There is a need for research in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) teacher education that addresses the challenge of building teachers' pedagogical skills in fostering the development of mathematical reasoning in students. The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics provide teachers with guidance on how to promote…

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education initiatives in the United States have surged as the demand for high-quality STEM education has escalated (Nadelson, Callahan, Pyke, Hay, & Schrader, 2009; Parry, 2011). The goal of this article is to present a description of how one STEM-focused elementary teacher preparation…

A decade ago, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, along with the Ford and Annenberg Foundations, undertook a reform initiative, Teachers for a New Era (TNE). The goal of the TNE was to "stimulate construction of excellent teacher education programs at selected colleges and universities"(Carnegie Corporation of New York, 2001, p. 1). As…

What is needed to prepare teachers to effectively teach mathematics has been the subject of considerable debate for at least two decades, with the focus shifting back and forth between the number of mathematics courses that teachers need to the mathematics content that teachers need to know. Building upon previous work related to teacher…

The Business Roundtable (2013) website presents a common narrative in regard to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education, "American students are falling behind in math and science. Fewer and fewer students are pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and American students are performing at…

In the context of rapidly changing classroom environments, it is crucial that teachers be able to make appropriate decisions. Those teachers who reflect on their practice, particularly while they are teaching (what Schon terms reflection-in-action), are best able to do so. It is the intent of this article to investigate the role of teacher…

Faced with a chronic shortage of single-subject mathematics teachers and a directive from the federal legislation "No Child Left Behind" that all students are taught by highly qualified teachers, California instituted a new subject-matter competency exam, the California Subject Exam for Teachers for Mathematics (CSET), and created a new…

One of the major hurdles in preparing preservice teachers to differentiate instruction has been that they tend not to see much differentiated instruction in actual classrooms (Benjamin, 2002; Tomlinson, 1999). There always may be a contradiction in wanting to promote change in instructional practices while, at the same time, relying on a teacher…

Schools across the United States are confronted with the critical demand for highly effective teachers to address the needs of the increasing numbers of diverse learners in their classrooms. In response, school systems are looking beyond the traditional four-year degree student to individuals who are entering the teaching field from other…

This article is a report of the findings from a sample of approximately 2,700 students and 1,000 faculty in the first 50 Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC)-accredited programs for which the online surveys were used. The sample represents nearly all the full-time faculty members surveyed and approximately 30% of the students. On the…

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in the pictorial representations of what teaching "looks like" for undergraduate students, intern teachers and graduate students enrolled in education classes. This new Draw-a-Teacher Checklist instrument was modeled after the Draw-a-Science-Teacher-Test Checklist (DASTT-C) developed…

The purpose of this article is to identify some issues related to ethical and moral dispositions in teacher education programs. My intent is to provide a starting point for gaining a professional consensus on the ways that teacher educators approach the definition, assessment, and development of dispositions in their teacher education programs. To…

This paper focuses on what constitutes ethical-based practices in assessment and student evaluation. Pre-service teachers in education foundations classes responded to a survey in which they marked whether they perceived that the actions of an educator in evaluation scenario were ethical or unethical. Respondents had high agreement on the…

Because there is limited research on effective early field experiences and, particularly, on the potential of laboratory experiences to expose teacher candidates to a diverse student population, this study evaluates one such placement. As part of the placement, the teacher candidate provided tutoring at an on-campus model alternative program for…

Most school-university partnerships have consisted of pre-service teacher education partnerships, by which colleges of teacher education team up with schools to train future teachers. Proponents of these partnerships claim that they have the ability to transform education through networks of teachers and faculty who are passionate about…