Investigates the use of collaborative learning groups in a physical science course designed for elementary education majors (n=54). Data for the study were 20 video-taped laboratory sessions, the instructor's journal, and the students laboratory reports. Among the conclusions is that the collaborative science laboratories provided insightful…

Attitudes, beliefs, and practice teaching experience of one preservice elementary school teacher in her final year of studies and first year of teaching were examined to investigate constraints preventing the translation of educational theory into classroom practices in mathematics instruction. Results indicate that observed teaching practices…

Studies effectiveness of the Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) in predicting subsequent grades for 9,064 Arizona applicants to teacher education programs in 1985 to 1989 and 100 students with subsequent performance data. The PPST has blocked minority students from teacher preparation programs, although correlations between score and performance…

Data from 9,727 college students (sophomore through senior years) generally support the interpretation of the Professional Knowledge Test of the NTE battery as a measure of knowledge of teaching gained through teacher education courses. The other two core battery tests are less reflective of knowledge acquired in teacher education. (SLD)

Investigates the computer knowledge and attitudes of undergraduate early childhood majors enrolled in a teaching-methods course which has not historically emphasized the potential of computerized simulation in instruction. Results are discussed in terms of the need to broaden preservice teachers' exposure to computers if they are expected to use…

Current research suggests that teacher development evolves in stages, and that teacher concerns as professionals are central to teacher development. The concerns theory suggests that teacher growth involves a gradual change from concerns about self, to concerns about the task at hand, to concerns about the connections and implications of self,…

This paper describes an intervention which was designed to: (1) provide opportunities for preservice teachers to collaborate with and network with inservice teachers; (2) create an environment which facilitated collaboration and interaction among early childhood, elementary, and special education majors; and (3) model collaborative teaching and…

This study sought to identify a set of factors that teacher candidates perceived to have influenced their decisions to become teachers and then to determine the family and personal characteristics of the candidates that might be associated with these perceived influences. The subjects were 377 teacher candidates commencing the teacher preparation…

Although student populations of public schools are becoming increasingly diverse, the teacher population has remained relatively homogeneous, and many teachers do not have sufficient knowledge of or experience with other cultural groups to deal with differences in the classroom. Gay men and lesbians comprise one such cultural group. A survey of 42…

This study investigated whether or not recent educational reform efforts might be related to the level of academic skills of individuals entering teacher preparation programs. A sample of 1991 beginning teacher candidates (n=377) was compared with a sample of 1985 beginning candidates (n=358) entering the same large midwestern institution using…

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…

This study examined the reasons given by college students for choosing teaching as a career, comparing responses of high-achieving graduates of select liberal arts colleges enrolled in the Teaching and Curriculum program at Harvard Graduate School of Education to become secondary level teachers, and 53 prospective early childhood, elementary, 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…

In 1990, the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) conducted a study to determine ways in which the community college system could increase its participation in the preparation of elementary and secondary teachers. Drawing information from ICCB course files and unit cost data, as well as a survey of the colleges, the study investigated the…

The adaptation and use of local area network (LAN) computer technology as an educational enhancement and as a social process in a university teacher education program were studied. The LAN technology, electronic bulletin board, and facsimile machines were used to enhance university supervised clinical settings for novice teachers in the public…