February 8 | International Portal of Teacher Education

Feb. 08, 2011

Dear subscriber,

MOFET ITEC Portal Newsletter

Dear Subscriber,

We are delighted to be sending you the new issue of The MOFET ITEC Portal newsletter with the latest articles published in academic journals focusing on teacher education, pedagogy and instruction.

This month, the portal crossed a meaningful milestone - over 2000 information items, making it one of the significant online databases in the field.

We would like to draw your attention to a new "Tweet" button, located under each item. This button allows a quick and easy way for users to share an item with their followers on the social network and microblogging platform Twitter.

Wishing you interesting and enjoyable reading,

The MOFET ITEC Portal Team

February 8, 2011

International Portal of Teacher Education

Please note: a complete list of recent additions to the portal follows the Featured Items.

February 2011

Featured Items

Seeking Knowledge for Teaching Teaching: Moving beyond Stories

Many self-studies are derived from the issues, problems and concerns that emerge out of a teacher educator's practice. The author claims that a good story can carry important messages and information about teaching, so that other teachers might be able to implement a similar approach in their own classrooms. However the author would suggest that in terms of development of knowledge, thestories alone are not enough. The author concludes that the stories of these teacher educators' work are helpful, but the learning derived from their researching of their practice that leads to the production of new knowledge of teacher education practices.

Back to the Classroom: Lessons Learnt by a Teacher Educator

In this article, the author returned to classroom teaching to better understand the challenges faced by student teachers in implementing Communicative Language Teaching for teaching English at secondary school level. Through self-study the author formed a more developed understanding of the learners' role in learning; their prior learning and past classroom experiences are brought heavily to bear on new learning experiences. Finally, implications for practice and policy are suggested .

A Design-Based Self-Study of the Development of Student Reflection in Teacher Education

The current article reports a self-study where a practitioner and colleagues scrutinize an intervention in teacher education. This research is located as self-study employing design-based methods. The intervention consisted of modifications to an existing secondary teacher education program. The findings revealed that there appear to be two anchors, contextual anchors and conceptual anchors, that operating to inform and enrich reflection among these student teachers.

Listening to Students, Listening to Myself: Addressing Pre-service Teachers' Fears of Mathematics and Teaching Mathematics

The author's goal was to help her pre-service students improve their attitudes toward mathematics and teaching mathematics to elementary students. The author decided to employ self-study methodology to research her own teaching and learning as well as her students' teaching and learning in a new methods course. Findings include the importance of listening closely to students' feelings about learning and teaching math, responding with opportunities to re-learn primary math concepts in a collaborative and hands-on environment, and providing opportunities for pre-service teachers to experience success with math teaching in primary school settings.

Preparing Special Education Teacher Candidates: Extending Case Method to Practice

In this article, the authors explore two examples of case method instruction that extend beyond university classrooms to field sites: case report and case study. Both examples were used in special education teacher preparation graduate courses. The authors conclude that they found the case-based methods described here to be invaluable in bridging the gap from the university classroom to the school-based classroom.

Undressing as Normal: The Impact of Coming Out in Class

This auto-ethnographic narrative presents the experiences of a teacher educator who came out to his preservice teachers. The author claims that preservice teachers need to understand the beliefs and practices of families and cultures that are unlike their own. The author concludes that when queer teacher educators embrace what makes them who they are; it is only then that they can, in equal measure, inspire their preservice teachers.

February 2011

All Recent Items

Multiculturalism & Diversity