Studies of learning transfer within the paradigm of cognitive psychology suggest that transfer of learning from one task to another occurs rarely. Within a situated learning paradigm the idea of learning transfer can become even more problematic. Courses of initial teacher education comprise school-based and higher education institution…

The aim of this study is to discuss the experiences of prospective teachers during their school placements. For this aim, 41 prospective teachers taking School Experience II and Teaching Practice courses wrote and submitted a one- to two-page reflection of their field-based experiences at the end of the semester. Prospective teachers' written…

The number of students taking online courses in K-12 has increased exponentially since the inception of virtual schools in 1996. However, K-12 virtual schooling is a relatively new concept for those involved in teacher education. As teacher education departments build pre-service preparation programs, in-service professional development…

The purpose of this study was to investigate if there were differences in the levels of pedagogical knowledge and skills as perceived by the student teachers who were enrolled in the Primary and the Secondary Post Graduate Diploma in Education programme at the National Institute of Education in Singapore. 170 Primary and 426 Secondary student…

Although science, technology, society and environment (STSE) education has gained considerable force in the past few years, it has made fewer strides in practice. We suggest that "science" teacher identity plays a role in the adoption of STSE perspectives. Simply put, issues-based STSE education challenges traditional images of a science…

This paper reports the findings of an Australia-wide survey conducted as part of a national teacher education research project that explored the preparation of teachers to teach literacy and numeracy in Australian schools (Louden, Rohl, Gore, Greaves, McIntosh, Wright, Siemon & House, 2005). The project included various phases of inquiry,…

Written in a reader-friendly style for busy faculty members and school administrators with little or no prior knowledge of statistics, this comprehensive model is designed to create fair, valid, and reliable assessments of teacher knowledge and skills. Evaluation experts Judy Wilkerson and Steve Lang provide detailed guidance for the complete…

This article explores the behavioural strategies adopted by a sample of teachers in Japan. The data for the study came from a total of 298 Japanese students who were invited to evaluate teacher behaviour by using the Student's Teacher Evaluation Questionnaire. The sixteen-item questionnaire was adopted from Paisey (1975), who had conducted similar…

Research on teacher learning consistently documents the disjuncture between the practices beginning teachers encounter in university teacher preparation courses and those they reencounter in the K-12 classrooms in which they learn to teach. As preservice teachers enter teaching, they gravitate toward conventional K-12 practices, dismissing those…

In this article, a professional composer shares his experiences writing music for a middle school band. Michael Colgrass was commissioned, along with fourteen other composers, by the American Composers Forum BandQuest project to write a short piece for eighth-grade band. They were asked to pay a couple of visits to a nearby school to work with…

This study was motivated by the need to redress the problem of decline in the quality of education in Nigerian schools. Although there are several factors that influence success in the learning situation, it is contended in this paper that the provision of the other conditions of learning may not have marked impact on successful learning if the…

This study explores the problem-solving frameworks of twenty prospective secondary mathematics teachers. Twenty prospective secondary mathematics teachers were asked to complete in writing the statement "When I am given a mathematics problem to solve, this is what I do...." Prospective secondary mathematics teachers were found to rely on…

Purpose: This study investigates: what kind of e-moderation is more effective in the formation of successful web-based courses, and the essential characteristics of synchronous communication (SC) that have a positive contribution in the formation of successful courses. Design/methodology/approach: The previously mentioned issues investigated a…

While the term "learner-centered" is invoked in many curriculum standards documents, packaged curriculum materials, mission statements and criticisms of educational practice, there is little agreement on its meaning. Shallow understandings and conflicting practices abound. And rarely do the meanings ascribed to the term take into account the…

In many teacher preparation programs, student teaching serves as a culminating event that bridges academic coursework and the realities of classroom teaching. Therefore, it represents a significant aspect of preservice teacher education. This study explored student teaching as it was experienced by 13 middle and secondary science preservice…