Volume 104 (5), May 2004

Table of Contents

Abstract

Reform Teaching Strategies Used by Student Teachers

Patricia D. Morrell and Camille Wainwright

University of Portland    Pacific University

Lawrence Flick

Oregon State University

The purposes of this study were to observe the teaching practices occurring in student teachersâ science and mathematics K-12 classrooms, compare the student teachersâ perceptions of their teaching with what was actually occurring in their classrooms, and determine which college faculty members and courses these student teachers felt contributed to the teaching methods they used.  Data on each student teacher were gathered via field notes of three classes, an observation protocol completed after each lesson, and an interview. Composites were written for each of the students. The total data set of all composites was examined to see if any patterns generalizable to the whole were evident. Differences between and among grade levels and content areas surfaced and are discussed.

Preparing New Science Teachers for Urban Classrooms: Consensus Within an Expert Community

John Settlage, University of Connecticut

Preparing future science teachers for U.S. city classrooms is an important yet poorly understood process. The purpose of this study was to determine the philosophies and practices of university-based science educators associated with programs supplying teachers for metropolitan school systems. Through an iterative process of mailed questionnaires, 20 participants rated their views on issues pertinent to science teacher education. The responses to questionnaires were used in the creation of items for each subsequent round. The three rounds of questionnaires contained Likert-scale and open-ended questions. For many issues, there was consistently high consensus among the expert panelists, including the presence of students for whom English is a second or new language, the importance of science education professors remaining connected to urban school issues, and practices often affiliated with reform (e.g., alternative assessment, nature of science). Several issues emerged as having low regard by the participants, including the role of student ethnicity on teaching strategies, providing instruction about reading strategies within science teacher preparation, and the value of professors having themselves taught science in urban settings.

Change in Preservice Teachersâ Beliefs: An Evaluation of a Mathematics Methods Course

Jesse L. M. Wilkins and Brenda R. Brand

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

This study investigated and evaluated the potential impact of an elementary  mathematics methods course in promoting teacher beliefs and attitudes that are consistent with the underlying philosophy of current reform efforts in mathematics education. Using the Mathematics Beliefs Instrument (MBI; Hart, 2002), data from 89 preservice teachers were used to evaluate the course. Findings from the study suggest a positive relationship between participating in the mathematics methods course and change in teacher beliefs and attitudes. This study also provided additional validation of the MBI.

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