qualitative study, initiated by the Canadian Teachers' Federation and its Advisory Committee on Aboriginal Education, explored the professional knowledge and experiences of Aboriginal (First Nations, Mets and Inuit) teachers. The rationale for the study was to address the urgent need to improve and promote Aboriginal education in public…

Problem statement: In the globalizing world, second language/foreign language has gained a great importance. The importance of the foreign language teaching has increased in our time in which knowing a foreign language has deviated from being a specialty and become a feature that everyone must have. For that purpose, teachers must know the…

It is easier to collect data on teachers' qualifications, experience, or training than to get a precise idea of their command of subject matter or their classroom behaviour. However, research consistently shows that "class effect" (the impact on a student of being in one class rather than another) on pupil performance is relatively high,…

In many countries, strategies to further develop services and institutions for the education and care of young children are linked to a discourse on professionalism. Ambitious policy goals, it is argued, can only be achieved by a skilled and qualified workforce whose practice is guided by a professional body of knowledge. This article argues that…

Over recent decades there has been pressure on schools and teachers, in England, to transform teachers' working practice by advocating an improved role for teaching assistants. In reforming the workforce, the government also intended to support schools in building the momentum for change, whilst raising standards of pupil achievement and enhancing…

Relations between preservice teachers' guided field observations of primary literacy instruction and knowledge about effective beginning reading practices were explored. Preservice teachers (n = 48) participated in a Directed Field Experience course including instruction on and observations of exemplary teaching practices promoting student…

Using Conceptual Change Theory, this qualitative study of literacy teacher education investigated how eight beginning teachers developed knowledge about multicultural literacy pedagogy. Teachers' written and spoken language was analyzed from data sources collected during and outside of a preparation course, part of a nighttime alternative…

Content knowledge and pedagogical practices are of particular concern to middle school science instructors teaching density. First introduced in elementary grades with the ideas of floating and sinking, density taught in middle school is geared toward understanding through the use of mathematical formulas. Using a lesson-plan study design, the…