In this self-study, two science educators partnered with two elementary teachers to plan, implement, and reflect on a unit taught in second grade classrooms that integrated science and language arts. The researchers hoped to increase their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for elementary science teaching so that they might use their experiences…

In the fall of 2015, a new secondary education class, Diversity and Multicultural Education, was introduced at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama, USA. Although many multicultural theorists emphasize the importance of students taking diversity/multicultural education courses in college, there is no real model for creating such…

In this study, I conducted three separate, but interrelated studies that examine the ways preservice teachers (PSTs) generatively developed youth-centered, equity-oriented pedagogical imaginaries in their methods courses and how they enacted these practice(s) in their field experiences. The purpose of this dissertation is to understand how and in…

National science education documents emphasize new learning outcomes of elementary students; therefore, the preparation of elementary teachers should be revised to meet these challenges. This article describes how science educators at a large southeastern university developed specialized science training for elementary preservice teachers (EPSTs)…

Early childhood preservice teachers participated in a qualitative multiple case study to explore and examine the effectiveness of reform-based constructivist methods used in a mathematics methods course to change their mathematics anxiety, mathematics self-efficacy, and mathematics teachers' efficacy beliefs. Findings indicated that instructor's…

This study examined preservice teachers' agreement with critically compassionate financial literacy standards and the financial literacy standards developed by The Council for Economic Education for Grade 4. The preservice teachers, enrolled in elementary social studies methods courses at two institutions, responded to surveys about their…

The concepts of "culturally relevant pedagogy" and "culturally responsive teaching" have been interpreted and enacted in various ways for over two decades. Informed by this research, the author shares a critical approach to teaching and learning using "sociotransformative constructivism" (sTc). This framework merges…

In the past decade, researchers have argued for translanguaging as an instructional approach that radically re-conceptualizes educators' views on multilingualism as an asset. Teacher education programs play a pivotal role in preparing teachers who enact this vision. Research on teachers' receptivity to translanguaging's epistemological…

Research has shown that plagiarism is on the increase in higher education. Some state that this is due to poor knowledge rather than intentional cheating. Other researchers explain that plagiarism is on the rise due to increased competitiveness in college and easy access to work that has already been completed. In this study, we show how a 2-hr…

Methods for teaching early childhood mathematics and science are often addressed in a single, dual-content course. Approaches to teaching this type of course include integrating the content and the pedagogy of both subjects, or keeping the subject areas distinct. In this article, the authors discuss and illustrate their approach to such a combined…

This article explores the personal identities of two prospective elementary teachers as they progressed from mathematics methods coursework into their capstone student teaching semester. Results indicate that both prospective teachers perceived contrasting obligations of effective mathematics teaching in the teacher education and student teaching…

This article describes a culture-based art curriculum for preservice elementary education majors which incorporates activities through which they can explore, cultivate, and foster creativity, aesthetic awareness and self-expression through cultural awareness, understanding, representation, and identity. The author utilizes visual culture theory…

There has been a focus on improving teachers' views of nature of science for decades. The method in which researchers improve views of nature of science, however, varies greatly. This study aimed to improve elementary preservice teachers' views of nature of science and nature of science instruction through a course assignment that required the…

In this collaborative self-study, teacher educators/researchers in four different geographic, social, and cultural institutions of higher education implemented Culturally Proactive Pedagogy (CPP) learning events into their undergraduate literacy methods courses. Conceptually, this study used the Pose, Wobble, Flow (P/W/F) framework developed by…

Within an early childhood methods course, teacher candidates were prepared to spend three weeks in immersive clinical field experience. Early childhood placements were in rural, high poverty areas of central New York State. In addition to readings and authentic project-based undertakings, preparation included interactive activities on culturally…