In this article, the author focuses on bridging the gaps among research, innovation, and practice. First, the author reflects on historical perspectives involving the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. Second, the author explores the current climate as reflected by three national reports highlighting future roles of…

During field experiences, preservice teachers are typically required to observe mentor teachers in schools, but what exactly are they seeing? This research examined the patterns and variations that existed with regard to preservice teachers' classroom observations during recent field experiences. Data were collected from 24 preservice teachers…

Perhaps no other words occur more frequently than standards in today's discourse on educational reform. There is much debate about standards. Instead of taking sides on the debate, this paper argues that the problem with standards does not lie so much in standards themselves as in how they are viewed by those who make them and those who are held…

Preparing "highly qualified" special educators that can effectively partner with the parents of students with disabilities is proving to be a daunting task, though widely acknowledged as essential in special education. This descriptive study examines the experience of instructors co-teaching a special education course focused on…

Educational researchers and teacher educators are often concerned with immediate and practical questions. How can health teachers help youth avoid substance abuse? Should a high school biology teacher show Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," or is that film too political for a science classroom? What sports should be included in a physical…

A peripatetic is one who journeys hither and thither. Many people can claim that title by just describing a domestic day. In the context of the Mid-Western Educational Research Association (MWERA) conference theme, the globalization of the teacher education experience, the author defines a peripatetic as one who journeys hither and thither…

Global education advances global perspectives and prepares globally competent citizens. Globally competent citizens know they have an impact on the world and that the world influences them. Global competency is often viewed in terms of three attributes: knowledge, attitudes, and skills. Given the importance of preparing pre-service teachers who…

A survey of assessment and instructional approaches to literacy education in middle schools was distributed to coordinators of reading programs in schools state-wide in Illinois to determine the alignment between existing schools' literacy program organization and new directions mandated by researchers for instruction for young adolescents. This…

Elementary education faculty at this university embedded a Teacher Work Sample (TWS) performance-based assessment into the student teaching experience to assess candidates' ability to impact student learning as required by recent accreditation reforms. The authors conducted an internal evaluation of the TWS for the purposes of strengthening not…

The College of Education Assessment Infrastructure Survey was developed and administered to 1011 institutions over a twelve-month period ending April 2007. The survey examined the capacity of university-based teacher preparation programs to respond to the growing and increasingly complex data management requirements that accompanies assessment and…

Although state education agencies, teacher preparation institutions, and public schools often combine high incidence disabilities into one category and one placement, the students grouped under this label often have diverse educational needs. This study compares two samples of secondary special education teachers working at the same schools to…

The Urban Professional Development School (PDS) Network represents a group of professional educators from a large, urban university and six public and private schools in the same metropolitan area committed to providing progressive models of professional development for teachers across the lifespan. This paper demonstrates how participants in this…

Recent documents released by the U.S. Department of Education offer a negative characterization of Teacher Education. In a recent edition of "AACTE Briefs," Sharon Robinson (2005) points out the obvious: "teacher education has been the focus of high-profile and high-impact interest of policy makers for many years" (p. 2). Policy makers have cast…

Problem-based learning and teaching with case studies are instructional approaches that are increasingly being applied in a variety of disciplines, such as business, law, medicine, and education. Instructors who have experienced traditional, teacher-centered instruction are often looking for ways to successfully integrate case studies, a…

As universities strive to produce the best mathematics teachers possible through both graduate and undergraduate programs, teacher educators must constantly work towards helping teacher candidates create their own conceptual understanding of mathematics. This pilot study examined the effect teaching in a constructivist manner had on teacher…