This study sought to assess the influence of an intensive social studies teacher preparation program on the belief of a cohort of graduate preservice teachers. In particular, it sought to determine whether the participants' methods courses, field experiences and student teaching led to changes in their beliefs about teaching and learning social…

This study investigated the mathematics beliefs and content knowledge of 103 elementary pre-service teachers in a developmental teacher preparation program that included a two course mathematics methods sequence. Pre-service teachers' pedagogical beliefs became more cognitively-oriented during the teacher preparation program with these changes…

One prominent issue in contemporary special education is that teaching techniques found by research to be effective in improving the educational outcomes of students with disabilities are not routinely implemented. One way to enhance teachers' use of research-based practices is to disseminate information on effective teaching techniques in ways…

Drawing on extant theorizing and research on reflective teaching, this paper discusses the impact of an innovative methods course designed around the activity of student teachers' reflections on their own classroom discourse, for their understandings of the connections between theory and practice. Situated in the context of foreign language…

Preparing special educators who are knowledgeable about evidence-based interventions for teaching reading to students with reading difficulties and who are capable of using curriculum-based assessments to monitor student progress and differentiate interventions is vital to the success of current school reform efforts. The primary purpose of this…

This study explores the extent to which an activity used in an elementary science methods course affected the preservice teachers' content knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy. The participants were 172 students enrolled in five sections of elementary science methods. Students participated in a 9-week investigation on life cycles using…

Writing is a recursive and complex set of cognitive processes that can be taught effectively to students with disabilities. Employing an adapted cognitive theory of writing, a broad view of what constitutes evidence, and the support of a variety of assistive and internet-based technologies, we developed a writing instructional program to meet the…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of peer-generated feedback versus visual feedback in inspiring preservice physical education teachers to produce reflections that are more critical than technical. The participants were junior-, senior-, and graduate-level health and physical education majors enrolled in an instructional…

This study examined the professional preparation of Italian teachers in New Jersey through the lens of Cooper's (2004) investigation in Georgia, which determined how K-12 foreign language teachers perceived and evaluated the effectiveness of their professional preparation. Unfortunately, however, that report did not have an Italian representation.…

In examining their elementary teacher education program at James Madison University, from their mission to the curriculum and program delivery, the authors used the opportunity to focus explicitly on peace education. The mission and content of teacher education programs are determined largely by the faculty of the institutions of higher education…

This study explored the impact of individual versus two-person group testing on graduate students' achievement and motivation to learn while enrolled in a 16-lesson educational research methods course. Students in two sections of the course were exposed to the same content and instructional methods, with one exception: students in one section took…

This study infused computer modeling and simulation tools in a 1-semester undergraduate elementary science methods course to advance preservice teachers' understandings of computer software use in science teaching and to help them learn important aspects of pedagogy and epistemology. Preservice teachers used computer modeling and simulation tools…

Narrative inquiry was utilized to allow undergraduate students involved in an undergraduate research course to narrate their experiences in their research undertakings under the guidance of their respective mentors. A total of four focus groups representing the Bachelor of Arts and Letters, Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Secondary Education,…

Learner-centered leadership promotes the facilitation of action research in the classroom as a method of improving teaching and learning. Action research is a classroom research process in which educators study their students' learning related to their own teaching. This process allows teachers to reflect on their own instructional practices and…

This paper describes methods for teaching content analysis as part of the Research sequence in social work education. Teaching content analysis is used to develop research skills as well as to promote students' knowledge and critical thinking and about new information technology resources that are being increasingly used by the general public. The…