This study examines and analyzes the impact and support of preservice teachers on 74 featured P-5 students' learning outcomes during units of instruction in three practicum tiers in an early childhood education program. The quantitative results indicate a significant difference in the P-5 students' gains on the pre- and post-assessment…

This article describes a case study of an online literacy methods course offered at a small, midwestern university. Formal and informal instruments were used to assess students' backgrounds, interests, and dispositions. Archival course data were analyzed to examine interactions among content, course design, and student characteristics.…

In this article, the author presents an analysis of 23 school stories (Clandinin & Connelly, 1996) composed by preservice teachers as part of an elective course in an undergraduate teacher preparation program. Three layers of analysis--topical, thematic, and theoretical coding--provide insight into the contribution of the school story genre…

This study reports on the experiences of supervisors in a university teacher preparation program regarding their critical reflection on their practice. This has an impact on the learning opportunities available for their student teachers. Findings include: (a) an understanding of critical reflection is something that builds over time for student…

Field placement within teacher education represents a topic of interest for all preservice teacher programs. Present research addresses a set of important questions regarding field placement: (1) What pedagogical methodologies facilitate deep learning during field experiences? (2) Is there a significant difference in treatment effect for…

Describes how changes in Indiana's licensure have affected one university's elementary education department, focusing on: the change to performance-based standards and assessment; performance assessment using exit portfolios; and lessons learned. The goal is to bring the program in line with the new Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support…

Describes an initiative that engages a teacher education program with an innovative urban "full-service" elementary school in a joint effort to serve children and families and provide a deeper and broader experience with urban education for suburban preservice teachers. Education students complete traditional and nontraditional fieldwork in the…

Describes the experiences of elementary students and teachers embarking on a mathematics differentiation project in which teachers received training in curriculum modification. Data from interviews, focus groups, and observations suggest that a modified or enhanced curriculum unit, with appropriate, escalated learning goals and authentic resources…

Shares one institution's experiences using professional portfolios to help future teachers become effective practitioners and transition from school to work, describing the portfolio development process and exit presentations. Feedback from student questionnaires indicated that students overwhelmingly considered the invested time worthwhile, saw…

Highlights a synergistic collaborative research effort between a public school and a university, discussing the process of collaboration throughout the study and providing perspectives on the learning and collaboration experiences from university faculty, classroom teachers, and pre-service teachers. This collaboration resulted in translation of…

Compared classroom problems of novice elementary teachers who had completed either traditional 4-year baccalaureate or 1-year graduate-level preparation programs. Teacher surveys indicated no substantive difference in the nature or frequency of problems encountered. The three most common problems were having adequate planning and preparation time,…

Examines how a partnership between an elementary school and a university evolved into a Professional Development School, describing the process by making analogies to the process of constructing a house. The steps are also related to Kagan's (1991) stages of organizational development. Parallels and differences in the processes are explored and…

Teacher educators taught elementary-level student teachers how to compose thematic integrated units, first coconstructing a view of thematic teaching, planning events to engage students, and developing an assignment description supporting students' unit writing. The paper describes the unit development, noting how student and faculty reflection on…

Examined the experiences of two female African American preservice teachers in a predominantly white teacher education program. Data from ongoing interviews, observations, papers, projects, presentations, lesson plans, and class notes indicated that the students frequently encountered overt and "dysconscious racism." Their experiences underscored…

Describes a professional-development program for experienced elementary teachers that focused on teacher learning. Data collected over 18 months and qualitatively analyzed for setting features and learning processes indicative of an intellectual focus identified five setting features and two broad patterns of engagement (from less- to…