The theme of the 38th meeting of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME 38) and the 36th meeting of the North American Chapter of the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME-NA 36) was "Mathematics Education at the Edge." Academically, the theme provides opportunities to highlight and examine…

In this article, the author examines the effectiveness of reflective teaching in Kindergarten which promotes children's learning. Reflective teaching encourages kindergartners to extend their thinking by asking questions and by modeling their own use of reflection. Further, he emphasizes that it is possible for teachers to nurture reflective…

This paper investigates the effects of a sustained professional development project in South Australia in which a small group of preschool educators worked with the authors to develop their own knowledge and skills in facilitating young children's mathematical learning. Through the development of an approach to pedagogy that linked the mandated…

Increasing numbers of young children with disabilities are receiving services in inclusive settings such as Head Start. It is important to note that positive outcomes for young children with disabilities are due in large part to practitioners' understanding and implementation of both recommended practices in both early care and education and early…

Professional Development is an ideal way to ensure that early childhood teachers have the skills and knowledge they need to improve student achievement. Unfortunately, many teachers report that the workshops and in-services typically offered are of minimal value because they often do not relate to what is actually going on in their classrooms…

Efforts to transfer research findings on autism into public schools would benefit from further evaluation of teacher preparation models. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a model program that was deigned to prepare current teachers in evidence-based practices for children with autism. Drawn from the extensive literature on caregiver…

Many early childhood teachers report lacking confidence to teach science. Today, science education is defined as "doing science", as opposed to memorization of facts (Seefeldt & Galper, 2002). This paper discusses developmentally appropriate practices in the context of teaching science. Knowledge of child development, individual differences and…

A multiple baseline design across three parent-child dyads of families with multiple risk factors was used to determine the effectiveness of teaching parents to use milieu language teaching procedures. Parents were taught to use two sets of milieu language teaching skills: responsive interaction and incidental teaching. Results showed that parents…

Professional development is a topic that is near and dear to the author's heart. The author has spent more hours than she can count trying to get her colleagues in the U.S. Department of Education to understand that early childhood professional development has to be part of the education continuum. She would argue that even if they had the luxury…

Process-oriented inquiry can help preservice and inservice early childhood teachers implement constructivist science education in their own classrooms. In this article, we discuss the basic elements of process-oriented inquiry applied to early childhood science education, show how we foster the development of process-oriented inquiry teaching…

This study describes the development and implementation of a comprehensive approach to computer technology training for early childhood teachers. Departing from the singular goal of conveying skills and knowledge, a comprehensive program targets the development of teachers' attitudes and practices as well as knowledge and skills. All 3 areas are…

Discrete trial training (DTT) is a well-established intervention for teaching skills to children with autism; however, few published guidelines are available for determining whether a child's rate of learning a particular skill is satisfactory and, if not, what to do. We assert that progress within 8-10 teaching sessions usually is evidence of…

Twenty-five recent graduates of a Master's Program in Early Childhood Special Education participated in focus group interviews designed to explore their perceptions and experiences regarding their first years of practice in urban schools. Findings revealed that participants faced many challenges including collaboration with colleagues, seeking…

This article explores the experiences of six First-year teachers working in the broad, cross-categorical field of early childhood special education. A multicase approach provided insight into the complexity of teachers' roles and work with young children with special needs in a range of settings, with children of various ages and developmental…

This article examines the multifaceted nature of pre-primary music teachers' and supervisors' beliefs and practices in music education. It focuses on the general process of creativity (particularly as applied to music education); the classroom setting and how it influences the way music educators approach teaching and learning; and the structuring…