The benefits of field courses for biological science students are well established, but field courses also have limitations: they are generally too brief to allow significant research and they are staff-designed and led, limiting the development of student autonomy. In contrast, the value of student-organised field expeditions has been little…

This research examined pre-service teachers' perceptions of urban schools and urban students before and after an 80-hour field experience in an urban K-12 district. The fieldwork placements were structured through a school-university partnership, and supported by university coursework. Quantitative data collected from 150 students over three…

This study examined the factors that contribute to students' success in conducting geological field work. Undergraduate students (n = 49; 51% female; mean age = 22 y) who were enrolled in the 5-wk State University of New York at Oswego (SUNY Oswego) geology field program volunteered to participate in this study. At the beginning of the field…

Because a majority of teachers come from public universities, universities play an important role in examining and strengthening their teacher preparation programs to ensure they are graduating quality teachers. Student teaching is typically the culminating experience of the teacher preparation program and is considered to be the most crucial and…

Pedagogical competence and teaching efficacy significantly influence the quality of classroom science learning. Without applying pedagogical learning in realistic classroom environments, there is slight possibility that prospective teachers will increase their teaching confidence or develop understanding of how learners acquire and construct…

The dispositions of preservice elementary education teachers toward reform-oriented mathematics education were surveyed before and after an extended pre-student teaching practicum. During the practicum, university and school-based personnel served as 'clinical faculty' as they supported the preservice teachers' practicum…

Two groups of teacher candidates completed a survey based on the Parent Teacher Association's National Standards for Family-School Partnerships at the start and end of the semester of a general methods course and corresponding fieldwork (practicum) experience. One group of participants (N[subscript "S"] = 60) completed their clinical…

This report presents findings from a 2006 national survey of all Title IV degree-granting 4- year postsecondary institutions on how teacher candidates within teacher education programs for initial licensure are being prepared to use educational technology once they enter the field. The "Educational Technology in Teacher Education Programs…