An investigation into preservice teachers' information evaluation skills at a large university suggests that formative assessment can improve student achievement. Preservice teachers were asked to apply information evaluation skills in the areas of currency, relevancy, authority, accuracy, and purpose. The study used quantitative methods to assess…

This study identified the problem solving strategies used by students within a university course designed to teach pre-service teachers educational technology, and whether those strategies were influenced by the format of the course (i.e., face-to-face computer lab vs. online). It also examined to what extent the type of problem solving strategies…

One proven strategy to help students make sense of abstract concepts is to sequence instruction so students have exploratory opportunities to investigate science before being introduced to new science explanations (Abraham and Renner 1986; Renner, Abraham, and Birnie 1988). To help physical science teachers make sense of how to effectively…

In this descriptive, mixed methods study, the researcher investigated secondary social studies teachers' college course experiences with and classroom use of historical thinking skills (HTS). Questionnaires were distributed to 160 teachers in a large public school system in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Forty percent of the…

This study examined pre-service teachers' development of mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) over their final year in a university based teacher education program. This was done through analyzing written reflections, focus group interviews, individual interviews, teaching observations, and post-observation interviews as well as through the…

This paper provides a qualitative examination of university student experiences with culture, language, and race in a short-term study abroad program in Cuernavaca, Mexico. All participants were White teacher education students from the United States earning their English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching endorsement and hoped to teach English…

Critical reflection is defined as an educational imagination that allows candidates to look at themselves and their situations with new eyes, and in the process, become conscious of the multiple ways they can interpret, critique, challenge, confront, and reconstruct teaching. This study examines the effectiveness of using explicit instruction in…

In an ongoing effort to address the needs of 21st century teachers, a service-learning project was designed which coupled structured reflection and technology. The reflective practitioner model through the use of traditional methods coursework has long been viewed as the most appropriate model for the development of teachers (Hall, 2012). However,…

The present study investigated the strengths and areas of improvement for elementary music teacher preparation from the perspective of multiple members of a single body of music teachers. Subjects for the study were elementary music teachers from an urban school district in the southern United States. All elementary music teachers in the school…

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…

Using technology to develop a collaborative-reflective teaching practice in a world language education methods course block for teaching certification creates unique opportunities for world language education undergraduates to learn to develop synthecultural competence for education. Such a program allows undergraduates to expand their capacity to…

Constructivism posits that the teacher's role is to help their students to actively construct new understanding for themselves. Diagnosis of students' prior understanding followed by carefully planned teaching sequences enables learners to grasp hitherto unknown concepts. Assessing whether they can then apply their new knowledge in new contexts…

The researchers investigated the reflections of preservice middle school teachers (PSMTs) who were enrolled in an activity-based middle level social studies methods course. These reflections concerned the students' past educational experiences. Through weekly journals, the PSMTs were encouraged to reflect on course activities and relate them to…

Methods courses in teacher education programs often stress the importance of planning and preparation. However, there is no real substitute for experience and ongoing professional development; learning for a mathematics teacher is a continuous endeavor. While university coursework is helpful, the preparation for planning discussed in this…

In this article, the authors provide an argument for future directions for teacher education, based on a re-conceptualization of teaching. The authors argue that teacher educators need to attend to the clinical aspects of practice and experiment with how best to help novices develop skilled practice. Taking clinical practice seriously will require…