Our study investigated the knowledge 13 elementary teachers gained implementing a student-centered curriculum in the context of district-wide reform. Participants comprised all the teachers in grades three, four and five at a single elementary school. We believed that investigating teachers' responses to fictional pedagogical scenarios involving…

In this article, the author discusses how theories about the way teachers think and learn influence teachers' style of teaching. The author explains that if a teacher's theory of mind is essentially mechanical, then strategies based on reading mechanics will make sense to this teacher. He further expounds that teachers have an obligation to think…

There is considerable evidence that use of anthropomorphism and animism in science teaching is a common practice in all grades of education. However, not much is known about teachers' own views on the real reasons why they have been using animistic and anthropomorphic formulations or on the issue of whether animism and anthropomorphism should or…

The purpose of this study was to introduce an AR approach to a group of science teachers during an in-service AR course program and learn its contributions to their professional development. Data were gathered through an AR project by working with a group of eight science teachers throughout a four-week period. In the content of the course,…

In this paper, the author presents a study which explored K-8 preservice teachers' concept images and mathematical definitions of polygons. This study was carried out in which K-8 teacher candidates enrolled in an elementary mathematics content course were asked to sort, identify, and provide definitions of such shapes including triangles,…

Teachers aren't doctors. Unlicensed educators generally prove quite satisfactory, and, in any case, their certification should not be vested solely in Ed Schools. There is no reason why a math department shouldn't train and authorize math teachers, writes Michael Podgursky, who wants us to do everything possible to lower the walls between academic…

Three key features of a proposed capstone mathematics course for the preparation of teachers at the secondary level are: 1) teacher candidates examine concepts from the curriculum at a deeper level in the context of rich problems; 2) they investigate common themes in the math curriculum, such as shape and change, then collaborate on and present…

This paper offers an analysis of how six experienced teachers, and two in particular, used portfolios to aid and chart steps in their own professional development. The key finding of the study was that the pattern of growth of professional knowledge conformed strikingly to the central features of the model proposed by the philosopher of science,…

Teachers don't resist change, the author suggests, they resist programs that call for change without support. This Topeka, Kan., program added full-time instructional coaches to middle schools and found that teachers, with the coaches' support and time, adopted new practices that affected student learning.

Teacher preparation programs have continued to see the ever-increasing control of teacher candidates by policymakers. To control means to regulate. The problem, according to these authors, is that there are currently at least three regulating measurement and assessment obstacles faced by teacher candidates in teacher preparation programs. The…

This study was designed to describe effective ways to address cultural competency in the education of early childhood teachers in a graduate-level alternative preparation program. The study's 2 major questions were as follows: Can a 15-month graduate-level intensive alternative licensure program's coursework and field experiences provide students…

The future of physical education (PE) depends on the quality of emerging committed professionals and their ability to teach across the different activity areas contained within the National Curriculum for Physical Education (NCPE). It is a role that requires extensive subject knowledge and perceived competence in the ability to use it effectively.…

World dilemmas such as poverty, immigration, globalization, technology, transportation, and transnational endeavors define the notion of "global village" in the same way that multicultural populations currently in all nations are described. No longer are nations as homogeneous as they were even a decade ago. In classroom settings the study of…

Background: To date, few studies have been conducted to investigate the preparedness of health educators in Canadian school systems. Purpose: This study assessed practicing and pre-service teachers' self-perceptions of preparedness to teach health education in British Columbia K-12 classrooms. It also investigated factors related to their…

In this article, the authors provide their critique on a set of papers that investigated Mathematics Knowledge for Teachers (MKT) assessment and the underlying theory and characteristics of the validity enterprise. Three types of assumptions and inferences--elemental, structural, and ecological--are discussed in these papers. These assumptions…