A review was done of how teacher training programs teach prospective teachers. After searching the literature for research on secondary English methods classes and finding none, the study solicited syllabi from over 300 universities across the country. Syllabi from 81 universities were received. Through analysis of the syllabi the study identified…

The theory and practice of whole language teaching should be integral and simultaneous components of preservice teacher education. A number of instructional strategies and class activities can be used to provide preservice teachers with experiences similar to experiences they will provide to elementary school children. Examples of class activities…

A study explored how reflective inquiry could be used to promote preservice teachers' understanding about reading during a one-semester required reading certification course. Subjects, 22 dual certification elementary/special education undergraduate juniors, 27 secondary education undergraduate juniors, and 11 graduate students in a master of…

It is proposed that professional preparation programs for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers can help teachers become better cultural observers by drawing on their prior experiences in developing perceptions about their own culture and the classroom culture. A theoretical framework and its application in one ESL teacher education program…

It is argued that analysis of variance (ANOVA) and related methods should be taught using a general linear model (GLM) approach, rather than a classical ordinary sums of squares approach. The GLM approach emphasizes the linkages among conventional parametric methods, emphasizing that all classical parametric methods are least squares procedures…

Using Alice's experience in "Through the Looking Glass" as inspiration, this paper recounts how preservice teachers journey through their field-based experiences and gain increasing insights into the teaching profession. The paper illustrates their progression with notes from several reflective logs which will eventually become papers…

This paper describes the results of a productive collaboration between university instructors who linked the principles and theories in reading methods coursework with the practical field experience of preservice teachers. The objectives of the collaboration were: to counter the effects of the isolation of theoretical premises of reading…

Concept maps provided a measure of subjects' cognitive structures before and after completion of an environmental education course. Concept maps were constructed from expressions taken from the issue "global climate." Expressions were assigned to one of three domains: science, technology or society. Maps were analyzed by constituent…

An action research study examined a teacher's developing collaborative practices in her secondary curriculum development and instructional methods class. The class was composed of 14 women ranging in age from 21 to approximately 50 in a medium sized southwestern university. Data were collected through a reflective journal and from certain student…

A teacher educator incorporates active involvement of students and choice in two different college classrooms. The first class was an undergraduate reading/literacy education class. Students were offered the choice of the RAP (Reading Addiction Process) option or taking the final exam. Students read materials of their own choice on a daily basis.…

Suggests that the following three elements of investigation processes serve as the basis of secondary science methods courses: identification of a problem and subsequent design of an investigation; examination of existing investigations which illustrate good and poor science; and completion of representative activities in curricula which deal with…

Noting that many preservice teachers enter required courses believing that the course is something to endure or overcome for certification, a study examined whether a reading methods course would convince students to view teaching the reading process as a vital and necessary function of content area teachers. Six classes of students (three…

A strong case can be made for increasing the hours of the social studies methods course from three to six semester hours. One of the major problems of secondary social studies classes is the unimaginative, unexciting, and predominant practice of transmitting unexamined and unquestioned facts and information to the students. Social studies…

Discussion of the contribution of a particular course toward developing teacher competency raises the question: "Just what does one need to know to teach composition?" If a person were to take only one course, it would likely be "Composition for Teachers." In theory lie answers, so a suitable syllabus would include Beth Neman's "Teaching Students…

This paper explores the question of the relative quality of the academic and professional components of teacher education programs from three different angles: (1) a critical assessment of several widely publicized and representative critiques of education courses with a focus on describing the variety of the criticisms and on assessing the…