Characterizing STEM Teacher Education: Affordances and Constraints of Explicit STEM Preparation for Elementary Teachers

2016 ◽  
Vol 116 (6) ◽  
pp. 300-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol R. Rinke ◽  
Wendy Gladstone-Brown ◽  
C. Ryan Kinlaw ◽  
Jean Cappiello
Author(s):  
Marina Milner-Bolotin

The chapter describes the implementation of collaborative educational technologies in STEM teacher education to support teacher-candidates in acquiring inquiry-based teaching skills and positive attitudes about inquiry learning. The focus is on five different collaborative technology-enhanced pedagogies: (1) Peer Instruction, (2) collaborative design of conceptual questions with PeerWise, (3) data-driven STEM inquiry via using live data collection and analysis, (4) computer modeling-enhanced inquiry, and (5) collaborative reflection on peer teaching. Teacher-candidates experienced these pedagogical approaches first as learners, then reflected on them as future teachers, and lastly incorporated some of them during the practicum. As a result, teacher-candidates gained experience in promoting technology-enhanced inquiry in STEM education and began developing positive attitudes towards technology-enhanced inquiry-based STEM education.


Author(s):  
Debra R. Sprague ◽  
Maria Katradis

This mixed-method study explored a cohort of 18 preservice elementary teachers' perceptions of technology and their abilities to integrate technology in their teaching. Data sources included blog postings, a confidence survey, lessons plans and observations. Results showed a disconnect between the blog postings and confidence survey (their perceptions) and their lessons plans and observations (their abilities). Five case studies were examined, using the TPACK framework, to determine where the disconnect was occurring. Although Technical Knowledge seemed to be an issue for some, the majority of the preservice teachers struggled with Pedagogical Knowledge. Suggestions for how to address this issue are included. Implications for teacher education are discussed.


1981 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 317-318
Author(s):  
Jack V. Powell ◽  
Judith C. Reiff

Perceptions of 72 elementary teachers supervising in a competency-based teacher-education program were compared with the perceptions of 54 elementary teachers supervising in a field-based program. Significant differences were found between the two groups on cooperative program planning and interns' influence on classroom teachers' instructional behavior.


1951 ◽  
Vol 44 (8) ◽  
pp. 551-556
Author(s):  
W. I. Layton

This paper will attempt to show the mathematical training prescribed by eighty-five institutions of higher learning which prepare elementary teachers. These institutions are all accredited by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. Geographically speaking, they are located in forty-five states and include state colleges, state teachers colleges, state universities, and privately endowed institutions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan D. Martin ◽  
Sherry Dismuke

How to prepare teachers to be effective in our nations’ classrooms seems to get increasingly complex, yet the links between teacher education and teachers’ eventual practices are little understood. Using complexity theory as a theoretical framework, this mixed-methods study investigated writing teacher practices of 23 elementary teachers. Twelve teachers had participated in a comprehensive course focused on writing, either at inservice or preservice levels. The other teachers had not taken any course focused on writing and had little to no writing professional development. Despite the small number of participants in our study, quantitative analysis demonstrated significant differences on multiple, effective practice indicators. These findings were borne out in qualitative analyses as well. Clear connections of teachers’ practices and understandings and the course were noted. These findings contribute to understandings of the ways in which teacher education coursework makes a difference in optimizing candidate learning and reducing the variability across teacher practices and subsequent student learning opportunities. Findings suggest implications for policy makers, teacher education programs, as well as for teacher educators and researchers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 144-153
Author(s):  
Michael B Cahapay

There is a noticeable under-representation of the male gender particularly in the field of elementary teacher education. The main aim of this paper is to understand the lived experience of male college students aspiring to become professional elementary teachers. As phenomenological research, it involved six purposively selected male students enrolled in a predominantly female elementary teacher education program in a Philippine university. The data were gathered through online interviews and analyzed based on a phenomenological analysis framework. The following themes emerged: 1.) We hear discouraging stereotypes about teaching; 2.) We are passionate about educating the young ones; 3.) We feel that awkward moment in a room of females; and 4.) We have an inclusive learning environment. These themes are based on the individual textural and structural descriptions and form the basis for the composite textural and structural descriptions of the phenomenon of interest. This paper confirms the experiences encountered by males in the formal teaching career stage as relative to experiences received by males in the early stage of the teacher preparation. It also identifies factors that encourage males to enter elementary teacher education as a field of study, providing practical insights for designing a more inclusive program.


2008 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 1080-1110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristie Jones Newton

The study of preservice elementary teachers’ knowledge of fractions is important because fractions are notoriously difficult to learn and teach. Unfortunately, studies of preservice teachers’ fraction knowledge are limited and have focused primarily on division. The present study included all four operations to provide a more comprehensive understanding of this knowledge. Because knowledge is complex, it was examined in five ways: computational skill, basic concepts, word problems, flexibility, and transfer. To further capture the complexity of knowledge, solution methods were examined for patterns that might reveal understandings and misconceptions. Data were gathered before and after a course designed to deepen preservice teachers’ knowledge. Quantitative and qualitative shifts occurred during the semester, but flexibility and transfer were low. Implications for teacher education are discussed.


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