Since 2003, the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning has reported that the number of fully prepared teachers assigned to California's classrooms has increased significantly due in part to the efforts of federal, state and local education policy-makers. As Chart I demonstrates, the overall number of underprepared teachers--those who have…

As a general phrase, "cultural competence" can often conjure for the unfamiliar reader a vision of a person who is fair, just, and open, a person who is nice, someone who is a good person at heart. Cultural competence, however, goes far beyond the everyday meanings that its component words invoke, and it is an active area of scholarship and…

According to Schilling, Blunk, and Hill, the set of papers presented in this journal issue had two main purposes: (1) to use an argument-based approach to evaluate the validity of the tests of mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT), and (2) to critically assess the author's version of an argument-based approach to validation (Kane, 2001, 2004).…

This article explores some of the main challenges of improving the teaching of evidence-based practice in schools of social work. The priority challenges are the needs for a general professional cultural shift, for adequate curricula, to overcome the controversy of scientific methodology, to better understand the state of the art of the…

The following text is a "narrative inquiry" (Clandinin and Connelly, 2000) in which I present an account of my experiences as an English teacher working in an Australian public secondary school. I explore the ways in which my beliefs as an English teacher conflicted with my role as a Literacy Co-ordinator/teacher and how--even though I…

The decisions evaluators make regarding how to work with teachers through the annual evaluation process can have a positive impact on teacher growth and student learning. In this article, the author examines the quality of feedback and how administrators use and provide this feedback to teachers through the evaluation process. What constitutes…

The term "environment-based education" describes a form of school-based environmental education in which an instructor uses the local environment as a context for integrating subjects and a source of real world learning experiences. Despite the growing body of evidence that supports the educational efficacy of this instructional approach and its…

When asking about animals, it is hard to find a person who doesn't recall a beloved pet or share that they've always loved dolphins, snakes, or ladybugs. A study of animals in an early childhood classroom, then, would seem an easy entry into science explorations with children. The article includes reflections on teaching to address the gaps…

The 1-year Postgraduate Certificate in Education Secondary English method course at the University of Sheffield's School of Education has, since 2001, asked its students to write an essay of around 4000 words on their initial understanding and experience of the National Strategies promoted by the United Kingdom's Department for Education and…

The present study aims to explore the secondary teachers' understanding and reasoning about the concepts of limit and continuity. The findings suggest that teachers have not developed a rich relational understanding of these notions. They exhibited disturbing gaps in their conceptualizations of limit and continuity. [For complete proceedings, see…

This study examined the classroom practice and beliefs of two novice teachers, Anne and Rachel, during the first year of their involvement in Project PRIME, a district-wide development program. Using accounts of practice (Simon & Tzur, 1999), the professional developer interviewed and observed the two novice teachers throughout the school year…

This study investigated 407 in-service elementary teachers' level of mathematical content knowledge, attitude toward mathematics, beliefs about effective instruction, use of reform-orientated instruction and modeled the relationship among these variables. Upper elementary teachers (grades 3-5) were found to have greater content knowledge and more…

This paper examines and tests the assumptions that a curriculum which adequately portrays instructional strategies (related to teaching the nature of science, science curricular content, and teachers' views of the nature of science) will increase students' understanding of the nature of science. This study was conducted over a 16-week period. A…

This paper provides a summary and a critique of the empirical literature on elementary teachers' mathematical knowledge. The empirical evidence addresses four major issues surrounding teachers' mathematical knowledge: 1) What is the nature of teachers' content knowledge, particularly with regard to the domain of number? 2) How does teachers'…

Investigates 49 preservice elementary teachers' conceptions of what causes the seasons using both a written procedure and a procedure that used models with verbal explanations. Results suggest that preservice elementary teachers are likely to show a high frequency of alternative conceptions of what causes the seasons and these conceptions are not…