A previous study showed that elementary teaching majors enrolled in an inquiry-based physical science course developed chemistry content knowledge comparable to that of students enrolled in traditional lecture-based courses. This current study compares the views of these elementary teaching majors regarding how chemistry is taught and learned to…

This qualitative study investigated effective instructional methods to train elementary education preservice teachers to apply reading comprehension strategies as readers and teachers. Four comprehension strategies and the components of two instructional models that have proven their efficacy were selected for the content and instructional…

The need exists for methods courses to address the pedagogy issues of using graphing calculators. There needs to be a teacher candidate forum to examine their pedagogical perspectives on using graphing calculators in teaching, to explore when and how to use graphing calculators in the classroom, and to provide opportunities to practice teaching…

The purpose of this study was to investigate adult singing anxieties arising within the context of a music methods course. Participants were three female elementary education majors who reported suffering from anxiety related to singing. Anxiety toward singing was evidenced through observations and participants' descriptions of cognitive, somatic,…

This paper communicates the generative potential of classroom skits as curricular openings in teacher education. Although assorted incidences of the use of skits in classrooms have been documented, literature on the use of skits as a learning tool is very limited. I suggest that skits allow for the generally absent observation component during…

The purpose of this article is to propose the use of technology integration in elementary and middle level education courses, specifically, the use of WebQuests as vehicles for the infusion of content knowledge in preservice and in-service education courses. Observation in content area teaching methods courses found that teacher candidates often…

This author recognized that she needed to revisit her preservice teachers' practicum experience to reassess her goals, ideas, and priorities regarding how to provide a quality teaching and learning experience of her preservice teachers. As the author reflected on the practicum experience, she identified the missing link--reciprocity. The practicum…

Slow motion animation ("slowmation") is a new teaching approach that uses a simple animation process to engage learners in creating their own comprehensive animations of science concepts. In this paper, preservice elementary teachers used slowmation, a form of stop-motion animation, to make models of science concepts and take digital…

This is the report of a qualitative emergent-design study of 2 different Web-enhanced science methods courses for preservice elementary teachers in which an experiential learning strategy, labeled "using yourself as a learning laboratory," was implemented. Emergent grounded theory indicated this strategy, when embedded in a course organized as an…

This publication for methods instructors contains articles dealing with science education in elementary schools. Titles of articles appearing in this issue are: The Unit Box Approach, Let's Take Science Out of the Mouths of the Teacher and Put It into the Hands of the Child, Environmental Education and the Inservice Teacher, A Comparison of Two…

The Experimental Student Teaching/Differentiated Staffing Program involved hiring selected elementary education students in their senior year as half-day teacher aides for the full public school year. Within this program, teaching methods courses were conducted at the site by university personnel on selected afternoons during the fall semester;…

The Partnership in the Education of Teachers (PET), a cooperative venture between Southeastern State College and Colbert, a small disadvantaged rural school, was initiated to revitalize the college elementary teacher training program through earlier field experiences for students; on-the-spot observation, teaching, and consulting by the college…

Describes the programs of 43 responding universities that have specialized content science courses for elementary education majors. Provides contact addresses for each university. (MVL)

Personal observations suggest that conventional evaluation methods used in methods courses heighten rather than alleviate the insecurity of teachers who suffer from science anxiety. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the benefits of a graduate science methods course that used a nonthreatening evaluation method. This method consisted…

This publication for methods instructors contains articles dealing with science education in elementary schools. Titles of articles appearing in this issue are: Undergraduate Independent Studies in Elementary School Science, A Concern About the Teaching of Science in the Elementary School, A Random Sampling of Graduate Students' Critiques of a…