Propositions about the nature of expertise, in general, and expertise in pedagogy, in particular, are discussed. The time needed to develop expertise in teaching and the highly contextual nature of teachers' knowledge are also discussed. Four theories of teacher development are presented, with an elaboration on the heuristic value of the theory of…

Explores the understanding that students who are training to be secondary mathematics teachers have of elementary concepts in mathematical analysis. Research involved probing students' conceptual understanding of convergence and continuity and associated reasoning. Concludes that even mathematically well-qualified students have difficulties with…

This article describes the design and results of a descriptive and explorative case study into the development of professional knowledge by teachers through action research and the facilitation of this by teacher educators. The theoretical framework of the study links the Anglo-Saxon Action Research tradition and the German "Allgemeine Didaktik."…

Schools in Scotland have recently received a resources boost, from high-profile entrepreneurs working with the Scottish Executive Education Department, to raise the priority of enterprise education in both primary and secondary schools. At the same time, current policy documentation is clear about intentions to develop more entrepreneurs from the…

Research indicates that U. S. teachers' mathematical knowledge continues to be weak, and there is an inherent difference between the mathematical knowledge needed to be an effective teacher and that needed by a mathematician. In this article, the author discusses pedagogical content knowledge. According to Schulman (1987), pedagogical content…

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…