Details a study exploring a problem-based learning framework used to develop preservice teachers' knowledge base for teaching and pedagogical reasoning ability. Emphasizes an undergraduate preservice science teacher education unit. Contains 30 references. (DDR)

Research into primary teachers' understanding of concepts in science and technology provided information on teachers' confidence in teaching science, their understanding of a range of key ideas, and their own educational background in science. Teachers expressed low confidence in teaching science but also claimed not to find great difficulty in…

Considers what it means to be a teacher of literature. Looks at the ways Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) students develop as teachers of literature, drawing on the author's personal experiences of working with PGCE students in school and at university. (PA)

Examined relations between Israeli teachers' subject matter knowledge (SMK), teaching experience, and espoused mental models (MMs) about children's learning. The SMK tested was English "wh-" constructions. Seventh-grade teachers were classified on subject matter tasks to have high or low SMK. Interviews examined their MMs. Despite…

Reports on a comparative study of aspects of the science knowledge of primary student teachers in Singapore and Great Britain. Results indicate that there no connection between content knowledge and the ability to teach that knowledge. Contains 17 references. (DDR)

A unique partnership between retired scientists and elementary teachers in four counties in California provides science content knowledge to teachers and students at schools that are actively trying to enhance science in their classrooms. The program offers scientists a vehicle to continue in a field they love and an opportunity to pass on their…

Analyzes the evolution of the French physics curricula and experiments from the beginning of the century to the present. Shows the strong coherence of the aspects of energy presented through teaching content and experiments. (DDR)

Outlines a program that was designed to be the first step in the development of an academic home for informal science education at the New York University. Aims at taking advantage of nonformal educational resources and bridging the formal and nonformal systems in order to provide people with access to an understanding of science and technology.…

Explores the science content knowledge of elementary school teachers and its possible role in helping them teach effectively. Studies the issues in the context of an investigation of the views of elementary school teachers (n=106) who had participated in professional development courses that focused on the topic "natural and processed…

California's colleges and universities must share responsibility for preparing teachers who are knowledgeable about what they teach and proficient in how and whom they teach. Teacher preparation programs must recruit and train highly qualified teachers and strategically address public school needs. Higher education leaders must promote better…

Measures both teaching efficacy and the holding of specific alternative conceptions of preservice elementary teachers (N=619). Uses a survey to determine the relationship between teaching efficacy and certain alternative conceptions. Contains 77 references. (DDR)

Investigated Greek kindergarten teachers' science knowledge and how they use this knowledge in the classroom. Found that teachers' content knowledge in science and their understanding of the concepts they introduce in class are rather limited, and most teachers held ideas that do not coincide with current scientific ideas. Examined the sources and…

Examines the collaborative efforts of a mathematics educator and statistician to help prospective elementary teachers develop statistical knowledge and experience through merging statistical investigation into existing elementary curricula. Offers insight into preservice teachers' statistical and pedagogical content knowledge based on their…

Determines elementary teachers' knowledge of: current children's literature; children's books in six literary genres; and activities to promote students' recreational reading. Replicates a 1981 study to determine the level of knowledge possessed by today's teachers concerning children's literature and methods of increasing students' reading for…

Reports on a one semester course, "Earth Systems Science for Educators" designed to use an active learning approach to improve student knowledge of basic Earth science concepts. Reports that, based on pre- and post-course assessments of 108 elementary and middle-level education majors who took the class from 1998 to 2000, there was an average…