Describes the partnership between the early childhood program at the University of Vermont and Parent to Parent of Vermont. The partnership was designed to set a context for preparation of family-centered practitioners by modeling the qualities of a collaborative relationship between families and professionals and by developing a family-centered…

A survey of 514 Scottish elementary teachers, 60 teacher interviews, and interviews with 30 staff at teacher-education institutions examined teacher understanding of scientific ideas, teacher self-confidence when teaching science, and the provision made during preservice and inservice education for the development of elementary teachers'…

This paper examines current problems with schools of education, suggesting that while they are neither very successful at accomplishing the marriage of theory and practice nor well-rewarded for trying, there is great potential in a collective re-thinking about the future of schools of education. (SM)

This study assessed the effectiveness of the Alliance Summer Geography Institute's model in promoting teachers' content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. Teacher surveys and evaluations of subsequent inservices indicated the institute enhanced both types of knowledge. Resulting inservices allowed teachers to pass knowledge along to a…

Criticizes current art education approaches for favoring context over content. Recommends focusing on the actual production of art rather than educational theories and assessment techniques. Maintains that creative self-expression is linked inextricably to discipline and mastery of technique. (MJP)

Observations and interviews with preservice elementary teachers examined their beliefs, conceptions, and practices and their views of mathematical and pedagogical content knowledge, noting whether they changed during a mathematics methods course. Results revealed symbiotic relationships between their views of content knowledge and their…

Maintains that, while teacher assessment is rapidly growing in the most commonly taught fields of music and the visual arts, it barely exists in the underdeveloped fields of dance and theater education. Examines trends in assessment including content-specific, common accreditation, and performance-based licensure. (MJP)

Sixty-one teachers at a junior-senior high school in Nova Scotia responded to measures of inclusion attitudes and knowledge. Results revealed that teachers feel inadequately prepared for inclusion, need specific inclusion training, and feel that reducing workloads and class sizes would help. Significant positive correlations were found between…

Reports a study that investigated the effects of professional coursework and clinical experience on the development of preservice teachers' knowledge. Surveys supported the contribution of professional coursework to the development of pedagogical knowledge but showed limited support for the contribution of student teaching. (SM)

Describes how two teachers collaborated with a university-based researcher/teacher educator to design and implement more authentic science in a grade 7 classroom. Discusses the ways in which the teachers changed their views about science and science teaching, the anxieties they experienced, and the institutional constraints that impacted their…

Describes a physics course designed to engage preservice elementary teachers in the practices and discourses of science through activities that would later be used with children. Presents an account of preservice teachers' progress in inventing and testing models, working with empirical data, critically evaluating and using authoritative sources,…

This article provides an overview of standards that have been developed for special educators, shares the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee program standards, discusses the ways in which they are used in teacher preparation, and suggests ways in which practicing teachers could use these or similar standards for ongoing professional development.…

A survey of 963 undergraduates and 27 faculty members in the University of Alberta (Canada) teacher education program found that computers were most often used as a personal productivity tool and not integrated into the curriculum. Deterrents to use of instructional technology by university staff were lack of funding, lack of time to learn new…

Provides a research-based description of the distinguishing qualities of excellent classroom reading teachers. Discusses what excellent reading teachers know about reading development, how they assess student progress, what kinds of reading materials they use in their classrooms, how they organize classrooms for instruction, and how they interact…

A study investigated the effects of a 2-week summer institute that taught kindergarten and first-grade teachers (n=44) about learning disabilities and effective instruction, stressing the importance of explicit instruction in phonological and orthographic awareness. First-graders taught by trained teachers outperformed controls on phonological…