This study investigated preservice teachers' levels of mathematics anxiety before and after a mathematics methods course. Changes were measured using manipulatives and other activities to make mathematics concepts more concrete and meaningful. Both quantitative and qualitative measures were utilized. Informal discussions, informal interviews, and…

Background/purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify strengths and deficits of alternative teacher certification programs, with particular emphasis on approaches to strengthening mathematical content knowledge and pedagogy. Materials/methods: Six participants included both teacher candidates enrolled in internship in the…

This paper foregrounds sociocultural learning theory and dialogic pedagogy to describe how instructors at two universities, one in the Midwest and one in the mid-South, used a web-based social annotation tool to spark conversations among English language arts methods students who crossed geographic boundaries and invited all students to share…

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…

Critical thinking is an important life skill that needs to be nurtured in young minds during the primary education years. This study explored pre-service teachers' perception of barriers to their efforts in promoting critical thinking skills in classrooms, and further explored possible solutions to overcome these perceived barriers. The study used…

The purpose of this case study was to examine pre-service music teachers' perceptions of peer feedback from two different vantage points (giving and receiving). Music education majors (N = 4) enrolled in a choral music teaching methods course were asked to develop a series of lessons over a semester, teach them to their peers, and provide oral and…

In recent decades, scholars of teacher education have suggested that teacher educators (TEs) should integrate the development of prospective teachers' (PTs') knowledge with their skills for enacting teaching, characterized in the literature as pedagogies of practice. One way to operationalize pedagogies of practice is through engaging PTs in…

This study explores how past and present experiences with mathematics interact as teacher candidates engage in a series of critical inquiry and reflection opportunities embedded in a mathematics methods course. The study involved 28 teacher candidates enrolled in an undergraduate education program within a large university. Data were collected…

Due to time constraints and faculty resources, one-semester research methods courses, especially mixed methods, often do not result in meaningful student-produced work that contributes to scholarly literature. As publishing increasingly becomes expected for graduate students, instructors may seek ways to incorporate publishing opportunities into…

The research reported here is part of a larger study and examines the cases of two individuals who were initially unable to achieve the required 60% passing grade on a Mathematics for Teaching Exam at the end of their first enrolment in an intermediate-level mathematics methods course. The exam is a graduation requirement of the teacher education…

According to the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE, 2017), teachers should first try to see problems through their students' eyes, anticipate, understand, and analyze students' varied ways of thinking, and respond appropriately. In this study, we engaged preservice teachers (PTs) in planning to implement problem-solving tasks;…

The authors describe their study of a curricular module on computational thinking (CT) implemented within an elementary science methods course and reported insights on preservice science teachers' (PSTs') beliefs about CT integration. The research question was, "Following participation in a curricular module on CT, what is the nature of PSTs'…

The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of participating in a STEM methods course on pre-service teachers' awareness of and intentions to teach STEM subjects. Quantitative analysis was conducted of data gathered from 53 (41 female and 12 male) preservice science teachers from a teacher preparation program in a university in a small…

The Next Generation Science Standards articulate a new vision for K-12 science learning that engages students in disciplinary practices to encourage deeper participation in and understandings of science and engineering. Teacher educators have a major responsibility in helping pre-service teachers (PSTs) develop knowledge of these practices and…