The present study builds on teachers' professional knowledge about mathematics learning difficulties. Based on the input of 918 primary school teachers, an attempt is made to develop an overview of difficult curriculum topics in primary school mathematics. The research approach builds on new conceptions about the professional identity of teachers…

In this article, we demonstrate that prospective teachers' content knowledge related to defining mathematical concepts is dependent on content area. We use the example of generation (a research tool we developed in a previous study) to investigate prospective teachers' knowledge. We asked prospective secondary mathematics teachers to provide…

Modifying course plans to accommodate diverse learners seems simple in theory. However, when faced with specific applications, many teachers feel lost. In a school community, they need not feel alone. General classroom teachers have several sources of ongoing support available to help them extend their teaching repertoire to meet their students'…

When Taylor Carroll was in seventh and eighth grade at the Henniker School in Henniker, New Hampshire, her music teacher, Anne Hueglin, made music class fun. Now Carroll is a music teacher herself, covering K-8 general music, band, and chorus at the Nottingham School in Nottingham, New Hampshire. Following the lead of Hueglin, she teaches her own…

Dispositions supporting the teaching of science as structured inquiry by four elementary candidates are presented. Candidates were studied during student teaching based on their positive attitudes toward teaching science with reform-based materials in their methods course. Personal learning histories informed their attitudes, values, and beliefs…

The variety of teacher preparation programs in the United States provides an opportunity to develop better ways of preparing teachers. There are three key areas in which teacher preparation must improve, including the content teachers will teach, the curriculum of practice essential for beginning teaching, and the approaches and settings best…

A study of master teachers in the arts, sports, cooking, and other fields reveals characteristics and attitudes that enable them to help their students succeed. These characteristics include a deep knowledge of their field, caring, generosity, and being self critical. Exemplary public school teachers also possess these characteristics, but they…

While millions of dollars are spent on traditional professional development each year in the USA, some school districts are trying other means to increase students' test scores. One strategy is hiring mathematics coaches as on-site professional developers. Whereas mathematics coaching is a newly investigated research area and many issues still…

This article examines the knowledge, skills, and attributes (KSAs) that Alberta preservice teachers need to develop over the course of their teacher preparation programs in order to work effectively in inclusive classrooms. Inclusive classrooms are those where all students regardless of diversity learn in the same contexts. These KSAs are…

What role might Holocaust education play in post-apartheid South Africa? What role might the teacher of the Holocaust play? This paper examines the considerations that have shaped the programmes developed by the South African Holocaust Foundation to support South African teachers teaching about the Holocaust. This programme is set against a…

This study utilized responses from Taiwanese preservice elementary teachers to describe and analyze their conceptions about the assessment of science learning and the extent that these conceptions were coherent with their views of learning science. A methodological framework of phenomenography was used for the study. The results revealed that the…

To platoon or not to platoon? That's the question facing Irving Hamer, Deputy Superintendent of Academic Operations, Technology and lnnovation for the Memphis City Schools. This year for the first time, the state's achievement test, Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP), will include algebraic concepts on the 5th-grade test. Of the…

This paper concerns a puzzle about teachers' knowledge. That special knowledge of academic subjects is an essential asset in teachers' work, for the more they know the greater their resources for helping learners. Yet that knowledge also is a liability, for the more accomplished teachers are in a field, the more finished their knowledge is. That…

The primary purpose of this study is to examine the effect of knowledge for teaching mathematics and teaching practice on student mathematics achievement growth. Thirty two teachers and 299 fourth grade students in three elementary schools from one school district in urban area participated in the study. Most of them are Hispanic in origin and…

In July of 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) determined that Massachusetts had violated the civil rights of its English Language Learners (ELLs) by placing them in classes with inadequately prepared teachers. Massachusetts is the contextual background for this study but it also serves as an example of the challenges across the U.S. in…