The middle grades are in crisis. By state and national measures, student achievement gains realized in the elementary grades all too often diminish by grade 8. In most states, the considerable policy focus on high schools in recent years has not trickled down to a focus on the middle grades --yet preparation for "college- and work-ready standards"…

The Motivation of Teachers to Assume the Role of Cooperating Teacher This study explored a phenomenological understanding of the motivation and influences that cause experienced teachers to assume pedagogical training of student teachers through the role of cooperating teacher. The research question guiding the study was what motivates teachers to…

The purpose of this paper is to introduce an integrated values, skills and knowledge (VSK) framework for initial teacher preparation programmes. The VSK framework articulated, in broad terms, the desired skills and knowledge components for beginning teachers, with the underlying core values permeating the programmes. The paper has two parts, the…

A comprehensive approach for integrating technology into a TESOL teacher preparation program is described. Ten specific ways to assure constructivist technology use in teacher education are highlighted. These techniques have been synthesized into a compact model with three pillars: (a) electronic assessment system (e-portfolios for individual…

This article explores teachers' assessment knowledge and practice through a narrative inquiry of a college EFL teacher, Betty (pseudonym), in the People's Republic of China. Drawing on Crites' (1971) notions of "sacred stories" and "secret stories" in teachers' professional knowledge landscapes (Connelly & Clandinin, 1995),…

Critiquing and adapting curriculum materials are essential teaching practices but challenging for many preservice teachers. This study explores the use of educative curriculum materials--materials intended to support both teacher and student learning--to help preservice elementary teachers develop their pedagogical design capacity for critiquing…

Poor nutrition is a major risk factor affecting proper development of children. However, there is limited knowledge about the way in which this subject is being integrated into professionals' work in early childhood education programs dealing with situations of children-at-risk. A study on this subject was conducted with 60 professionals who…

Digital teaching portfolios have been proposed as an effective tool for teacher learning and professional development, but there is a lack of empirical evidence supporting their effectiveness. This study proposed the design of a structured digital portfolio equipped with multiple aids (e.g. self-assessment, peer assessment, discussion and journal…

This study aims to begin to uncover the detailed ways that pre-service elementary teachers examine and understand mathematics teaching, the grain size at which they do so, and what constitutes evidence of teaching mathematics for understanding for pre-service mathematics teachers. Thus, the central research questions for this study are: (a) What…

This study explored the instructional reading practices of four elementary teachers, all graduates of a small branch campus of a large Midwestern University, who obtained their Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education and have been employed in public elementary schools for nearly three years. The four individuals were former university students of…

This paper argues that psychology has an important role for practicing teachers. Firstly, it is important that they keep their knowledge of best teaching and learning practices updated; psychology is a continually evolving field of research and whilst some traditional aspects may remain compelling even today, others are no longer seen as valid,…

Although high-needs schools rarely provide extensive scaffolding for beginning educators, liberal arts colleges that are committed to the moral and intellectual development of teachers can serve a pivotal role in helping their candidates choose such schools and commit to serving in them for the long term. This article describes ways in which…

This study focused on the barriers that middle school teachers faced when implementing technology-enhanced problem-based learning (PBL) in their classrooms. Using a human performance-based model, we interviewed teachers, administrators, university faculty and technical support staff to determine the perceived importance of multiple barriers to the…

Drawing on the work of L. S. Shulman (1986), the authors present a conceptualization of the pedagogical content knowledge and content knowledge of secondary-level mathematics teachers. They describe the theory-based construction of tests to assess these knowledge categories and the implementation of these tests in a sample of German mathematics…

The introduction of the new teacher education model that includes competences and educator roles has marked a major change in teacher preparation programmes. The purpose of this study was to ascertain how novice educators perceive the new teacher education programme, that is, to find out whether novice educators perceive the teacher education…