Uses the American College Testing Program (ACT) and Teale-Lewis Reading Attitude Scales to investigate achievement predictability in a teacher-preparatory course in reading methods. Determines the two tests to be effective predictors of achievement. (SG)

A description is given of the design, implementation, and outcomes of a combination methods course and field experience for preservice reading teachers. The program involved cooperating teachers in a collaborative manner assisting elementary children with reading problems, and increased both cooperating and student teachers' knowledge of reading…

Describes using portfolio assessment in a language arts methods course. Discusses purposes for portfolios, steps in preparing them, an interim review process, and portfolio evaluation. (SR)

Presents recommendations for preparation of mathematics faculty at two-year colleges, including discussions of: minimal and standard preparation, continuing formal education, evaluating credentials, mathematical and pedagogical content, and continuing education. Includes an outline for a course in college mathematics teaching, suggesting topics,…

Discusses the components of a foreign language in the elementary school methods course in a state where K-12 certification in second languages is now mandated, describing course emphasis on integrated or content-based instruction, second-language acquisition, a practicum allowing participants to demonstrate innovative teaching techniques, and…

The Group Embedded Figures Test and a teaching style inventory administered to 25 preservice agriculture teachers showed (1) field-independent learners achieved higher scores in methods courses; (2) those preferring more sensitive teaching styles achieved higher microteaching scores; (3) preference for the inclusion teaching style did not…

Details the advantages of the use of dialog journals in language arts/reading methods courses for undergraduate and graduate students. Describes student reaction to the activity as indicated through free writing in their journals and on an anonymous questionnaire. Finds that dialog journals can play a positive role. (SR)

Presents a portrait of a content area reading course taken by undergraduates in a health/physical education teacher preparation program. Discusses how resistance was anticipated and rallied as a way of driving the work done over the course of the semester. (RS)

Describes experiences using portfolios in preservice reading/language arts methods courses, including portfolio development, values of the portfolio, transferring knowledge to practice, and future directions. (SR)

Investigates whether a reading methods course and/or student teaching can influence an individual's conceptual framework of reading. Finds some effect on changing subjects' perspectives about teaching reading, but also finds (in a subsequent study) that neither the reading methodology course nor student teaching had a statistically significant…

Explains how to use microteaching in an effective way to have students in methods classes plan, teach, and evaluate a lesson presented to a small group of their peers. (PR)

Addresses problems and possibilities in development of practitioner research stemming from a semester-long master's level research course. Presents course context; outlines the four classroom studies that examined journal writing; explores commonalities among studies; shares conversations among researchers on issues of systematic inquiry,…

Introduces a project to engage preservice teachers in a service learning activity. Provides background on service learning and how to incorporate it into the classroom. Suggests that preservice teachers need to experience service learning so that they will be better prepared to implement service learning in their future classrooms. (DSK)

Presents the value of portfolio experiences for graduate students. Posits that, by using portfolio assessment, students take more responsibility for their own progress, and they have the opportunity to be a part of their own learning process. Provides a summary of student assessments of their portfolio experience. (DSK)

Employs a survey of institutions accredited through the National Association of Schools of Music to determine the purpose, format, and content of courses available to undergraduate elementary education majors. Finds greater agreement among instructors of fundamentals courses than among instructors of methods or combined courses. (DSK)