Study investigated whether the use of videotaped models demonstrating effective teaching strategies in an elementary science lesson would promote increased use of effective questioning strategies among preservice teachers (n=38). Results show that the use of the videotaped teaching models increased the use of high-level, divergent,…

Discusses Vee mapping, a technique to assist students in categorizing the relationship between the conceptual and procedural aspects of science. Presents a study to investigate elementary education majors' (n=27) use of the Vee heuristic and concept mapping for the construction of knowledge; attitudes toward learning science in collaborative…

Provides a framework for observing and supporting the development of students as constructivist teachers, especially during their field placements as student teachers. The instructional shift to a constructivist approach is described, and guiding principles and possible indicators of the constructivist model are presented. (SLD)

Describes a course for graduate science education students in the history, philosophy, and nature of science. Topics addressed include the course motivation and evolution; aims, topics, and goals; organization and instructional methodology; a reading list; projects; and grading and evaluation. (PR)

Examined policies and practices concerning student and alumni credential files and how these files are valued by teacher-hiring officials. Surveys were completed by 273 career services/placement professionals and by 506 chief-hiring officials in public schools. Found that maintaining and mailing credentials continued to be service provided by…

In the spring of 1995 Northern Arizona University initiated a pilot program for a new content emphasis for elementary education majors. This new emphasis, "Diversity in Educational Contexts," is designed to prepare teachers to instruct the diverse children they will encounter in their public and private classrooms. The new program…

Recent research has focused on how prospective teachers formulate beliefs related to teaching and learning mathematics and science. This paper examines the use of videotaped mathematics and science lesson segments to aid in the description or identification of initial belief structures of prospective elementary school teachers. Using a…

Cooperative learning emphasizes collaboration over competition and celebrates individual and group talents, cultures, and ideas. This paper presents a research-based overview of the academic advantages accruing to at-risk students involved in cooperative learning groups, suggests how teacher educators can equip preservice teachers with cooperative…

West Chester University (Pennsylvania) set up a project designed to meet the seemingly diverse yet very similar needs of teacher education students and inner city children. Prospective teachers must begin to value and effectively serve more diverse populations, and the relationship between campus and the real world needs to be strengthened.…

"Classroom Assessment" is designed for students taking a first course in classroom assessment and measurement. It shows how assessment principles apply to the full range of teacher decision making, and not just the formal evaluation of student learning. For this reason, the book has been organized in a manner that follows the natural progression…

Student teachers' thoughts about teaching can shape, foster, or impede their growth toward expert pedagogy. This study examined the thoughts about teaching of two groups of student teachers--45 graduate and 63 undergraduate students. The professional coursework of both groups was very similar, with one exception--graduate students had no practica…

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the cognitive styles of 144 education majors over a 2-to-3-year period culminating in the internship experience. The hypothesis was that scores on the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) following the internship would be more field-independent, and the intent was to document the influence of…

In an effort to improve the long-term transfer and retention of ethnically diverse students in education, Southwestern College (SWC) embarked on a cooperative project with San Diego State University (SDSU) and the University of California, San Diego UCSD), to address the needs of ethnically diverse students who express the goal of becoming…

A grant project sought to encourage minority participation in teacher education, while offering individual tutoring and mentoring to at-risk children. Involved in the project were 3 Mississippi State University Meridian senior education majors, 4 Meridian Community College sophomores with expressed interest in teacher education, 5 Meridian High…

A preliminary investigation was conducted of the construct validity of the Inventory of Classroom Management Style (ICMS), a scale to measure differences in perceptions of classroom management style. The main objective was to determine if the scale reflects differences between novice and experienced teachers. Classroom management is defined as a…