Research shows that pre-service teachers face traditional approaches to teaching literature in their student teaching placements that contrast with the progressive strategies covered in their graduate education programs. This article describes 4 teacher candidates' (TCs') contrasting assumptions about the teaching of literature in secondary…

Due to the shortage in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce, it is imperative to inspire K12 students to pursue STEM disciplines. Materials and advanced manufacturing (M&AM), an important industry for the U.S. economy, requires a STEM knowledgeable workforce. To address the shortage while increasing awareness…

Teacher education faculty developed an innovative immersion-based professional development initiative termed High Impact Immersion Experience (H.I.I.E.) to address the problem of novice preservice teachers' lack of experience working in high-poverty schools with significant cultural diversity. A qualitative action research approach was designed to…

Mathematics anxiety typically involves apprehension toward activities that require computation, which can lead to complications in every-day-life activities (Ashcraft, 2002). Mathematics anxiety also has become accepted as an issue associated with academic success for both children and adults (Ashcraft, 2002; Ashcraft & Moore, 2009; Beilock,…

Pressure from state and federal mandates is being brought to faculty members at institutions who prepare teacher candidates to increase the standards and rigor of their programs, and who provide evidence that their graduates not only know the content, but also will be effective in the classroom. This article investigated the relationships among…

Improving the mathematical skills of the next generation of students will require that elementary and middle school teachers are competent and confident in their abilities to perform fraction operations and to solve algebra equations The present study was conducted to (a) quantify relationships between prospective teachers' abilities to perform…

Classrooms full of "digital natives" represent the norm in U. S. schools, but like their predecessors, they mostly inhabit spaces characterized by a traditional view of teaching and learning. Understanding contributors to this mismatch, and especially teachers' role, is especially critical as Web 2.0 technologies enable greater learner…

Researchers have recommended that teacher education candidates receive multiple opportunities for systematic implementation of practices within authentic contexts. These experiences form an important foundation for candidates' beliefs about their abilities in classrooms. Yet, few researchers have examined the relationship between the context for…