This study explores the mathematical problem-solving process of trainee teachers in a teachers' training institute. This research adopts a constructivist perspective that views learning mathematics as a process of constructing meaningful representation and knowledge as being constructed by the individual. The research methodology employs the case…

This study examined a Thai biology teacher's creative tensions when she was challenged to adopt a new teaching approach to photosynthesis with her class. The teacher was purposively selected on her need of professional growth. Data from observations and interviews documented the tensions. The data indicated that the biology teacher experienced…

Teaching self-determination to students with disabilities has long been a focus of the fields of special education and psychology, with much of the research focusing on why self-determination is important, the effects of self-determination skills on academic and adult outcomes, and identifying strategies teachers can use to teach…

This study investigated whether undergraduate teacher education students were prepared to teach their students in both an academically stimulating and culturally sensitive way. During the fall of 2003, student teachers were asked to complete two open-ended questions about diversity. The students were working on certificates in either the preschool…

Principals want teachers to do more than profess high expectations for their students. Principals want teachers to have the knowledge and skills to realize their expectations for students by using strategies that increase students' attention to their achievement and responsibilities for learning. Current expectancy literature states that teachers…

Responding to the scarcity of suitable measures of teacher knowledge, this article reports on a novel assessment approach to measuring teacher knowledge of teaching mathematics. The new approach uses teachers' ability to analyze teaching as a proxy for their teaching knowledge. Video clips of classroom instruction, which respondents were asked to…

Teaching science as explanation is fundamental to reform efforts but is challenging for teachers--especially new elementary teachers, for whom the complexities of teaching are compounded by high demands and little classroom experience. Despite these challenges, few studies have characterized the knowledge, beliefs, and instructional practices that…

Teaching English in elementary schools has been an important educational policy in Asian countries over the past several decades. This study investigates how in-service teachers in elementary schools conceptualize their practical knowledge about English teaching in Taiwan. It provides examples of experiences and practical knowledge that English…

The present study aims to explore the use of assessment in mathematics content courses for future elementary school teachers. Analysis of self assessment data on mathematical understanding and peer assessment data on oral mathematical presentation showed that pre-service teachers had a balanced understanding of procedural knowledge and problem…

This paper reports a study that examined the categories of pedagogical knowledge (knowledge related to the act of teaching) of novice ESL teachers as gleaned from their verbal reports of what they were thinking about while teaching and compared these categories to those found for experienced teachers in an earlier study (Gatbonton, 1999). The goal…

Our 5-year professional development intervention is designed to promote elementary teachers' knowledge, beliefs, and practices in teaching science, along with English language and mathematics for English Language Learning (ELL) students in urban schools. In this study, we used an end-of-year questionnaire as a primary data source to seek teachers'…

This issue of "Teachers Teaching Teachers" ("T3") focuses on coaches' role in the professional development of teachers. It contains the following articles: (1) An Excerpt from "Taking the Lead" (Joellen Killion and Cindy Harrison); (2) Be Like a Virus and Connect (Bill Ferriter); (3) No. 1 Resource Has a Human Face (Joellen Killion); (4) With This…

This book is a tell-all guide to the euphoric highs and unimaginable lows of teaching. Mahoney and Purr present the naked truth of their own blunder-laden first few years in order to help new teachers, those who think they might want to become teachers, and those in the business of training and hiring new teachers, see the realities that cannot be…

Local Systemic Change projects, funded by the National Science Foundation, were designed to help teachers of mathematics and science deepen their content knowledge and improve their instructional practices. Ms. Weiss and Ms. Pasley describe how these aims were accomplished through a combination of intensive professional development and follow-up…

This study investigated teachers' knowledge of, and capacity to identify resilience, in 92 primary school children in Far North Queensland. It was found that although teachers' knowledge of resilience was apparently strong, and they reported a significant level of confidence in their ability to assist children in building resilience, their…