This qualitative case study responds to calls for research on the ways critical reflection develops in preservice and novice teachers. While evaluating capacity to reflect is a dominant practice in teacher education, few studies explore empirically how different factors impact teachers' reflection. Building from earlier research that…

Using a qualitative approach, this article reports findings of a longitudinal study of seven successful elementary educators from the inception of their final preservice field experience through the first seven years of their independent teaching. The research centers the development of teachers' literacy-related instructional practices over the…

Facilitating classroom discussion requires preparation and improvisation. How might learning improvisational theatre affect teachers' verbal moves while facilitating discussion? This article explores this question through a single-subject case study of a high school history teacher who took a 10-week improv course. Data sources include…

As the number of English Language Learners (ELLs) educated in general education classrooms has increased, many teacher education programs have implemented reforms intended to prepare teacher candidates to work with ELLs. This multiple-case study uses a sociocultural perspective on learning to examine whether and how four undergraduate teacher…

The current qualitative study addresses the growing concern in preservice teacher (PT) education that simply increasing the amount of field experiences in teacher preparation programs may just reinforce the status quo in teaching. The focus in this report is on how a series of literacy tutorials, designed as hybrid spaces for learning, provide…

This study explores the experience of becoming an elementary teacher in an educational climate where standardization and accountability increasingly affect what happens in classrooms across the country by following two beginning teachers. Specifically, this longitudinal study in which two first-year teachers' stories are analyzed and restoried…

This study used longitudinal data to investigate the development of preservice teachers' Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) throughout their initial teacher education program in the United States. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected at four different points in time. Findings indicated that teacher preparation…

The number of students designated as English language learners enrolled in U.S. schools is rapidly increasing, and because of this shifting cultural and linguistic landscape, it is essential that all teachers have the skills to effectively work with students who have a language other than English spoken at home. Using the framework of exemplary…

The authors, a team of literacy teacher educators who are focused on extending our own understandings of preservice teacher (PST) learning, conducted a cross-case analysis of how PSTs learned to teach literacy in three concurrent practicum experiences. We draw on Grossman's framework of representations, decompositions, and approximations to…

This qualitative case study explored preservice teachers' (PSTs) beliefs about disciplinary literacy as they engaged in a blog project with middle-school students to discuss historical texts. Twenty-eight PSTs, enrolled in a semester-long social studies methods course and participating in the blog project as a course assignment, constituted the…

This qualitative case study explored teaching approaches designed to develop critically reflective thinking (CRT) for preservice teachers in an urban, secondary teacher preparation program. Despite concerted use of CRT within course lessons, online discussions, and case studies, participants demonstrated varying degrees in their understanding of…

The purpose of this article is to report our preliminary work on student-centered teacher preparation to promote school success among culturally and linguistically diverse learners. The authors believe that teacher education programs need to be very purposeful in their approach to multicultural literacy teacher education. Drawing upon Vygotskian…

This multiple case study examined the reflections of elementary teachers as they taught science to English language learners (ELLs). The six participants in this study developed explanations about their science teaching with ELLs as they engaged in reflective practice using video-based tools during a professional development experience. Open…

This multiple case study examined the experiences of two groups of elementary prospective teachers (N ?=?12) completing distinct mathematics content courses. The findings reveal perspectives on knowing, learning, and teaching mathematics as experienced in the context of these courses. One group characterized mathematics as a "record of…

Using mixed-methods approaches and cross-case analysis procedures of a study of 10 teacher-preparation programs across the United States, researchers identified signature aspects of the programs that captured key elements unique to each institution and compared teacher candidate perceptions of learning with the expressed intentions of the faculty.…