Based on a partnership between a teacher preparation program and an urban school district, this study evaluates a project that used a service-learning model to connect preservice teachers to working teachers to help the working teachers integrate technology into their teaching while giving the preservice teachers an authentic context for their…

To better prepare preservice candidates for teaching in the information age, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has defined National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) to guide technology integration into teacher education programs. Based on these standards, Brigham Young University (BYU) has implemented strategies…

This study explored the benefits and limitations of mentoring relationships between pre-service and practicing K-12 teachers. Thirteen pre-service education students at a university in the southeastern United States and 17 practicing teachers from four states participated. The student participants were in their senior year in a teacher education…

Teacher education students have a significant role to play in the sustained application of ICT in schools. It is imperative therefore, that they are exposed to effective use of ICT in their training. However, "effective use" is subjective and existing characterisations of this construct appear to drive different ICT implementation plans…

Portfolios are used in teacher education programs to provide evidence of pre-service teachers' professional growth and development. As programs are better able to integrate technology into the teacher preparation curriculum, many educational institutions are implementing electronic versions of portfolios (e-portfolios) on a widespread basis. Uses…

Innovations, Educational Testing Service (ETS's) corporate magazine, provides information on educational assessment for educators, school leaders, researchers and policymakers around the world. Each issue focuses on a particular theme in assessment. This issue explores the question, "What makes a great teacher?" Articles in this issue…

This paper describes how the Web-based Inquiry for Learning Science (WBI) instrument was used with preservice elementary and secondary science teachers in science methods courses to enhance their understanding of Web-based scientific inquiry. The WBI instrument is designed to help teachers identify Web-based inquiry activities for learning science…

Twenty-three preservice elementary teachers with limited technology backgrounds created complex electronic portfolios during a 2-year teacher education program. At the end of the 2-year project, they responded to a 72-item survey based on previous qualitative research with the same students and Kirkpatrick's (1996) four dimensions for evaluation.…

This paper outlines the efforts of two mathematics teacher educators in their use of online videos to expose their elementary preservice teachers to examples of reform teaching, as espoused by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The online videos provide an excellent source for reflection, and each author shares their different…

The innovative CLASS professional development school initiative seeks to redesign teacher education through effective collaboration to better meet the needs of a changing pre-service student population. Non-traditional, often part-time students are entering undergraduate pre-service education programs across North America and in other parts of the…

The attempt to understand the relationship between messages intended and messages received has been an enduring issue in teacher education. For the past three decades researchers have made forays into understanding this enduring issue, and in the process have drawn on various explanatory frameworks, one of them being socialisation. In this paper…

Teacher educators are increasingly experiencing conflicts between external demands and their ideas about preparing students to teach. This paper reports on ways in which such educators promote learning in their students, and how their practical teaching methods relate to their professional views on teaching. This paper argues that the teaching…

In this paper the authors focus on one early-career teacher, co-author Natalie Gibson, whose initial teaching experiences were mediated by educational settings shaped by these different and often conflicting traditions. Their study of Natalie's early-career trajectory is concerned with understanding her effort to develop a conception of…

The introduction of an open-ended MicroWorlds based assignment in a pre-service teaching degree produced interesting results. Students engaged with the task at very high levels and produced work of high quality; so much so that marking trends were reversed. This paper explores the design and implementation of the task and how for many students it…

Teacher educators need to remain current regarding the challenges that prospective teachers are going to face in their classrooms. One way to maintain this currency is for teacher educators periodically to spend some time in the K-12 classroom testing the theories they teach. This paper will discuss the benefits both teacher educators and…