The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of a secondary physical education methods course and early field experience, supplemented with reflective discussions via Twitter, on subjective theories of physical education. The course was organized using recommendations from the occupational socialization theory literature. Participants…

Despite the importance of learning to teach writing, many preservice teachers do not take a writing course as part of their teacher preparation. For those universities that do offer a writing methods course, teacher educators face challenges in designing responsive and rigorous clinical experiences especially since writing is often under taught in…

Many teacher education programs consider reflection to be critical as preservice teachers appropriate tools related to the teaching of writing. The purpose of this research was to explore three preservice teachers' analysis of written reflections that they composed while taking a writing methods course embedded in two field experience sites. The…

Critical reflection and transformative action in a cyclical rhythm are the fundamental features of the process of praxis (Freire, P. [1970]. Pedagogy of the oppressed. Continuum). A self-study methodology was used to explore the lead researcher's pedagogical experiences teaching at a youth development center (YDC) while utilizing praxis as…

This qualitative study was designed as a single-case study of a small, public, teacher education program in the Midwest. The author conducted a study on the perceived role of a "critical friends group" (CFG) in the development of beginning secondary teacher candidates' understandings and practices of reflective practice. Three main types…

Reflective practice serves as a powerful pedagogical strategy for teachers--especially those in low-resource, rural areas. This qualitative case study looked at secondary education pre-service teachers in their first education course. Analysis of focus observation essays data indicated that pre-service teachers were incorporating reflective…

"A Commitment to Teaching: Toward More Efficacious Teacher Preparation" introduces the reader to a collection of thoughtful works by authors that represent current research and thinking about teacher self-efficacy and teacher preparation. It is the intent of the book to provide the reader with current and relevant knowledge concerning…

This research examines the impact of field experiences with English language learners on the conceptual and emotional development of preservice disciplinary students. For one semester, preservice university students worked with English language learners enrolled in middle and high school Newcomer Programs. During this time the university students…

The purpose of this study was to investigate middle level preservice teacher self-efficacy beliefs in general, as well as in the domain of reading. The participants were 8 middle school preservice teachers enrolled in a state-mandated reading methods course and student teaching over the course of a year. As part of the yearlong internship, the…

Fresh from teaching his first full school year the author reflects on his traditional teacher preparation path into the classroom and finds he was instilled with a common sense of ethics, compassion, a demand for reflective practice, and a robust guiding philosophy. As a college student, he learned theory and was able to augment that with…

This study examined the effects of audio and video self-recording on preservice teachers' written reflections. Participants (n = 201) came from a secondary teaching methods course and its school-based (clinical) fieldwork. The audio group (n[subscript A] = 106) used audio recorders to monitor their teaching in fieldwork placements; the video group…

In this study, we examined changes in levels of pre service teachers' reflective writing and tried to identify links between these changes and pre service teachers' success in teaching. Participants were two groups of pre-service special education teachers that taught in two different special education settings: learning difficulties classes and…

There are many barriers to the implementation of new practice standards. To implement practices that both prepare and inspire their students, preservice teachers need opportunities to enact reform practices: to prepare and be inspired themselves. These opportunities are found in students' content courses, methods courses, and field placements. In…

Teacher preparation programs provide preservice teachers with evidence-based teaching strategies, skills of behavior management, and various field experiences. The greatest learning however, is acquired the very first year of instruction in the teacher's own classroom. Teaching students with emotional and/or behavioral disorders (EBD) may prove to…