This study examined the structure of two preservice teachers' understandings of educational software in mathematics using repertory grid techniques. Specifically, the study focused on how teacher educators can enable preservice teachers to discern the features of mathematics software, and develop pedagogical goals that reflect the affordances and…

This study is an investigation into Chinese EFL teachers' knowledge and understanding of teaching English as a foreign language within the context of a time of tremendous social change in China. In a medium-sized city, biographical narrative interviews and observation were used to three Chinese secondary EFL teachers, of three successive…

This study investigated the relation of teacher characteristics, including ratings of teacher quality, to classroom instructional variables and to bilingual students' literacy and oral language outcomes at the end of the kindergarten year. Teacher characteristics included observational measures of oral language proficiency, quality, and classroom…

This study examined the impact of multicultural education courses on preservice teachers' pedagogical knowledge and beliefs about culturally diverse learners. Part 1 reports on a study of 20 preservice teachers pursuing a masters degree in elementary education enrolled in a required multicultural education course and were examined for their…

This paper explores how exemplary teachers integrate three forms of knowledge in order to help student learn. This triad of knowledge is composed of professional knowledge (subject matter, curricular, and pedagogical knowledge), interpersonal knowledge (relationship with students, the education community and the local community), and intrapersonal…

This paper addresses dilemmas in the practices of six teachers from the perspective of alternate paradigms of knowledge growth, particularly constructivism. The dilemmas focus on the relationships between theory and practice in the growth of knowledge in learning and teaching mathematics. The data for this study are drawn from a four-year…

Evolution is often equated with natural selection and is taught from a primarily functional perspective while comparative and historical approaches, which are critical for developing an appreciation of the power of evolutionary theory, are often neglected. This report describes a study of expert problem-solving in phylogenetic tree construction.…

The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) is responsible for providing national leadership and support for improving the quality of science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SME&T) education from kindergarten through graduate school. The ultimate goal is to achieve excellence in the…

For genuine and long-lasting improvement in science education to occur, teachers must be given the necessary and relevant professional development and resources needed. This paper discusses the shortcomings of traditional science inservice programs that do not provide the professional development needed by today's science teachers and argues that…

This digest provides an overview of the Head Start on Science (HSS) program which is designed to encourage the science literacy of preschool children in Head Start programs and to improve the capacity of Head Start teachers, assistants, and parents. The overall goal of the HSS program is threefold: (1) to broaden HSS participants' science…

This study discusses how a curriculum, based on the multiple influences of college educators, administrators, state officials, private industry and 4-year institutions, determines the kinds of knowledge available to students. Examined is the relationship between knowledge and power as inextricably linked factors in forming curriculum. The study…

In February, 1996, representatives of departments of education and major teacher education colleges in 39 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the U.S. Department of Defense met at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. to identify and discuss issues surrounding the preparation and credentialing of science…

This working paper presents an analysis that seeks to refocus thinking about the question of educational resources needed for transformation in schools. Both the context of science education and the teaching practices of science teachers as potential resources that can be marshaled to facilitate the transformation of science education in schools…

This document is primarily intended for postsecondary faculty who are interested in initiating change in the mathematical preparation of teachers. It has been compiled from the experiences of a two-and-one-half day summer workshop held in June 1994, followed by a year in which participating institutions attempted various ways to implement reform…

This paper describes a course in which preservice elementary teachers read and discussed "The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark" by Carl Sagan. Students discussed their beliefs about the nature of science, teaching, and learning. The paper concludes that preservice teachers appeared to develop reflective and critical…