To be able to support meaningful mathematical experiences, preservice elementary school teachers (PSTs) must learn mathematics in deep and meaningful ways (Ma 1999). They need to experience investigating and making sense of the mathematics they will be called on to teach. To expand their own--often limited--views of what it means to teach and…

We describe an inquiry-based course in physics and chemistry for preservice K-8 teachers developed at California State University Fullerton. The course is one of three developed primarily to enhance the science content understanding of prospective teachers. The course incorporates a number of innovative instructional strategies and is somewhat…

To platoon or not to platoon? That's the question facing Irving Hamer, Deputy Superintendent of Academic Operations, Technology and lnnovation for the Memphis City Schools. This year for the first time, the state's achievement test, Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP), will include algebraic concepts on the 5th-grade test. Of the…

Teacher educators are constantly searching for ways to better prepare preservice teachers to enter the education field. One way that has gained prominence in the last twenty years is through examining and discussing authentic student work samples. Research suggests that doing so helps preservice teachers to (1) gain insight into their own beliefs…

The inaugural column in the "Content Literacy" department discusses the importance of teachers' assisting students in grades 4-6 to develop content literacy skills. The discussion centers on levels of literacy and diversity issues facing teachers and then identifies three fundamental elements that should be a part of every teacher's content…

Despite the long history of the study of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), two facts remain obvious. First, there are almost as many conceptions regarding the definition of PCK as there are researchers interested in it. Second, it is largely unclear which methods enable teacher educators to best prepare teacher candidates to use PCK. Recently,…

This article begins with a "snapshot" of a fifth grade writing workshop and its study of op-ed writing to show an inquiry in action. The framework for this inquiry involves immersing students in reading multiple examples of the kind of text the teacher would like them to write, studying closely how the texts are crafted, and writing their own…