This article describes activities and experiences that encourage students to construct and reconstruct knowledge of self and teaching through community building and reflective practices. Following the assumption that teacher education should focus on the human and ethical dimensions of teaching, and the conscious development of a sense of self,…

Recent research as well as local, state, and national mandates promote an increased role of technology in teaching and learning. In response to this call, K-12 institutions and colleges of education are faced with preparing current and future teachers to teach with technology. The current models of inservice and preservice teacher preparation with…

Selecting and using effective instructional strategies is a challenge facing those involved with preservice teacher education. Two instructional strategies with emerging empirical support include WebQuests and Case Method Instruction; however, both have limitations. This study examined the effects of using a CaseQuest--a hybrid of WebQuests and…

Although there has been much debate about "what" teachers need to know about technology, less attention has been paid to "how" they are supposed to learn it. Teacher preparation programs need to go beyond merely training teachers in how to use specific software and hardware tools, and instead focus on developing an understanding of the complex set…

Based on a partnership between a teacher preparation program and an urban school district, this study evaluates a project that used a service-learning model to connect preservice teachers to working teachers to help the working teachers integrate technology into their teaching while giving the preservice teachers an authentic context for their…

To prepare preservice teachers for the technology-rich environment of today's schools, faculty involved with the preparation of teachers must model technology use in their own instruction. The purpose of this PT[superscript 3]-funded project was to design and implement a faculty development program focusing on the effective integration of…

Collaboration among faculty can enhance the learning experience for preservice teachers and reinforce the integral role of technology in teaching, learning, and professional development in social studies education. Organized around the Performance Profiles outlined by the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS[middle dot]T),…

This descriptive study addressed the role of virtual learning environments in fostering reflective thought among preservice teachers through dialogic interaction. Preservice teachers tend to view teaching as a formulaic application of theory and strategies. When challenged with making decisions in novel settings, they are often unable to apply…

This study details our efforts in examining alternatives to inservice technology workshops according to the perspectives of teachers from two school districts located in the southeastern region of the United States. Our initial survey (68% return ratio) and final survey (65% return ratio) asked teachers to respond to the following four areas…

This qualitative study examined the use of WebQuests as a teaching tool in problem-based elementary methods courses. We explored the potential of WebQuests to address three dilemmas faced in teacher education: (a) modeling instruction that is based on current learning theory and research-based practices, (b) providing preservice teachers with…

This article describes the implementation of a state-funded grant, the challenges that emerged, and the lessons learned. This yearlong grant, Technology[superscript 3], provided the resources for university faculty, teacher candidates, and cooperating teachers to integrate technology. Findings from the grant did not indicate significant changes in…

This study evaluates a Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology (PT[cube]) project that endeavored to improve teacher educators' uses of technology so as to influence future teachers. This PT[cube] project sought to build on a foundation of key characteristics of teacher education programs thought to be exemplary in the use of technology…

Findings from research indicate that teachers participating in online professional development (OPD) activities and programmes have gained, in some way or another, a great deal of teacher competency. In spite of this, no research has been undertaken to systematically identify and acknowledge the types of teacher competencies that are frequently…

This longitudinal research study explores preservice teachers' developing vision of technology in teaching and learning. Participants include eight teacher education students enrolled in one of three consecutive educational technology courses. Qualitative methods were used to analyze data, and tentative assertions have emerged related to a…

In this article, the authors focus on the use of Web-based instruction in social studies methods courses. They examine in what ways Web-based instruction transforms both teaching and learning and explore the problems and possibilities involved with electronic classrooms, including Web-supported instruction. Their study is classroom…