Discrepant events are often used by science educators to incite interest and excitement in learners, yet sometimes their results are farther-reaching. The following article describes how one such event--dissolving packing peanuts in acetone--led to a change in the course of a college-level elementary science teaching methods class and to the…

For pre-service teachers (PSTs) who have been exposed to traditional approaches, teacher education courses can be a revelatory experience in their development as educators. This study explores if Canadian upper elementary/lower secondary (grades 4-10) PSTs change their beliefs about mathematics teaching as a result of taking a mathematics methods…

Lack of time for teaching science in traditional classroom placements in the United States has led some science teacher educators to provide practice teaching time for elementary education students in informal science settings. The purposes of this study were to describe the culture of one science methods course taught in conjunction with a K-7…

Can prospective elementary teachers "unlearn" harmful algorithms used with fractions as they are invited to develop fraction number sense? This study examined the development of prospective elementary teachers' fraction number sense during an intermediate (grades 5-8) mathematics methods course. During this course, participants' were involved in a…

This research examines the preparation of middle grades social studies teachers by investigating opportunities for learning in 2 social studies methods courses in distinctive teacher education pathways: a specialized middle grades program and a secondary social studies program. The findings suggest that, although both methods course instructors…

New conceptions of literacies and the practices associated with them call for new approaches to preparing teachers to engage students in literacy as a situated social phenomenon. This article describes two teacher educators' engagement in collaborative self-study as we implemented "The New Literacies Project" to help pre-service teachers expand…

During 3 field experience visits, 23 elementary preservice teachers implemented mathematical problem-solving tasks with grade 3-6 gifted students. Researchers investigated what the teachers learned about gifted students regarding student characteristics, mathematical problem-solving tasks, and pedagogy. Each teacher completed a pre- and…

In this article, the authors describe their efforts to assess prospective K-8 teachers' knowledge of proportional reasoning. Based upon their analysis of prospective K-8 teachers' work on a mathematics performance task, they discuss the implications for preparing prospective teachers to teach proportional reasoning to their students. In general,…

Motivation is often a major concern for educators in all subject areas. Educational benefits associated with increased levels of student motivation have been well-documented within educational research. Improving student motivation can be affected by the educational environment (motivational climate), developed by the teacher. This study examined…

Many members of the mathematics and science education community believe that the integration of mathematics and science enhances students' understanding of both subjects. Despite this belief, attempts to integrate these subjects have frequently been unsuccessful. This study examines the development and implementation of a team-taught integrated…