In order to determine the ways in which teacher preparation programs will need to change to meet the needs of preparing STEM teachers in the near future, it is necessary to ascertain what STEM teacher preparation programs are actually doing in the present. This chapter presents a comparative analysis of six different science teacher education…

The purpose of this research was to examine what preservice teachers learned about their intentions to provide equitable instruction in comparison to their actual teaching acts. Preservice teachers in a K-6 mathematics methods course analyzed their verbal interactions from their teaching of a mathematics lesson and used guided reflection to…

This study seeks to introduce what we call "recognition-based pedagogy" as a conceptual frame through which teachers and instructors can collaboratively develop educative experiences with students. Recognition-based pedagogy connects the theories of critical pedagogy, identity politics, and the politics of recognition with the educative…

This study compares two initiatives for preparing science teachers for careers in high-need schools, each using a distinct, locally adaptive approach. One university adopted an immersive, naturalistic strategy, with modified field placements that gave preservice teachers protracted experiences in high need classrooms. The other university provided…

This qualitative study examines the transition of eight elementary preservice teachers into student teaching after participating in a science methods course that included a significant amount of teaching after-school science to elementary grade students. These eight participants had a chance to practice teaching inquiry-based science and to reform…

This article examines how one group of teachers discussed their perceptions of homophobia in their schools. A qualitative study was conducted that utilized the following: individual and group interviews, participant reflective journals, professional development sessions, and a research journal. The study illuminated how the role of hegemonic…

This mixed methods study examined the influence informal learning experiences had on secondary STEM preservice teachers' preparation as they worked with students who struggle in mathematics. The quantitative data sources included a Teacher Self-Reflection Survey, Mathematics Clinic Tutor Survey, and a Student Survey, while the qualitative…

Science teachers inspire in part by their constant adaptation to the learning needs of their students and to evolving content, curriculum, technology, and student populations. Innovation--bringing novel things to a situation to confer a benefit--is an integral part of teaching overall, and in especially inspired science teaching. While innovation…

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has called for changes in mathematics teaching from a procedural to conceptual focus since 1980, yet the way mathematics is taught in many classrooms continues to contradict the recommended practices. The pervasiveness of this challenge has led some educators to suggest changes in university…

This article describes the first phase of a longitudinal study that examines the impact of teacher preparation programs on the literacy instructional practices of teacher candidates. Case summaries and cross-case analysis by 12 researchers of 10 teacher preparation universities across the United States determined (1) the signature aspects of…

Peer assessment typically requires students to judge peers' work against assessment criteria. We tested an alternative approach in which students judged pairs of scripts against one another in the absence of assessment criteria. First year mathematics undergraduates (N?=?194) sat a written test on conceptual understanding of multivariable…

The effects of gender on organisational structures for professional university staff have been largely overlooked in the literature. Using data from one Australian university, we examine the location of professional female staff in the organisational hierarchy. Our analysis indicated that significant gendered segregation existed within and across…

This article debates access and success at the University of South Africa (UNISA). UNISA is an open distance learning (ODL) institution that provides higher education opportunities to working adults who would otherwise not have the opportunity to acquire a higher education qualification at full-time contact institutions. The article sketches the…

Responding to the Commission on Higher Education's development plan of enhancing research culture among higher education institutions, this study was conducted to analyze the research productivity of selected higher education institutions. It covered five state universities in the Philippines where a total of 377 randomly selected faculty…

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have become increasingly entrepreneurial. Such a shift is highly dependent on the managers of university knowledge transfer offices whose perceptions can be critical in this transformation. This study examines such senior managers' perceptions concerning the "open" paradigm in relation with the…