Mary Kennedy (1999) introduced the problem of enactment to describe how novice teachers often struggle to put what they have learned in coursework into practice in the field. One approach to this problem is to put practice at the center of teacher education by specifying core practices of teaching around which to structure novices' learning…

In an examination of how content knowledge influenced her initial third grade social studies teaching experiences, Suzanne Wilson found that it, among other things, helped her "to hear what students say" and in her students' comments were "often...the seeds of complex and sophisticated historical ideas." She also found content…

This study explores alternative-licensed teachers' views of how an asynchronous discussion board mediated their preparation to teach literacy through methods courses. Forty-four alternative-licensed teachers were taught literacy teaching methods using the asynchronous discussion board as a tool of extending learning. Each participant responded to…

This study is based on data collected during 6 years (12 semesters) in the secondary science methods courses at an urban university in Southern California. The secondary science credential candidates were teaching on emergency permits or internship credentials in local urban secondary schools. They taught science during the day and pursued their…

This study explored the dynamics of power relationships in secondary science methods courses taught at an urban university in Southern California for credential candidates. Data collection extended over 10 academic semesters. Employing frameworks of power, self-study, and critical pedagogy, the study analyzes the multifaceted and intricate roads…

In Single Subject preservice programs across the U.S., literacy professors are coping with the demands of preparing their candidates to teach reading and writing across the content areas. The professors are challenged to establish a credible rationale for why teachers in content areas such as physical education, art, and music should be required…

The predictive validities of criteria for entrance into a teacher education program were studied, based on the hypothesis that criterion specificity is positively related to the predictive validity of the selection measure. Subjects (N=512) were drawn from approximately 1,200 students in the teacher education program of a small California state…

Various major publications such as the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996) and the collection of research results regarding the use of inquiry methodology in the teaching and learning of science edited by Minstrell & van Zee (2000) recommend that science should be taught in the same way that it is…