"Educational Leadership" is a term used to describe the work of principals and administrators. The high-stakes testing environment that has been feeding the culture of accountability in our schools has led principals to increasingly turn to a more distributed leadership model that includes their teachers, thereby expanding the concept of…

This article shares an explanation regarding why disciplined study should be introduced to pre-service teachers early in their coursework, specifically through methods courses. Next, it shares two studies conducted regarding perceptions of curriculum: one with pre-service teachers and one with veteran teachers. Then it provides five suggestions…

The incidence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is increasing in the United States. The rate of diagnosis, combined with the trend towards more inclusive classrooms, means that general education teachers will most likely be teaching some students with ASD. In their teacher preparation course in special education, pre-service teachers learned about…

Dealing with student behavior is often cited as one of the most frustrating aspects of teaching, yet many classroom teachers receive no pre-service training in the basics of behavior management. This article describes the process of implementing a quick behavioral analysis for the purpose of designing a basic intervention. It will provide general…

Placing teacher identity work (e.g. thinking critically about what it means to be a teacher) late in the curriculum of education programs could contribute to the high attrition rate of secondary English teachers. This article argues for more attention to teacher identity development early in candidate coursework to better prepare them for the…

Recently, schools of education throughout the country have struggled with how to infuse, teach, and assess dispositions in systematic ways within their teacher education programs. This necessary and important work has proved to be time-consuming challenging. The following article describes the four-step process that the authors are currently…

Teacher candidates and teacher-preparation faculties have long valued authentic experiences serving students in elementary, middle, and secondary schools. In the last two decades, the popularity of school-community partnerships, service learning, and other forms of civic engagement by universities has increased. At the same time, limitations on…

In this article, two in-service English teachers and two preservice English teachers, who participated in a shared mentoring relationship during the student-teaching semester, share their experiences, conflicts, and how they were resolved. The authors provide first-person narratives of all four teachers and suggestions for improving mentoring…

In many states, the rapidly increasing number of English language learners (ELLs) presents new challenges for undergraduate education programs. In addition, because areas with the most rapid growth generally have little history of educating the ELL population, there may be a corresponding lack of understanding of and empathy for ELLs. The author…

Secondary preservice teachers at Georgia Southern University have little knowledge of poverty or the lives of students who live in poverty. Preservice teachers rarely interact with others who live outside their self-reported middle-class status. In this article, the author examines the effects a study of poverty has on the philosophy and practice…

University teachers who are teacher educators cannot connect to "The Millennial Generation" of today's preservice learners by using chalk and dull outdated textbooks. When university professionals access the technology available, consider the curriculum, and teach with technology (ACT) undergraduate teacher candidates acquire the vision of…

How can we avoid the "why new teachers cry" phenomenon and the high dropout rate for beginning teachers? Start teacher preparation with an introductory foundations class that is experience based and allows students to study themselves and their preferences for teaching styles, learning styles, and classroom management by living through case…

Educational psychologists and practicing educators agree that student motivation is a central and often problematic issue for education. Understanding and working with those factors that influence students' ability and willingness to engage with curriculum content and intellectual challenges help teachers increase the likelihood that our students…

The role of educational psychology classes is often implied because of its inclusion in most teacher education programs; however, the struggle over how to structure courses has often resulted in learning experiences that do not best meet the needs of all students. The major controversy centers on both the course content and methodology used by…

In this article, the author points out the importance of preparing teachers for diversity. She shares an example from one of her introductory educational psychology courses for preservice teachers. On the first day of the semester she asked her students to fill out a short form giving their name, contact information, and a list of things that help…