Describes a support program, the DATA project of Queen's University in Belfast, which was devised to develop student teachers' abilities to teach astronomy with emphasis on the promotion of student teachers' pedagogical content knowledge. (Author/KHR)

Discusses findings from five studies undertaken to elicit judgments from education professionals regarding what newly licensed teachers should know and be able to do. Presents findings from a review of learning-to-teach literature, noting that beginning teachers may not have all the knowledge and skills expected of them. Discusses implications for…

Analyzes didactics as the hard core of Finnish pedagogic discourse and relates changes in the state educational discourse in Finland to recent developments in department-level curricula in teacher education at Finnish universities in the 1980s and 1990s. The tendency in Finland has been toward a decontextualized and nonhistorical science of…

Describes a project undertaken to increase the pedagogical content knowledge of Pakistani science and math teachers (n=31). Presents specific features of the Subject Specialist Teacher Programme in relationship to both the contextual quality and relevance of the initiative. Addresses challenges and possibilities associated with the model as a…

Argues that the dual functions--visibility and invisibility--of talk in mathematics classrooms create dilemmas for teachers. Provides an analytic narrative vignette drawn from a secondary mathematics classroom in South Africa to illustrate the dilemma of transparency that mathematics teachers can face, particularly if they are teaching…

Case study of a subject-matter expert in a teacher-training program illustrates how expertise does not automatically translate into understanding how to model it for students. The expert's failure to view expertise as learned makes it unavailable for teaching as a subject. (SK)

Seeks to understand how one preservice elementary teacher's experiences within the context of reflective science-teacher education influenced the development of professional knowledge. Contains 36 references. (DDR)

An American Institute of Physics survey was modified to determine major physics topics emphasized in small Missouri high schools and teachers' perceived adequacy to teach them. Data tables show the emphasis that 103 Missouri teachers placed on 38 physics topics, compared to national counterparts, as well as teachers' perceptions of their knowledge…

Describes an inservice program designed to enhance the knowledge and skills of elementary school teachers with regard to science content, effective teaching strategies, and gender equity. Finds that the project has a positive impact on science teaching content and pedagogy, and on female student interest and active participation in science.…

This case study narrative of a middle school science teacher's experience of science education and commitment to promoting equity was developed collaboratively by the teacher and a university researcher. It demonstrates how this form of case study can be a way to represent teachers' practical knowledge. (SK)

Presents some elementary-level science activities that can be used to study moving and falling objects. Provides background information on motion and force for elementary teachers. (WRM)

Describes the development and validation of an instrument on Student Perceptions of Teachers' Knowledge (SPOTK) in relation to their pedagogy. Uses features of teachers' knowledge from the research literature related to instruction, representation, subject matter knowledge, and assessment of students' understanding to generate categories in the…

Outlines a process for a professional development workshop whose intent is to help preservice and inservice science teachers gain an initial understanding of how the National Science Education Standards can be integrated into their teaching programs and practices. (Contains 30 references.) (Author)

Describes a study of preservice elementary teachers' (n=179) perceptions of geologic time. Finds that the respondents perceived events in Earth's geological past as falling into three distinct clusters: extremely ancient, less ancient, and geologically recent. Finds also that the teachers' grasp of relative time is more secure than their grasp of…

Four groups of British primary school special education teachers (total N=30) met to identify and discuss the special education needs books that most influenced their work. The 47 books identified indicate that these practitioners value extending their knowledge base by reading both theoretical and practice-based books. (Contains 11 references and…