This book is designed to help the teacher become a reflective practitioner in the multicultural science classroom. The ideas presented are grounded in constructivist theory and emphasize a multicultural approach to science education. The first section, "Addressing Diversity," deals with issues germane to the science education needs of…

The purpose of this study was to describe the content and structure of the thinking of four experienced, but "ordinary," preschool teachers in the area of children's emotions and emotional development. Each study participant had taught in the New Garone Pre-Kindergarten, one of the first New York State Experimental Pre-Kindergartens, for…

This paper reports on a survey instrument designed to measure opinions regarding computer knowledge and usage among high school teachers of mathematics (N=66) and college faculty of mathematics (N=25). Findings indicate that the college faculty made reference to computer usage more often in their lectures than did the high school teachers.…

Studies have shown that early years teachers are the most influential factor contributing to the quality of early years education. Well-educated teachers are professionally more competent and can decisively influence the quality of curriculum, which is becoming less and less centrally defined. This article describes the creation of a new program…

This fastback examines the theory and practice of constructivist teaching and suggests how teachers can decide what form of constructivist teaching they might want to use. Constructivist teaching theory is explored under the headings "knowledge" and "humans." According to constructivist theory, knowledge is constructed by humans, it is conjectural…

This study is an attempt to determine the extent of telecommunications use by secondary school science teachers in the Queens borough of New York City. Science teachers in 39 middle schools and 32 high schools were surveyed in May, 1994, in the following categories of information: access to computers, hardware preference, hardware in use, access…

This handbook is designed for college teachers who want to explore new ways to enhance student learning. The handbook draws on the knowledge of teachers and scientists with extensive experience in the natural sciences and a keen interest in effective science teaching, and is appropriate for anyone teaching undergraduate science. This handbook…

Since 1992, AACTE and the DeWitt Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund have worked in partnership to advance the knowledge base of comprehensive teacher education. The AACTE/DeWitt Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund's Comprehensive Teacher Education National Demonstration Project is grounded in the mutual belief that preparation of classroom teachers must…

This paper elaborates upon the idea of pedagogical content knowledge through close examination of a teacher's learning in science and addresses a question derived from Shulman's (1986) original work on teacher knowledge: "What is learning for teaching?" Pedagogical knowing is viewed as the practice of seeing into the subject matter through the…

This article explores the challenges of espousing a critical pedagogy within the managerial climate that presently shapes teacher education. Current discourses of professionalism are incommensurate with an understanding of the way that literacy practices are grounded in the social worlds in which both school and university students operate. Such…

In this paper, the general principles and practices adopted as guidelines to a graduate course for secondary mathematics teachers are discussed. It is argued that once the curriculum is designed both to complement the teachers' subject content knowledge and to provide activities promoting links between their conceptual knowledge and their actual…

Student learning depends on the teacher's actions, which are, in turn, dependent on the teacher's knowledge base--defined here by three components: knowledge of mathematics content, knowledge of student epistemology, and knowledge of pedagogy. The purpose of this study is to construct models for teachers' knowledge base and for their development…

In concert with a rising interest in history education, there is concern about the quality of education and certification of history teachers. Many researchers, theorists, and specialists have weighed in on the issue of teacher preparation and certification. To what extent are history teachers prepared and certified to teach the discipline? This…

This study describes the assistance relationships between teachers engaged in school-based education reform and the full-time facilitators hired to provide their training and support. The model that supplies these facilitators to Maine's Beacon Center schools is unique in combining three important design factors: (1) the science content expertise…

The rapidly shifting demographics of school-aged children, as well as continuing projections for the future, suggest that the enrollment of children who are culturally and linguistically different from what is considered the mainstream U.S. culture will continue to increase. The diversity of students in today's classrooms underscores the…