This study focuses on the nature of professional development. The approach to professional development that emerged in this inquiry was premised on a belief held by the author, a university researcher, and two K-1 teachers that professional development opportunities for teachers need to be ongoing, allow time for teachers to engage in learning,…

One of the greatest challenges for mathematics teacher educators committed to reforming and improving mathematics education is to help preservice elementary and middle school teachers develop an appreciation for algebraic reasoning. Preservice teachers' views of algebra are typically derived from their experiences in middle school and high school…

This paper describes a process for developing quality teacher education programs. The process begins with the core beliefs of all faculty members involved in the program. A retreat is an appropriate place to start the process of promoting appropriate philosophy and developing core beliefs in faculty members. Once this process is completed, it is…

This study showed how narratives permeate teacher knowledge and are essential to understand teachers work and learning. It focuses on the characteristics of the teaching profession that are both revealed and constructed in the activity of conversation. The main interest of the study was to reveal new layers of meaning and to uncover interactional…

This document reviews studies of professional development for teachers to examine benefits to students in science and mathematics education. A major finding from this review was that programs that focused on teaching classroom management strategies or attaining knowledge of how students learn specific school subject matter provided later benefits…

Rural school districts face unique challenges in cultivating a teaching force that possesses subject-matter expertise, a willingness to undertake difficult professional work at the local level, and attentiveness to rural practices and cultures. At the same time, many rural schools harbor significant strengths that districts might draw upon to…

Discusses differences between the quality of the U.S. curriculum and the quality of the curriculum in countries rated as having an excellent curriculum, explaining that in order to make the U.S. math curriculum more rigorous, it will be necessary to address the subject matter knowledge gap that exists between U.S. mathematics teachers and those in…

Describes the problems involved in teaching astronomy so that teachers can be informed and forewarned. Focuses on the fact that teachers are not likely to be familiar with the content and unfamiliar with the problems associated with teaching the content. (DDR)

Science department chairpersons created lists of tasks and benefits which would accrue to preservice teachers while they worked in the scientists' laboratories. Teachers agreed to a higher percentage than preservice teachers with the scientists as to what those benefits were. Recommendations include ways scientists and science educators can create…

Describes the shift in view concerning conditions of knowledge in education, examining the practical ramifications of positivism and ways in which it impacted relationships between professors and school practitioners. The paper discusses the emergence of phronesis as an alternative to episteme as an orientation to knowledge, exploring the…

A survey of 69 agriculture master's students at Texas Tech and Texas A & M universities received 46 responses. Students rated perceived competence highest in the areas of enhancing teaching and learning, ability to focus attention and deliver information, and content skills. Lowest ratings were in cross-national agriculture, effective use of…

Investigates the relationship of subject matter knowledge in science and the patterns of entering, leaving, and remaining in the teaching profession among college graduates trained as science teachers. Science subject matter knowledge was found to have significant (P=0.01) effect on the likelihood of being a nonrecruited versus a career teacher…

Provides evidence that explanations provided by qualified science graduates and by writers of textbooks do not necessarily make sense from a scientific or even a logical perspective when critically examined. Suggests that the process of sharing ideas is problematic and teachers and pupils need to examine critically each other's understanding and…

Study investigated elementary student teachers' propositional knowledge of classroom management, examining their conceptions of control. Elementary student teachers completed a survey with two tasks designed to elicit thinking about rule-based, dominance, and nurturance conceptions of classroom control. Results indicated rule-based conceptions…

This study explored the kinds of interpretive frameworks that university professors used in constructing and implementing pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in order to understand better the generic nature of PCK. Phenomenological interviews with professors who were recognized as experienced teachers indicated that they constructed and used…