Mentoring is often an important component of alternative certification programs, yet little is known about what novices learn about science teaching through mentoring relationships. This study investigated the advice given by two mentor science teachers to their proteges. Findings indicate that mentors gave more advice related to general…

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…

The author presents a content integration that focuses on social studies and science knowledge and skills. The idea of using folk crafts to help elementary students learn social studies extends from John Dewey's laboratory school to the twenty-first century. Meaningful content is applied to skills, such as blacksmithing, found in the community,…

For many educators the fair use provision of the Copyright Act of 1976 and the subsequent Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act offer "carte blanche" use of various forms of media in the classroom. As Siva Vaidhyanathan (2001) notes, "Copyright myths have had as much power as copyright laws" (p. 5). The…

Managing student behaviour remains one of the most daunting aspects of teaching for educators and this is particularly so when children with disabilities are included in the regular classroom. Self-efficacy has been identified as having a significant impact on a teacher's behaviour, and preservice training can play an important role in preparing…

The issue of special needs and the English Language Learner is a complex and complicated one. It involves all of the issues that education for children with special needs has, such as legal issues, psychological issues, parental involvement issues, and the involvement of general education classroom teachers. These issues are intertwined with those…

At the most basic level, autism is a neurological disorder that most likely involves a distinct abnormality in brain structure and affects a child's abilities in two areas: communication and social development. It also is marked by repetitive or stereotypical behavior. Because of the variability in the causes of deafness as well as…

Research on curricular choices has attracted widespread attention and merits increased investment by the research community. Multiple studies, publications, conferences, and a multicampus center (The Show-Me Project, n.d.) speak to the need to discuss what is taught in the classrooms and to whom, how, and when. Since the 1990s, with the creation…

Teacher educators may have different views on what constitutes knowledge base for teacher education. Most of them, however, would agree that field experiences are indispensable for shaping and maintaining high-quality teachers. Unlike teacher training courses in the UK and US, fieldwork components are not always an option in Taiwan. This study,…

Teaching for the development of students' thinking is not a straightforward matter. It requires pedagogical skills, which are different from those of normal good quality teaching for conceptual development. It follows that providing professional development (PD) for teachers of thinking is a "hard case"--we can learn much of general value to…

This book is designed to help teachers bolster their content knowledge by focusing on specific science concepts regarding the topic of light. The book covers three scientific models of light and discusses the observations that can be explained by each model. Chapters include: (1) "LightN-The Early Years"; (2) "Colorful Waves"; (3) "Focus, People,…

Reports on a survey conducted to assess teachers' (n=915) perceived competencies in, attitudes toward, and amount of class time devoted to teaching about the environment. Results suggest that preparation in environmental education teaching methods contributes to teachers' perceived competencies in teaching about the environment. Contains 40…

Investigates secondary mathematics teachers' concept definitions, mathematical understanding, and pedagogical content knowledge of slope. Indicates that geometric ratios dominated teachers' concept definitions of slope, and teachers' descriptions of classroom instruction included physical situations more often than functional situations. (Contains…

Elementary school children in the United States are not developing acceptable levels of mathematical proficiency (National Center for Education Statistics, 1999), and a major concern of teacher educators is that teachers lack the depth and flexibility of mathematical understanding and the corresponding beliefs they need to teach for proficiency…

Recognizing the power of high quality practice in teacher preparation, a web-based simulation called Cook School District was designed to allow teacher candidates to practice the skills necessary to connect their teaching to the learning of all children employing the framework of teacher work samples (TWS). Pilot study data comparing simulation…