Regardless of the grade they teach, teachers are professional decision-makers committed to supporting children's learning. Making decisions about what to teach and how to teach it best is simply a nonnegotiable feature of their job: only teachers have the specialized knowledge and professional training required to design meaningful learning…

Against a background which recognises pedagogical content knowledge as the distinctive element of teacher competence/expertise, this theoretical essay argues for its central construct--that of transformation--to be understood by teachers and teacher educators in psychological terms (as was originally proposed by Dewey). Transformation requires…

The relationship between primary teachers' subject knowledge and their approaches to teaching is an ongoing concern. This study reviews the relationship between prospective teachers' subject knowledge in the topic of area and their approaches to teaching that topic. The research presents case studies of four primary prospective teachers on a…

Researchers have found that teacher preparation programs are not universally preparing teacher candidates in concepts associated with the alphabetic principle. Yet, the majority of students with reading disabilities or who struggle with beginning reading have difficulty with phonology and concepts associated with the alphabetic principle. The…

In a previous study with 130 undergraduate teacher candidates from all licensure levels, data on candidate effectiveness were examined using factor analysis. Four factors were found in effective teaching, those being lesson planning, teacher and student reflection, safe school environment, and teacher professionalism. The present study followed…

In this webinar, Dr. Carol Tomlinson of the University of Virginia presented the research base supporting the practice of differentiation and described the characteristics of effective differentiation. She led a discussion of how quality preparation can build and strengthen teachers' knowledge and skills in implementing differentiated instruction…

The aim of this study was to examine the modelling skills of prospective elementary mathematics teachers who were studying the mathematical modelling method. The research study group was composed of 35 prospective teachers. The exploratory case analysis method was used in the study. The data were obtained via semi-structured interviews and a…

The purpose of this research was twofold. The first was to investigate the development of preservice teachers' knowledge base for science teaching on the rate of reaction topic within the 14-week content representation (CoRe)-based mentoring-enriched practicum course. In this course, CoRe design was used as a form of lesson planning and…

TPACK is emerging as an influential framework for conceptualising teacher knowledge in regards to integrating ICT and is generating considerable international research interest. To date, the question of whether gender plays a role in how teachers self-assess their TPACK knowledge has not figured greatly in this research. This paper seeks to…

National plans in higher education institutions are being developed in various aspects of the academic world for technology integration. Short online training has the potential for accelerating and facilitating the implementation of those plans. So far, a little is known about the suitability of this mode of training for faculty members'…

This article reports findings from a 3-year study on preservice middle and secondary social studies teachers' common content knowledge of politics and current events. Surveys showed that both groups were generally uninformed about these issues, and on almost all measures, the middle-grades preservice teachers performed worse than those in the…

This article offers a critical review of the literature on 21st century knowledge frameworks, with a particular focus on what this means for teachers and teacher educators. The authors accomplish this by identifying common themes and knowledge domains in 15 reports, books, and articles that describe the kinds of knowledge that researchers state…

Most classrooms in the U.S. are composed of students with different learning styles and experiences as well as different achievement levels (Ferguson, 2001). Personalized learning is a unique way of students' learning determined by their own learning style, pace, and needs. Focusing on individual differences, personalized instruction aims to…

Introduction: This article presents a study that gathered data from 66 teachers of students with visual impairments about their preparation to work with children who are visually impaired and are learning English, and their knowledge of instructional strategies and methods of instruction. Methods: An online five-part survey was available to…

Drawing from the work of philosophers Sylvia Wynter and Ian Hacking, in this conceptual article I argue why a humanizing critical approach to sociocultural knowledge is needed for teacher education, particularly in preparing teachers to work effectively with black students. In light of enduring concerns in teacher education with improving the…