Investigates first year prospective secondary school teachers' beliefs about and attitudes toward mathematics. Finds that prospective teachers generally perceived good mathematics teaching to include the provision of enjoyable experiences. (Contains 31 references.) (Author/ASK)

This article elaborates on the notion of mathematical knowledge for teaching. It argues that the well-known conceptual/procedural distinction is limited and limiting, and that a more useful notion has to go beyond dichotomies in conceptualising knowledge, as well as beyond dichotomies between knowledge and practice. The article argues that…

Criteria for judging performance are traditionally and unproblematically invoked as a resource to be used (1) to make the assessment requirements evident to learners and (2) to provide a tool for rendering teacher judgments consistent, reliable, and fair. This paper explores the use of criteria and standards in the process of teacher judgment of…

This paper will argue that by considering in detail the Scottish "Standard for Initial Teacher Education" ["SITE"] (Quality Assurance Agency [QAA], 2000), the foundation document of the teaching profession in Scotland, a model exists that synthesises the positions of those involved in education who support a…

Two elementary certified middle school science teachers are studied for changes in practical knowledge supporting the implementation of kit-based inquiry as part of a schoolwide reform effort. Emphasis is placed on studying how these two pilot teachers enact guided inquiry within their unique pedagogical and curricular interests, and what…

The role of the teacher in the modern school system is increasingly important and complex. A teacher needs a high level of professional knowledge and autonomous decision-making when faced with professional challenges. The curricular reform in Slovenia has encompassed several areas of teachers' professional activities. This paper establishes that…

The aim of the Central Michigan University Alpena-Montmorency-Alcona Teaching American History (TAH) Project has been to forge a model of professional development that would not merely improve teachers' knowledge of events, people, and dates, but to go beyond this to strengthen the understanding of the nature and practice of historical thinking,…

Mathematics pedagogical content knowledge (MPCK) of teachers cannot be easily defined but is a complex concept integrating generic pedagogical knowledge, mathematics teaching methodology as well as knowledge of the discipline of mathematics. It is the objective of mathematics methodology courses in teacher preparation programmes to begin the…

Globalization has been defined by Malcom (1995) as a social process in which the constraints of geography on social and cultural arrangements recede and in which people become increasingly aware that they are receding. It is a phenomenon that represents the emerging world wide interdependence of individuals and countries, which is characterized by…

We report on a small scale study with six experienced teachers of mathematics in which we have applied a general theoretical model of expert practice (developed by the second author) to explore the nature of the knowledge base that enables teachers to operate effectively in the complexity of a class of 30 pupils. This model uses the notion of…

This paper describes a module provided to first year elementary participants in a two-year after-degree Bachelor of Education program. The module was specifically designed to address the fact that pre-service teachers can enter the B.Ed. degree with little or no science knowledge. Science experiences were explicitly incorporated into the B.Ed.…

Few medical faculty members are adequately prepared for their instructional responsibilities. Our educational traditions were established before we had research-based understandings of the teaching-learning process and before brain research began informing our understandings of how humans achieve lasting learning. Yet, there are several advantages…

This paper is developed from concern that, despite a number of developments and initiatives in physical education over recent years, there has been little change in the teaching of the subject. This has resulted in many young people being alienated from physical education and therefore physical activity. The paper focuses on how initial teacher…

Since the mid-1980s, arts policymakers in Minnesota have positioned "media arts"--defined as the "study and practice of examining human communication through photography, film or video, audio, computer or digital arts, and interactive media"--within the realm of aesthetic education and considered it one of six arts areas. This…

The study reported in this article aimed at exploring what teachers know and do about fostering higher-order thinking skills in teaching science, and how they see themselves involved in achieving this end. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 11 teachers experienced in teaching high school physics, which is considered a…