In this action research study, we investigated pre-service teachers' (n = 39) perceptions of academic language and strategies in order to support their abilities to plan and teach elementary social studies. Using mixed methods triangulation design, we analyzed edTPA SCORES, pre-assessments, post-assessments, videos of teaching, field notes,…

The public education system in the United States continues to struggle in educating children of diverse backgrounds. Many have addressed this issue by documenting how certain practices teach children particular types of knowledge and skills. This developmental focus on what should be happening to children of diverse backgrounds tends to ignore the…

In an effort to promote a critical reflective stance in the beginning teacher, this study developed an instructional model for preservice teachers at the undergraduate level. Its sample consisted of students in two sections of a student teaching seminar course taken during their last semester of undergraduate course work. The work took place at a…

Research and practice going back to the 1960s support the use of videotaping to facilitate preservice teachers' development of reflective teaching skills. Emerging research suggests that additional video-based activities, including editing video vignettes of teaching, can deepen preservice teachers' reflection. This action research study describes…

Nine graduate students (teacher-researchers) with an average of 6 years teaching experience (1-15 years) participated in action research to examine the influence of teacher-chosen visual aids (pictures) on children's writing. A total of 165 elementary students participated in the two phases of the research project: 83 boys and 82 girls in…

This writing is an investigation into the use of action research methods and tools as a means for preparing 26 preservice teachers to effectively link assessment to instruction. Two concepts emerged from the data: the importance of developmentally appropriate practice and documenting and validating student learning. This study suggests the power…

This study explored case method instruction in a graduate elementary education literacy course. Audiotaped case discussions, students' written reflections, interviews, questionnaires, and field notes were collected. Case method instruction proved to be a successful addition to the course. (SM)

Describes changes in the perspectives and practices of two teacher educators as a result of a series of action research projects conducted over a six-year period in an elementary education course. The studies focused on reflection, student learning, reading and writing instruction, and course impact. (SM)

University faculty members, an elementary teacher, and a school psychologist used bookmatching, an innovative form of action research, to help a kindergartner cope with sexual abuse. The project created dramatic breakthroughs in the student's behavior. His classmates all grew in their knowledge of strategies to apply if confronted by abuse. (SM)

Action researchers teaching a required preservice physical science course attempted to develop feminist pedagogy for science instruction that reduces female students' apprehension and insecurity about science, tests methods of stimulating greater interest in science, and counteracts the inherent gender-bias in the discipline of science. (38…

This article describes one teacher's use of case studies with a class of secondary student teachers, examining her efforts to assess and better understand the effects of case method in teacher education. The challenges and possibilities of reflection on practice are discussed through the examination of case method. (Author/SM)