This paper describes how the literacy methods course at Washington State University was modified in light of critical literacy and service learning perspectives. The goal has always been to teach preservice teachers literacy development strategies within units of instruction of their own design, units they construct that integrate content and…

The purpose of this paper was to provide professors of research methodology and statistics with an annotated bibliography of articles that can be used to teach a particular statistical technique as well as to illustrate specific concepts in research methodology. By using these articles in intermediate and advanced statistics classes, instructors…

This paper summarizes one semester's use of a class LISTSERV with a graduate elementary science education course (n=9). Data were collected on student comments regarding the class LISTSERV from nonstructured interviews, E-mail inquiries, and an end-of-semester questionnaire. Student feedback indicated that student interest in communication…

This paper describes efforts to develop a social studies methods course based on a foundation of critical theory in education. The literature concerning critical theory is discussed. Critical theory focuses on three areas of educational thought: (1) the relationship of school to society; (2) conceptions of knowledge and curriculum; and (3) the…

The theory and practice of whole language teaching should be integral and simultaneous components of preservice teacher education. A number of instructional strategies and class activities can be used to provide preservice teachers with experiences similar to experiences they will provide to elementary school children. Examples of class activities…

It is proposed that professional preparation programs for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers can help teachers become better cultural observers by drawing on their prior experiences in developing perceptions about their own culture and the classroom culture. A theoretical framework and its application in one ESL teacher education program…

An adaptation of the dialog journal technique, used for teacher training purposes, is described. The journals were used as medium of communication between novice teachers of English as a second language and their supervisors in a field practicum course. Journals were studied to quantify the types of student comments made, and to track the changes…

This paper provides guidelines on how to develop complete lesson plans using information from selected published articles and a standard lesson plan outline. The technique is designed as a culminating project for a methods and materials health education course or a teacher inservice activity. Students select a journal article that describes an…

The questions for this research were: (1) what did preservice teachers know about the nature of science; (2) what were their religious beliefs that had implications for how they viewed science; and (3) what effect did instruction on the nature of science have in changing their knowledge level? A 25-item questionnaire was given to secondary science…

Intended to improve the quality of social studies teacher education coursework, this paper discusses the use of interactive videodisks in understanding cultural diversity. Beginning with a review of studies about using videodisks, the paper describes the strategies for content development derived from interviews with 15 subject matter experts and…

Intended for use by educators of preservice speech communications teachers, this description of a methods course is geared towards high school and college level pedagogy. The philosophy of the guide rejects the typical textbook style, in which generalizations are given to students as unqualified positive statements rather than made objects of…

This paper discusses what teacher education programs can do to prepare teachers for diverse classrooms. One approach is through cooperative learning, since children come to school with various orientations to cooperative behavior. Many teachers, however, jump into cooperative activities with little thought of the behaviors needed by students to…

To determine how college instructors evaluate student learning in their reading methods course, a questionnaire was administered to 15 instructors of elementary, and 11 instructors of secondary, reading methods courses. The instrument was divided into five sections for the purpose of collecting the following data: (1) course design and components…

Science may be the subject area in which elementary teachers are the least confident and prepared to teach. The purpose of this project was to develop an effective model to better prepare teachers by enhancing their content background, and helping them teach inquiry-oriented science. Three departments, Biology, Chemistry, and Education, combined…

This document is a PowerPoint presentation intended for K-12 public school educators, administrators, and policy analysts as well as college and university educators involved or interested in teacher preparation programs. The presentation chronicles the partnership between Oswego State University and Parish Elementary School in north central New…