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…

To determine teacher working knowledge of transition best practices, the Transition Programs and Services (T-PAS) survey was administered to 2,000 middle and high school teachers and 70 school district transition contacts. Three questions were asked: (a) What barriers exist that hinder the transition process? (b) What effective practices…

The Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 require that students with disabilities be included in statewide assessments and general education accountability systems, thereby placing increased demands on special education teachers. At issue is how new teachers are prepared to respond to…

The purpose of this study was to examine pre-service elementary teachers' metaphors of teaching and literacy and then relate their metaphorical images of literacy to content presented in the reading methods course. Specifically, 52 participants generated responses to open-ended statements, "Teaching is..." and "Literacy is..." Results indicated…

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)