This paper summarizes a 4-month-long preparation process to implement an innovative English-as-a-Second-Language workplace program (ESLWP) at a large university with a sizable non-English speaking workforce in the United States. There is also a proposed plan of action for implementing a program guided by constructivist views of teaching and…

This paper reports findings in a study of an e-mail discussion activity in an undergraduate methods course. Students were asked to contribute an e-mail message to the class discussion at least once every two weeks; they could write on any topic suggested by their field experiences or related class discussions and readings. Critical interpretative…

A study hypothesized that pedagogical beliefs, as well as method course experience, would be important and related influences on how preservice teachers used portfolios. During a year-long study, 20 elementary education majors were followed as they moved through methods courses into student teaching and their first year as classroom teachers.…

The portfolio procedures a teacher-educator uses in an undergraduate course in teaching reading in the elementary school have proven successful in helping students begin to articulate a philosophy of literacy instruction and assessment. The process also contributes additional benefits to students' levels of self-esteem, self-confidence, and their…

Fifty-seven elementary education students enrolled in methods courses were asked to respond to an open-ended questionnaire to identify what knowledge and skills had been learned as a result of participating in field experiences required in the courses. Students provided 516 individual statements, with 245 being knowledge statements, which included…

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…

Try as she would, one instructor of preservice teachers could not convince her students that such skills as reading and vocabulary are not good indicators of how well a secondary student will write, especially in the case of minorities. One of the hardest sells to new teachers is that students--at all levels--should write extensively, regardless…

This study examined the characteristics of graduate education students enrolled in an advanced methods class and their response to a micro-teaching approach. Conducted over 5 years beginning in 1987, the study involved 112 graduates micro-teaching 12 model lessons in groups of 4, in 10 academic areas of the curriculum. Participants were tested at…

Future teachers were surveyed on their perceptions of the impact of their teacher preparation program upon their success in student teaching. Forty-one undergraduate elementary education majors were surveyed before and after the student teaching experience. Preliminary results suggest that prior to student teaching, these prospective teachers…

Each class session of a reading methods course at a Texas university begins with an instructor reading aloud from a children's book. The instructors, who hoped this method would reduce future teachers' reliance on basal materials and help them prepare for assignments involving children's literature, came to believe that this time was well spent.…

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…

Modeling the processes of effective teaching through cooperative learning, creating a community of learners, and other interactive teaching strategies are discussed. As teacher education students become involved in their own reading and writing, they take ownership of their own learning and begin to feel a part of a larger community of learners.…

Preservice teachers can be taught skills in questioning techniques through a three-stage process of modeling, practicing, and evaluation. In a methods course taught by the authors, education students were confused by the variety of questioning techniques available, and would not adopt effective and efficient approaches to questioning. A…

Teacher certification has become encrusted with a series of complex and fragmented requirements that do not necessarily assure effective teachers. To suggest a change in the maze of intricate and rigid rules of required courses in subject specialties is certain to create a time consuming and divisive political reaction; yet educators and the…