Analysis of the university careers of students who are training to become primary school teachers has shown that a certain number have real difficulty in passing examinations in the scientific and methodological fields. This paper uses both objective and subjective data to analyse the levels of competence in this cultural field, and the propensity…

This article focuses on the problems of beginning teachers in the Arab sector in Israel. The participants were 146 beginning teachers, 5 mentors, and 5 advisors. The research measurements included an open-ended question and a semi-structured interview. Our research revealed many different cultural aspects related to most of the problems of the…

Capabilities and biases of learning technologies are examined in light of four widely accepted principles: deep content knowledge, dialogue, agency, and collaboration. Software that supports these principles must focus students' attention on ideas rather than topics or tasks and should foster high levels of "epistemic agency," providing students…

The concept of teaching effectiveness is challenging for researchers to define. Hypothesized as a multidimensional construct, it encompasses content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, personality characteristics of the teacher, and classroom dynamics. No single dimension, trait, or behavior, however, fully captures what it means to be an effective…

This qualitative study, initiated by the Canadian Teachers' Federation and its Advisory Committee on Aboriginal Education, explored the professional knowledge and experiences of Aboriginal (First Nations, Mets and Inuit) teachers. The rationale for the study was to address the urgent need to improve and promote Aboriginal education in public…

There is no end to the material available to teachers and teacher educators on topics related to the techniques of teaching. However, there is very little that connects the theories of education and the challenges of daily teaching practice in the classroom. These facts lead to the following questions: "What are the basics of teaching?" and "How…

The author offers thoughts on emerging pictures and consequences if the teacher is considered the primary agent of his or her own accountability. Noting the current wave of calls for educational accountability, Shulman suggests that typical mechanisms for ensuring quality often miss much of what actually goes on in classrooms, and that looking…

States mathematical subject knowledge of primary teacher trainees in England and Wales must be audited in line with government requirements for initial teacher training. Examines how this knowledge has been conceptualized. Presents research results from two institutions focusing on audited subject knowledge of primary teacher/trainee relationship…

Uses classroom discourse in an undergraduate mathematics course to challenge pre-service secondary mathematics teachers' notions about mathematical discourse, what it might resemble in the classroom, and how its various forms can be cultivated by classroom teachers. Results indicate that participants made a transition toward an image of discourse…

Provides an equivalent at the secondary level to the work of Liping Ma at the elementary level. Presents a better understanding of the conceptual knowledge of school mathematics held by prospective secondary teachers along with examples of the sorts of knowledge needed to teach for understanding within the domain of integer subtraction. (Author/MM)

Describes how new knowledge about teachers and teacher education has been created through narrative studies. Shows how biography, autobiography, and personal narratives are used in the construction and reconstruction of a teacher's personal practical knowledge. (SK)

Explores two avenues for K-6 teachers' mathematical development: (1) engagement in inquiry into mathematics itself; and (2) investigation of children's mathematical thinking. Illustrates how the need for these two kinds of investigations arises in classroom situations and how they can be pursued in a professional development setting. Contains 39…

Proposes a model of teacher knowledge situated in school science teaching that is the synthesis of a number of models, metaphors, and notions. Uses this model to examine the ways in which science teachers design and implement science lessons. Indicates that the model is sufficiently robust enough to provide simple and rapid yet effective and…

Uses in-depth interviews to explore the understanding of a non-random sample of 12 practicing primary school teachers in four areas: (1) biodiversity; (2) the carbon cycle; (3) ozone; and (4) global warming. Identifies those underpinning science concepts that were well understood, and those which were not so well understood. (Author/SAH)

Summarizes and critiques research on the role of mathematics content knowledge in the preparation and teaching practice of elementary (K-8) teachers in the United States. Calls for future research to give us longitudinal "videotapes" of teachers' knowledge and how it is developed and used in a variety of contexts. (Author/MM)