In the study reported, we examine the evolution of preservice teacher observation, focusing on the essential nature of observation to preservice teachers' learning about teaching while in the field. The study was 3 years long, and it involved 79 preservice teachers during semester-long language arts methods courses in early childhood and…

This investigation explores the effectiveness of a teacher preparation program aligned with situated learning theory on preservice science teachers' use of technology during their student teaching experiences. Participants included 26 preservice science teachers enrolled in a 2-year Master of Teaching program. A specific program goal was to…

This study investigates the construct of Teacher Language Awareness (TLA) in a group of preservice mainstream K-12 teachers who are developing skills to work with English Language Learners (ELLs) in United States (US) public school contexts. Specifically, the study seeks to explore how preservice teachers' participation in directed university…

This quantitative research study identifies the problem solving strategies pre-service teachers use in learning specific technology skills within an educational technology methods class which is offered both online and face to face. It also examines how such strategies differ by the format of this course, and to what extent these strategies and/or…

This project investigated the effects of a standards-based mathematics methods course on the mathematics anxiety levels of preservice teachers. The qualitative portion of the study examined aspects of a math methods course that affected mathematics anxiety levels and the antecedents of mathematics anxiety. Findings revealed a significant…

This article analyzes the experiences of prospective secondary mathematics teachers during a teaching methods course, offered prior to their student teaching, but involving actual teaching and reflexive analysis of this teaching. The study focuses on the pedagogical difficulties that arose during their teaching, in which prospective teachers…

Just as elementary students enter the science classroom with prior knowledge and experiences, so do preservice elementary teachers who enter the science methods classroom. Elementary science methods instructors recognize the challenges associated with preparing teachers for the science classroom. Two of these challenges include overcoming limited…

Designed around a practical "practice-what-you-teach" approach to methods instruction, "Your Science Classroom: Becoming an Elementary/Middle School Science Teacher" is based on current constructivist philosophy, organized around 5E inquiry, and guided by the National Science Education Teaching Standards. Written in a reader-friendly style, the…

This article reports empirical evidence about the influence of embedding language-based strategies into a history methods course to prepare novice history teachers to teach English learners (ELs). Mixed methods were used in an action research cycle to analyze participants' attitudes and preparedness to teach ELs history before and after being…

This case study of the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland demonstrates the need to consider course sequencing in the communication curriculum. The investigation assessed whether the order in which undergraduates took courses predicted grade performance. Students' (N = 6,166) grade data from earlier courses were used to…

One of the growing interests in teacher education lies in how and what teachers learn across time and space in the complex ecologies and technologies of today's society. Teacher research has been implemented in teacher education programs as a powerful, exploratory tool for teacher candidates to inquire about educational problems and to improve…

The purpose of this attitudinal study is to investigate the role that social studies methods courses in Florida play in examining controversial issues with their pre-service teachers. Five research questions established the parameters for the investigation of pre-service teachers' attitudes toward the use of controversial issues through the…

The purpose of this study was to enhance pre-service secondary mathematics teachers' skills of using the Geometer's Sketchpad (GSP) through Lesson Study. Twenty-four Lesson Study groups each comprising four or five pre-service secondary mathematics teachers who attended a mathematics teaching methods course in a local public university were set up…

"From Another Perspective" is a year-long course for teachers of mathematics that is designed to enhance teachers' awareness of the way that their students think when they are experiencing difficulties in geometry. It also aims at equipping teachers with tools needed to analyze and cope with Problematic Learning Situations in geometry (Gal &…

This mixed-methods investigation compared the relative impacts of instructional approach and context of nature of science instruction on preservice elementary teachers' understandings. The sample consisted of 75 preservice teachers enrolled in four sections of an elementary science methods course. Independent variables included instructional…