This research advances the understanding of how to define, evaluate, and promote e-learning success from an information systems perspective. It introduces the E-Learning Success Model, which posits that the overall success of an e-learning initiative depends on the attainment of success at each of the three stages of e-learning systems…

In this article the development of two teachers as they make the transition from pre-service teachers to experienced teachers is examined. While these teachers participated in the same mathematics methods course and similar collaborative environments in their practicum experiences, their mathematics classroom instructional practices revealed stark…

This exploratory study, a one group pretest-posttest design, investigated the development of elementary preservice teachers' understandings of distribution as expressed in the measures and representations used to compare data distributions. During a semester-long mathematics methods course, participants worked in small groups on two statistical…

Learning how to use mathematics curriculum materials to create learning opportunities is an important part of the work of teaching. This paper presents findings from a study involving 15 elementary preservice teachers enrolled in, first, a content and, then, a methods course, and discusses the extent to which three curriculum interventions…

The stand-alone computer course is the earliest IT training model in teacher education. Designed in the early 1980s, the course responded to increasing demands from schools that teachers have adequate technology skills. The primary goal was to improve technology proficiency among preservice teachers. Research later determined that student teachers…

This paper describes how interpretations of inquiry have changed during the 20th Century. These multiple meanings have resulted in (a) confusion among K-12 teachers of science and (b) various interpretations by science teacher educators. Suggestions are provided for preservice programs (both science and methods courses), professional development…

The Virtual Vee Map proved successful in promoting student learning in the areas of inquiry and data analysis using resources and data available on the internet. A postsurvey found that a majority of students enjoyed collecting and interpreting the data to find an answer to their own inquiry question. (Contains 3 tables and 6 figures.)

Students, parents, and sometimes even teachers often believe that complex mathematics is too difficult for certain learners. But the programs described in this article demonstrate that anyone can learn, understand, and use complex math. Lesa M. Covington-Clarkson boosted the confidence of black 6th graders by teaching them to use graphing…

The establishment of the European Higher Education Area has involved specifying lists of professional competencies that programs are expected to develop, and with this the need for procedures to measure how every course within a higher education program is aligned with the program's competencies. We propose an instrument for characterizing this…

This study reports on an analysis of preservice teachers' dialogue journal entries for evidence of ways in which teachers develop conceptual understanding for writing instruction. Teachers' propositional statements were identified and coded at a specific level for three themes: (1) level of instructional scaffolding, (2) focus of proposed…

Preservice elementary teachers have been shown to generally possess poor mathematical knowledge (e.g. Goulding, Rowland, & Barber, 2002) and also strong negative attitudes toward mathematics (e.g. MacNab & Payne, 2004). Recently, national organizations have proposed interventions to address these issues (Conference Board of the…

The study investigated the changes in levels of mathematics anxiety among pre-service teachers in six different sections of a mathematics method courses for early childhood/elementary education pre-service teachers. The changes were a function of using Bruner's framework of developing conceptual knowledge before procedural knowledge and using…

The context for this investigation was an undergraduate literacy methods course taught by Cindy, the first author of this manuscript. A central course goal was to prepare pre-service teachers to provide effective literacy instruction for children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The focus of this study was an examination of the…

This investigation examines an elementary social studies methods course taught on an American Indian reservation through a state university. Data were collected from American Indian pre-service teachers over four years through taped interviews, classroom observations, and a review of homework and in-class assignments. A Freirean critical pedagogy…

This article describes the process used in elementary mathematics content courses to engage preservice teachers in problem-solving activities to enhance their understanding and ability to analyze nonroutine problems. Through this process, preservice teachers' competencies and confidence with these problems improve. (Contains 7 figures.)