The purpose of this research with teacher education students was to explore the value of writing reflective journals. Data came from interviews, surveys, and informal conversations with students in an educational psychology course. The students were first asked if writing the journals helped them to reflect on their established beliefs, then…

This paper addresses primary objectives related to the design and execution of an instructional computing literacy curriculum for the fourth-year undergraduate teacher education major. The first objective discussed is the presentation of a rationale for providing computer literacy training in a preservice environment, as opposed to an inservice…

This paper describes a communication course curriculum for students majoring in elementary education which has been used at Wright State University for 4 years. The paper presents an overview of the topics discussed in the course (topics chosen for their relevance and importance to successful classroom communication): (1) process of human…

This paper draws on baseline data from the National Center for Research on Teacher Education to examine the approaches to learner diversity held by prospective teachers participating in five U.S. teacher education programs. Four layers of meaning given to the concept of diversity are proposed: individual, categorical, contextual, and pedagogical…

This study sought to determine differences between elementary and secondary preservice teachers in their preference for various instructional methods and goals in their professional education courses. Subjects were 129 elementary and 110 secondary students enrolled in a course required for teacher certification and usually the last course taken…

Under federal funding and with assistance from the Choctaw Indian Tribe, Mississippi State University has developed a teacher training program for Choctaw students who are majoring in elementary education. Students who take courses in the bilingual/bicultural education curriculum obtain knowledge and skills in the following areas: (1) development…

Prospective teachers report levels of expected use of informal reading inventories that are substantially higher than the level of actual use reported by experienced teachers. (FL)

The relationships between scores on the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, the Brown Personal Beliefs and Teaching Practices Inventories, and the Rokeach Dogmatism Scale for 191 female, beginning teacher education students were investigated using canonical and simple correlation analyses. (Author/GDC)

Evidence gathered from a study of nine teacher education programs shows that lay culture norms among education students are strongly ingrained. Teacher education as it is currently structured is a weak intervention to alter views regarding the teaching and management of diverse learners. (SLD)

"How can this Abstract Algebra course help me to teach Algebra in high school?" To professors of prospective mathematics teachers, this type of question has a resounding familiarity. Because students are unclear as to the relationship between upper division mathematics courses and the high school curriculum, answering the opening question to the…

In a unique class of combined elementary and secondary teacher education majors, this triangulated qualitative study investigated how cooperative structures affect student attitudes and motivation. In particular, the study examined students' preferences for instruction, students' attitudes and motivation related to their preference for cooperative…

This study sought to determine if preservice teachers hold different preferences for college-course learning activities at four levels of professional training. Subjects of the study were 549 students, ranging from freshmen through seniors in their undergraduate teacher preparation program. The Learning Preference Questionnaire asked the students…

The purpose of this study was to assess the differences between all level (K-12) physical education majors and elementary education majors with a specialization in physical education. An experimental teaching unit (ETU) with pre and posttests was used to determine student achievement, and differences between teaching groups in various criterion…

Describes the use of the reading reaction sheet as a strategy to help methods students construct meaning about science teaching and learning. This strategy illustrates the integration of reading, writing, and science education and its application to classroom practice. (PR)

Effects of 3 different types of instruction (use of manipulatives, use of diagrams, and use of symbols only) of rational number content and teaching techniques were compared for 75 preservice teachers in a course in elementary mathematics. Only the manipulatives group showed significant improvement pretest to posttest. Implications are discussed.…