This dissertation sought to explore the way preservice teachers grappled with race/ism and citizenship during a social studies methods class. Relying on the theoretical framework of racial civic literacy, this instrumental case study examines six white preservice teachers as they confront issues of race/ism in a young adult fiction novel and…

Learners need to develop multifaceted skills and knowledge in order to productively engage with today's increasingly uncertain world. To this aim, science educators strive to build students' science knowledge by engaging them in scientific practices, such as collaborative inquiry, which are social and collaborative in nature. However, learners…

Geography education research has identified several concerns in geography education and recognizes several systemic and cyclical issues which serve to impede effective implementation of geography education. A pattern to be recognized in the review of literature is the consistent communicated concerns of ill-prepared geography teachers.…

Preservice educators are required to enroll in multiple methods courses to prepare them to effectively teach content to students. With the increase of online teacher preparation programs, methods courses are also being offered virtually. This study sought to investigate the overall attitudes, beliefs, and preparedness of candidates after…

The purpose of this study was to build on recent survey research on writing instruction to examine both the types and extent of teachers' preparation to teach writing and what teachers' writing instruction currently looks like, including the evidence-based practices teachers use, the amount of time spent teaching writing, and the types of writing…

The purpose of this study was to develop a methodological approach using secondary data that researchers, faculty, and staff can utilize to assess student course performance and to identify the input and course environment factors that best predict student course success in an undergraduate lecture capture quantitative methods course. Using the…

An old Finnish saying inspires my research, "those things you learn without joy, you will forget easily." My research is framed by Vygotsky (1978) describing how "subjugation to rules eliminates the joy of action" (p. 93), and guided by Rodriguez and Fitzpatrick (2014) who describe cognition and emotion as "interdependent…

During university-based programs that prepare K-12 teachers, candidates traditionally participate in course work that discusses educational theory and application related to the future teacher's chosen population (based on age range and subject areas). Traditional methods courses cover the pedagogy related to a single, specific content area, or…

Responding to a writer, a core practice for writing teachers begins when the teacher notices the author of a written product. The purpose of this study was to understand how early childhood (EC) preservice teachers (PSTs) in a literacy methods course noticed the K-1 writers responsible for seven written products. Twenty PSTs approximated taking…

The impact of the "Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)" on K-12 science education has gained significant momentum over the last several years. Evidence of the "NGSS" can be seen in revised state science content standards and amended teacher preparation standards. Due to this growing impetus, a holistic redesign of teacher…

Socioscientific issues (SSI) such as COVID-19 and climate change often highlight the inequalities that structural racism creates. If we ever wish to equitably solve these issues, we require a population that has the scientific literacy and the sociopolitical consciousness to do so. Yet, the push for culturally relevant education has had little…

This mini-ethnographic study explored virtual elementary student teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on mathematics instruction. It was framed using Ecological Systems Theory and Critical Pedagogy. Data were collected from interviews, focus groups, observations, and site documents. Thematic analysis methods were used to analyze the…

Students coming to university agricultural education programs have less agricultural experience than in the past. Teacher educators are limited to the experiences they can facilitate. Universities have graduated qualified agricultural teacher candidates who do not have experiences in content area skills required of them to teacher. This study…

Scientific modeling is a scientific practice that uses models to prepare elementary and middle school science teachers to engage students using scientific inquiry. Model-based inquiry (MBI) is a pedagogical teaching approach that engages students using scientific inquiry during scientific modeling. However, preservice teachers lack understanding…

The purpose of this study was to explore four elementary preservice teachers' (PSTs) learning outcomes based on "affective characteristics," "science knowledge," and "pedagogical content knowledge" during a science methods course that incorporated "explicit instruction on drawing-to-reason" about…