Search results for: Teacher education programs

This article examines the gap between the theory and practice of teaching by reporting a study that researched the inconsistencies between student teachers' best teaching strategies and their most commonly employed ones. Specifically, the authors investigated: (1) the considerations that contribute to the inconsistencies in the student teachers' conceptions of teaching; and (2) the enhancing factors of the teacher education programme which help to close the gap between the theory and practice of teaching. The findings revealed three main dimensions of consideration attributing to the inconsistencies in the conceptions of teaching: pre-training experience, teaching context and student needs.

The goal of this research was to explore occupational understandings by preparation program. The author conducted interviews with 49 beginning teachers in one labor market, 26 alternatively certified and 23 traditionally certified. The author found that the initial socialization process was weak for both groups, and neither expressed a strong professional or technical identity. All teachers expressed a strong classroom focus and supported the idea of learning through experience. However, there were some key differences in the role of peer groups and pedagogical theory.

This article describes the process for change undertaken by one early childhood teacher preparation program. While the changes were spurred in part by increasing emphases on standards and assessment systems, faculty noted concerns with how this framed the program and with how students negotiated learning in this system.

The article describes Kuhn’s (1970) claim that textbooks are good 'pedagogical vehicles' for the perpetuation of ‘normal science’. However, Collins (2000) has found out a fundamental contradiction with respect to what science could achieve (create new knowledge) and how we teach science (authoritarian). The author claims that despite the reform efforts, students still have naïve views about the nature of science. The author suggests that the teacher by 'unfolding' the different episodes can emphasize and illustrate how science actually works, and this will show to the students that they need to go beyond ‘normal science’ as presented in their textbooks.