Teaching is a complex task shaped by many external and internal influences, including the beliefs held by individual teachers. This study sought an understanding of the impact of field experiences on the beliefs developed by preservice science teachers. The participants were students in an undergraduate science education methods course that…

In this article, the author shares the details of her visit to India in 2004 where she had the opportunity to conduct two workshops, one in Mumbai, previously Bombay, and the other one in Chennai, formerly known as Madras. She details her observations of the two groups, focusing first on the preservice group and moving on to the experienced…

A variety of trends in second language teaching have left many English Language Learners (ELLs) in the United States with well-intentioned teachers who, unfortunately, have limited understanding of the second language acquisition or cultural diversity issues that affect the ELLs in their classrooms. In this article, the authors present the current…

This article reports findings from a research project on the early career path of a group of male elementary school teachers. Issues of caring for children and disparities between how male and female teachers are permitted to relate to their elementary-age students are explored. In the preservice situation, the participants experienced tensions…

Participants (n = 156) were involved in the teacher preparation program at a large Research university located in the mid-west. The faculty (n = 21) participated in a two-year individualized professional development process to: 1) develop technology knowledge and skill efficacy and 2) integrate technology in teaching. The pre-service teachers (n…

This study investigated the gap that exists between the technological knowledge and skills preservice teachers possess and their confidence in using them to successfully integrate technology in their classrooms. Specifically, this study addressed whether a model of instructional delivery using the integration of technology practices into the…

This article describes the Action Research Fellows project at Towson University. The authors provide background information about the Action Research Fellows project, present the Action Research Fellows model employed at Towson University, and briefly describe four action research fellows' projects. Finally, the authors share their reflections on…

This paper explores expressions of marginalization of White preservice teachers serving as academic mentors to Black adolescent males in a unique partnership program. Junior secondary education majors form tri-partite interdisciplinary teams and work with intact groups of Black youth, members of a community-based Black rites of passage program for…

Preservice teachers generally are confident and enthusiastic about their abilities to teach effectively. These desirable qualities are based, for the most part, on the preservice teachers' previous experiences as students in the classroom, not as teachers. While the personal experience a preservice teacher brings to his or her teacher-preparation…

It is not unusual for an instructional model or approach to be misinterpreted in practice. Madeline Hunter bemoaned the way her Mastery Teaching approach was reduced to a seven step lesson plan. Although the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) Model of sheltered instruction for English language learners (ELLs) was developed fairly…

As one of the main disciplines, science is very important for people to make sense of their life. The appropriate use of the models in science classrooms to promote children's understanding, imagination and creativity definitely depends on the teachers who have experience of differentiating the scope and the limitations of the models. From this…

In this article, the authors discuss their attempts to make antiracist multiculturalism a reality in their students' future classrooms. They note that the literature is replete with examples of what not to do in trivializing curriculum, and they attempt here to take theory into praxis/practice by exposing and describing their strategies for…

This case study involving three social studies teachers illustrates how the personal theorizing process, conducted as part of the teachers' preservice education, influenced their instruction during their first year of teaching. In addition, the evolution of the teachers' beliefs, as described through their personal practical theories (PPT's) of…

In this article, I argue that the social studies methods course is an appropriate place to practice and reflect upon doing democracy. I review the literature on kinds of citizens the methods course might support. I consider pre-service teachers' prior and present experiences with doing democracy. I pose a framework for doing democracy centered on…

An integrated mathematics and science methods course was designed to focus on the knowledge, skills, and beliefs of teacher candidates. Teacher candidates were involved in experiences that would prompt them to consider the influence of their experiences on their beliefs, the influence of their beliefs on their instructional decisions and the…