Often secondary mathematics methods courses include classroom peer teaching, but many pre-service teachers find it challenging to teach their classmate peers as there are no discipline issues and little mathematical discourse as the "students" know the content. We will share a recent change in our methods course where pre-service…

This case describes the situation of a newly recruited academic professor who volunteered to teach a course on Research Methods to first-term MBA students in a practitioner-oriented case method Business School. Research Methods is a unique course due to its relevance not only in business but also across all graduate programs. Instructional and…

This article describes how elementary preservice teachers used four documentary films to think historically about the United States Civil Rights Movement. The author situates the descriptive case study within research about historical thinking and documentary film, identifying the need for using documentary film to think historically in the…

We conducted a self-study to learn more about how to support the first author's pre-service teachers (PSTs) during their field experiences in an introductory secondary mathematics methods course. The findings highlight how the PSTs' perceptions of the secondary students' mathematics ability was closely related to how they viewed the students'…

This study investigated the learning process of preservice elementary teachers (PSTs) through lesson study in a mathematics teaching methods course. Lesson study meeting data of kindergarten PSTs were analyzed to examine the shifting focus on (1) student collaboration in classroom (vision), (2) teaching practices (making content accessible), and…

Connecting with others and experiences of dissonance are two factors identified as central to transformative learning in engaged teaching and research (Kiely, 2005). At the same time, these ways of knowing are unpredictable and come with the risk of actually disrupting rather than enhancing learning. This article reports the findings of a mixed…

Traditionally, teacher education programs have placed little emphasis on preparing mathematics teachers to work with students who struggle in mathematics. Therefore, it is crucial that mathematics teacher educators explicitly prepare prospective teachers to instruct students who struggle with mathematics by providing strategies and practices that…

Preservice teachers often enter teacher education programs with naïve views about mathematics and science as well as the various domains of knowledge needed for effective teaching. A significant body of research has demonstrated that teacher knowledge is multifaceted and consists of both subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge.…

Research skills are a valued commodity by industry and university administrators. Despite the importance placed on these skills students typically dislike taking research method courses where these skills are learned. However, training in research skills does not necessarily have to be confined to these courses. In this study participants at a…

The case study reported in this paper is part of a larger multiple cross case analysis focusing on pre-service teachers with various initial confidence and attitudes toward science and science teaching. In this paper, the focus will be on one elementary teacher candidate, Lisa, who began the science methods course with a negative attitude and low…

The subject of research methods is often unknown, foreboding, and unappealing to undergraduate communication majors. Thus, in the research methods course, two ways to overcome such issues and achieve learning are by: (1) making the unfamiliar more familiar and accessible; and (2) placing abstract knowledge in its useful real-world context. Making…

This article details the self-study of a beginning teacher educator in her first experience in teaching a mathematics methods course. The transition from teacher to teacher educator is explored through the experience of a course focused on inquiry. Inquiry is embedded within the course from two perspectives: mathematical inquiry and teaching as…

This study evaluates the use of blogging and what it reveals about the development of science teaching ability in pre-service elementary education majors. The investigation occurs in a structured community and takes into consideration interactions among community members as they reflect on their own experiences and respond to the blogs of other…

This paper examines a series of instructional activities that provide prospective elementary teachers with an opportunity to engage in one of the more difficult practices to learn within mathematics teaching--organizing a mathematical discussion. Within a mathematics methods course, representations and decomposition of practice built from the Five…

Time takes on a different character when online teachers take advantage of the possibilities for interactions occurring over different scales of time. Online teachers' pedagogical link-making can help students see links between ideas across individual postings so that meaning making becomes cumulative and progressive. This article reports on a…