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…

This article focuses on a critical issue in STEM education: preparing novice secondary school teachers to provide effective science instruction to the rapidly growing population of students from language minority groups who traditionally have been underserved in STEM education and who are underrepresented in STEM degrees and careers (National…

This study offers insights from an initial pilot of a co-teaching model for mathematics teacher preparation developed both to support experienced teachers in shifting their practice toward the vision set forth by NCTM and the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (National Governors Association, 2010; NCTM, 2000, 2009) and to provide…

The need for sophisticated and highly skilled educators in urban schools is painfully obvious, even to the most casual observer. National and local test data demonstrate that students in urban schools are generally not achieving at the same levels as are their suburban and more affluent peers. Teacher educators in urban areas struggle with how to…

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…

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 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…

Teacher induction is defined as the transition from student to professional and involves the greatest need for supervision and support. Induction programs providing mentorship, curricular information, classroom support, and professional scaffolding have grown out of concerns related to accountability and attrition during the first years of…

Teacher education in the 21st century is encountering increased scrutiny, added pressure, and escalating external regulations but does not have practical and immediate solutions for improving programs. While reforms in teacher education call for additional and improved clinical practice for candidates, through strengthened partnerships with local…

The literature is sated with calls for more and better communication between home and school. Teachers believe that parents should be more involved, but seem at a loss as to how to make that happen, and parents often feel disconnected to their child's teacher and the school. Few would argue that it is the responsibility of classroom teachers to…

In this article, the author describes pre-service teachers' understandings of English language learners (ELLs) and the ways that their understandings evolved through participation in a Structured English Immersion (SEI) course. To provide the context of this study, the author begins with a brief review of recent policies in Arizona that affect the…

In this article, the authors argue that teacher education programs should equip future teachers with skills for engaging in productive collaboration focused on improving instruction. Because little is known about pre-service teachers' beginning conceptions of collaboration and the ways in which collaboration skills can be developed, the authors…

As is widely recognized in the teacher education field, it is a complex process for teacher candidates to become effective classroom teachers. With growing linguistic and cultural diversity in today's classrooms, as well as different social expectations for education, the teacher preparation process is becoming increasingly demanding and…

The call for reform of teacher preparation programs by Arne Duncan (2009), U.S. Secretary of Education, has the potential to be the catalyst for a re-emergence of co-teaching in higher education. Duncan argues for the need to implement innovative preservice teacher education strategies that will result in an increase in K-12 student achievement.…