Most teacher educators who work at institutes for higher vocational education have faced a new role since the European Community aimed to upgrade the general quality of education. Research tasks have been added as a new important core business for institutes that used to be mainly focused on education. Teacher educators therefore have to become…

Mathematics teacher education has been criticized, both internally and externally, for failing to identify shared practices and goals within teacher preparation programs. Work has begun to address this criticism at the elementary level but less exists at the secondary level. This paper reports on a national survey with responses from 116 secondary…

This article discusses how modern technology, such as electronic response systems, PeerWise system, data collection and analysis tools, computer simulations, and modeling software can be used in physics methods courses to promote teacher-candidates' professional competencies and their positive attitudes about mathematics and science education. We…

The current high-stakes educational context compels many schools and school systems to encourage teachers to use restrictive literacy teaching practices, which are unlikely to meet students' diverse needs. These restrictions typically fall on novice teachers, who enter the field through various preparation routes, because they often work in…

This article extends the conversation on English education as preparation for democratic participation. The author journeys through a cycle of action research, analyzing one classroom case study to improve her practice of curricular negotiation in a methods of teaching writing course.

This study examines the development of a specific sub-skill for studying and improving teaching--the generation of hypotheses about the effects of teaching on student learning. Two groups of elementary preservice teachers (PSTs) were compared: one group that attended a typical mathematics-methods course and one that attended a course integrating…

This article describes how elementary preservice teachers used four documentary films to think historically about the United States Civil Rights Movement. The author situates the descriptive case study within research about historical thinking and documentary film, identifying the need for using documentary film to think historically in the…

This study evaluates the use of blogging and what it reveals about the development of science teaching ability in pre-service elementary education majors. The investigation occurs in a structured community and takes into consideration interactions among community members as they reflect on their own experiences and respond to the blogs of other…

Preservice Secondary Mathematics Teachers (PSMTs) were surveyed to identify if they could connect early-secondary mathematics content (Grades 7-9) in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) with mathematics content studied in content courses for certification in secondary teacher preparation programs. Respondents were asked to…

In this study, we investigated how the use of meaningful gamification affects student learning, engagement, and affective outcomes in a short, 3-day blended learning research methods class using a combination of experimental and qualitative research methods. Twenty-two postgraduates were randomly split into two groups taught by the same…

This study examines the research on middle school students' understanding of variables and explores preservice elementary and middle school teachers' knowledge of variables. According to research studies, middle school students have limited understanding of variables. Many studies have examined the performance of middle school students and offered…

In this volume of the "TESOL Voices" series, authors demonstrate the various ways that we can interact with one another in the pursuit of effective teaching and learning. From virtual learning environments to online course management systems, discover how technology can maintain a human connection. Hear how ESL and EFL teachers developed…

This article reports empirical evidence about the influence of a pre-service methods course on preparing aspiring and practicing content teachers to work with adolescent bilingual learners in secondary schools. Qualitative methods were used to analyze the extent to which participants developed abilities to plan instruction and to think complexly…

In this dissertation, the researcher describes authentic scientific inquiry (ASI) within three stages of teacher preparation and development: a1) undergraduate STEM courses, b2) preservice secondary science education methods courses, and c3) inservice teacher professional development (PD). Incorporating (ASI)--pedagogy closely modeling the…

The author has been teaching pre-service elementary social studies teachers for over 20 years and one thing that always astonishes her is how "fuzzy" they are about why social studies is taught as a subject in schools. When she asks this question in her undergraduate social studies methods classes, she usually gets specific…