Teacher knowledge of reading is an important aspect of teacher quality, though limited research has investigated its associations with how classroom teachers report using instructional strategies to engage students in reading. Factor analysis of 28 instructional strategy items led to five self-reported instructional foci among 66 kindergarten and…

Background: South African-structured reading programmes have been implemented in schools in South Africa. The Early Grade Reading Study (EGRS) is an education triple cocktail programme, which attempts to improve home language reading in a number of schools. Aim: The objective of this research was to find out how the educators involved in the…

The importance of practical learning environments for developing preservice teachers' (PSTs') dispositions and skills for teaching mathematics is underscored in a growing body of literature. Hence, teacher preparation programs often include methods courses embedded within K-12 schools. Utilized to a lesser extent; however, are campus-based…

The purpose of this study was to explore how participation in iterative cycles of a modified model of lesson study could potentially provide preservice teachers opportunities to develop the ability to notice students' science thinking. Using a case study approach, we examined how six preservice teachers illustrated aspects of "professional…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the implementation of a Professional Learning Community (PLC) as a professional development model effective in altering teachers' perceptions of their knowledge and skill in teaching developmental writing in grades K-3. This research is necessary to examine how offering teachers…

This study uses Early Childhood Longitudinal Study data to investigate the importance of three general aspects of teacher effects--teacher background qualifications, attitudes, and instructional practices--to reading and math achievement gains in first grade. The results indicate that compared with instructional practices, background…

The needs of the teacher who seeks successful practical action are different from the needs of the scientist seeking truth. Distinctions made in action science bring out this difference. Action science emphasizes an integration of personal knowledge and social discourse along with objective data in cycles of planning, acting, and fact-finding…

This study examines six teachers' responses inside and outside of their classrooms to increasingly mixed messages about how they should develop the literacy of California's youngest and most at-risk students. While they must develop highly developed knowledge and skills to teach literacy in linguistically diverse classrooms, they must also adhere…

Profiled in this report are three Oregon first-grade teachers--the state's 1984 Teacher of the Year and two other finalists for that title. Distinguishing characteristics of the teaching approach of Jonelle Maurer of the Lincoln Elementary School in Grants Pass include phonics and group reading instruction, the use of activity centers, and a…