Studies elementary and middle school students' understanding of scientists and doing science in school by using the Draw-A-Scientist Test (DAST). Recommends creating opportunities for students to see scientists in different settings and roles. (Contains 23 references.) (YDS)

Introduces a project called Teaching Elementary Physical Science (TEPS) which targets the improvement of elementary school science. Uses a cross-level mentoring approach between elementary and secondary school science teachers. Recommends providing opportunities to elementary school teachers to acquire specific teaching skills and self-confidence.…

Discusses gender issues in science education and argues that teachers are not using appropriate teaching strategies to provide gender equity in their classrooms. Presents a study focusing on science teachers' perceptions of gender and science instruction and the cooperating teacher's role in the student teaching practicum. (Contains 46…

Explains what inquiry-based science instruction means and points out the difficulty of creating this kind of instruction for teachers who are inexperienced in teaching. Presents a case study of a preservice teacher who explored whether it is realistic to expect preservice teachers to create and carry out an inquiry-based classroom. (Contains 38…

Presents a graduate course targeting the improvement of teaching and learning with regard to professional development. Argues that practicing teachers need opportunities to interact with one another and other individuals in the research community. Examines how private research and development works. (Contains 23 references.) (YDS)

Discusses how elementary teachers fall short in their instruction. Examines the instructional strategies of beginning mathematics and science teachers, the barriers they face in their teaching, and instructional differences between teachers. Presents a study examining the long-term impacts of a preservice teacher education program. (Contains 25…

Examines the rules of practice, practical principles, and images of teaching students that teachers constructed under the supervision of inservice teachers. Reports on the student teachers' seminar assessment as an opportunity for constructing practical knowledge about teaching. (Contains 16 references.) (YDS)

Describes the evolution of the Vermont state-mandated system of prospective teacher evaluation by portfolio and examines the Middlebury College (Vermont) portfolio design and its effect on restructuring of teacher preparation programs, the student teacher practicum, and professional relationships with cooperating teachers. (SM)

Presents a literature review on reflective thinking in reference to teaching and teacher education and reports findings of a study at one Australian university that investigated the importance of supervisors promoting reflection in meetings between supervisors and student teachers before and after practice teaching. Recommendations for teacher…

Discusses use of teacher talk about innovation as an alternative to journal entries in eliciting reflective behavior. Describes a study that investigated whether teachers assembled to discuss portfolio assessment would spontaneously engage in four levels of action (describing, informing, confronting, and reconstructing). Analysis of transcripts…

Two beginning teachers were observed in an integrated instruction planning task. Their interpretations were studied when they worked collaboratively and when they worked independently. Data from interviews and field notes indicated that their individual planning lacked decision-choice flexibility and had limited strategy use. When they…

Describes how one group of beginning preservice teachers constructed meaning about portfolios during an introductory course in the teacher education programs. Surveys of students who had and had not participated in a portfolio-like intervention indicated that intervention students had significantly increased knowledge and understanding of the…

This study compared the effects of a field-based mathematics methods course and a traditional university-based mathematics methods course on preservice teachers in their development of teaching concepts in elementary mathematics. Case studies of students representative of the two groups indicated significant differences in their teaching concepts.…

This study examined how electronic mail (e-mail) affected communication and learning among student teachers and between students and instructors, comparing e-mail with more traditional communications. Surveys, interviews, and e-mail messages indicated that e-mail helped students meet course requirements and maintain student-instructor contacts.…

Describes a structure for electronic mail (e-mail) use by students that promoted idea exchanges. Students were trained to send regular e-mail messages to professors, teachers, and students during their field experience. Analysis of the messages indicated that a significant strand of professional conversations occurred spontaneously on important…