When asked to give a talk at a mathematics teacher conference that focused on research in mathematics education, Ruhama Even viewed the invitation as an opportunity to address the meta-question: what can teachers learn from research in mathematics education? The reason for her view was her way of feeling, as a researcher and teacher educator, that…

This report looks at how three secondary English teachers responded to the curriculum materials they encountered as new teachers. The authors were particularly interested in knowing how the materials helped the new teachers learn about teaching language arts. To this end, the authors explored the teachers' perception and use of two sets of…

This research forum addresses the question: what is the nature of the mathematical knowledge that is needed for secondary teaching? Six international contributors: (1) Australia (Kaye Stacey); (2) Brazil (Marcelo Borba); (3) Israel (Ruhama Even); (4) Norway (Bodil Kleve and Barbara Jaworski); (5) Taiwan (Fou-Lai Lin); and (6) USA (Helen Doerr)…

This article addresses the question: "What are the implications for the preparation of prospective elementary teachers of 'early algebra' in the elementary grades curriculum?" Part of the answer involves language aspects of algebra: in particular, how a change in pre-service teachers' attitudes to algebra, from instrumental to relational, is…

Instructors of statistics who teach non-statistics majors possess varied academic backgrounds, and hence it is reasonable to expect variability in their content knowledge, and pedagogical approach. The aim of this study was to determine the specific course(s) that contributed mostly to instructors' understanding of statistics. Courses reported…

The paper is based upon a case-study of mentoring in teacher education in Norway. It describes the practice of the cooperating teacher and how mentoring in the practice-field contributes to student teachers learning. The main focus is how student teachers develop pedagogical content knowledge in mathematics through reflections with the mentor…

National Board Certification is a voluntary process established by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) to measure what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do. Certification is achieved through a rigorous performance-based assessment that takes between one and three years to complete. As of November 2004,…

This document offers a guide to enhance the quality of Michigan social studies teaching. The document draws on two sources, "A Vision of Powerful Teaching and Learning in the Social Studies" (National Council for the Social Studies) and "A Guide to Authentic Instruction and Assessment: Vision, Standards and Scoring" (Newmann,…

The goal of this study was to understand how preservice biology teachers progress in an open-inquiry research program on the ecological physiology of a tree frog. The project involved students (N=10) in a spring semester and summer workshop. Multiple data sources were established including classroom discussion, group meetings, weekly reflection…

This paper is a narrative account of a critical classroom episode in the life of a beginning secondary science teacher. Emphasis is placed on a beginning science teacher's prior knowledge of effective science instruction and is used to guide on-going classroom practices to facilitate student learning. The story is created from classroom…

This policy brief focuses on teacher competence in using technologies in the Pacific region, identifying key policy issues that must be addressed if teachers are to be prepared to capitalize on the investments being made in technology at the local and entity level. Section 1 focuses on what teachers must know and do in order to effectively use…

Teacher inservice training is critical to the continual development of effective classroom instruction. Professionals who consistently improve their instruction positively impact student performance. Many inservice training sessions use formats that are not conducive to effective adult learning. Good training uses flexible formats, job-applicable…

This research project examined the training of foreign language teachers in Europe. Data were collected from 32 European countries from February to June 2002. Information was also gathered from published documents, ministries of education, higher education institutions, cultural organizations, UNESCO, and teacher associations. Data were fed into a…

Since the inception of "GOALS 2000: Educate America Act" (1994), the nation at large has been implementing standards for systematic reform. Teachers and teacher candidates must become "techno-savvy" overnight in order to comply with these reform initiatives as their level of expertise in educational technology will ostensibly affect their lesson…

This action research project was designed to improve faculty knowledge of hearing loss and its effects on education at two Illinois elementary schools. Sixty-nine faculty members participated in the project. Methods of assessment of faculty knowledge included a survey, questionnaire, document analysis, and anecdotal records of informal…