Presents a feedback approach used by the author to evaluate the degree to which the desired outcomes of a science methods course are met and to clarify students' perceptions about the course. (PR)

The purpose of this study was to develop a picture of how preservice science teachers? instructional concerns changed during a yearlong science methods program spanning initial classroom observations through student teaching. Another goal of this study was to determine the teachers? ideas about inquiry teaching and the influence of their methods…

Training teachers as reflective practitioners is an important element in many teacher education programs. Teacher education literature indicates that journal writing is an approach that fosters reflection, and is an effective source of dialogue between student and teacher. This document reports on an action research study on the use of journals in…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the experiences of 31 preservice teacher-education students attending Mississippi State University (Meridian) during their practice teaching as recorded in their journals. This study was qualitative and quantitative. A quantitative aspect of the study was the examination of journal entries for semantic…

A project on videodisc technology sponsored by the Illinois State Board of Education has captured classroom teachers teaching in their own classrooms to their own students. By digitizing this video instruction onto videodiscs preservice teachers and instructors have a visual learning tool that provides instant access to a variety of pedagogical…

The use of auxiliary personnel, which includes paraprofessionals, volunteers, and peer- and cross-peer tutors, has become prevalent in special education programs. Teacher education programs need to focus on the skills required by teachers to utilize these assistants appropriately and effectively. This paper outlines one method for incorporating an…

The study described in this paper examined the use of the writing process as an instructional strategy for enhancing Afro-American preservice teachers' writing and reflective competence for teaching effectively. The major methodological concern focused on the pedagogical process for encouraging preservice teachers to integrate their beliefs and…

Current research and learning theory suggest that a hierarchy of proportional reasoning exists that can be tested. Using G. Vergnaud's four complexity variables (structure, content, numerical characteristics, and presentation) and T. E. Kieren's model of rational number knowledge building, an epistemic model of proportional reasoning was…

College teaching and learning were studied with respect to students' preferences for learning and motivation as they relate to various instructional methods used in teacher education. A traditional lecture format and the cooperative group discussion teaching method were compared within a specific college population. Participants (N=20), students…

Since 1968, undergraduate education majors entering their senior year at the University of Connecticut have participated in a 7-week summer program in Great Britain, visiting a wide variety of schools, serving as teacher aides in urban and rural elementary classrooms, partaking in weekly seminars and field trips, and living in the homes of British…

A study was conducted to determine if students with varying grade point averages, self-concept, internal-external locus of control, and self-directedness, selected and performed differentially under two approaches to competency-based teacher education (teacher-directed and student-directed instruction). (JH)

Assessed preservice teachers' responses to information about the process of writing via HyperCard stacks. Subjects were provided with the opportunity to examine children's writing development by viewing samples of their early writing, invented spelling, and composition. The program enhanced understanding with its combination of text and authentic…

Three experiments with 120 college undergraduates and 62 seventh graders examined the utility of inserting a delay between reading an advance organizer and its related text. A moderate delay may enhance the effects of advance organizers. Results support an "accessibility" hypothesis and do not support a "rehearsal" hypothesis.…

In describing the Early Childhood Interdisciplinary Major at Muskingum College (Ohio), this paper presents a model for small liberal arts colleges to consider in providing training for future early childhood professionals. This interdisciplinary early childhood major draws from departments typically found in many small liberal arts colleges,…

The Educational Research Department at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Blacksburg) attempts to go beyond conventional use of a computer laboratory by offering services to further the educational knowledge of its students. Laboratory staff members demonstrate methods needed to accomplish educational tasks for program…