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Vol. 2, No. 1, June 2013   
 
 
 
Editors’ Welcome 

James Marshall, Patrick Newell, Paul Beare 
California State University, Fresno 
 
This issue of Educational Renaissance contains an eclectic collection of four articles illustrating 
the tremendously diverse nature of the teacher preparation enterprise.   Included in this issue is 
everything from curriculum redesign in an early childhood and elementary teacher preparation 
program, to the use of technology by math and science teacher candidates during student 
teaching, to a case study of a new urban education program.   
 
The issue begins with a commentary on current political trends in teacher preparation and the 
implications of these trends for the future of The Renaissance Group authored by the 
organizations Executive Director, Dr. Michael Giovannetti. 
 
The first article is a descriptive description of the journey taken by a group of researchers at 
Winthrop University as they endeavored to redesign their early childhood and elementary teacher 
education programs.  The details of this journey offer a roadmap for the program revision 
process leading toward substantial improvement in teacher education.   
 
In the next article, researchers from Western Kentucky share their study on how effectively 
student teachers use technology to complement their teaching in mathematics and science.  Using 
the Teacher Work Sample as a capstone project, teacher candidates reveal how they use  
technology to enhance their teaching goals. 
 
The final article highlights a case study of early findings from a new Urban Education teacher 
preparation program.  The author, from Kennesaw State University, describes four themes that 
emerged from the qualitative study:  commitment, challenge, perceived benefits, and self-
efficacy, and how these themes evolved into overconfidence within the teacher candidates. 
 
We are confident that you will find this issue to be both stimulating and provocative. 
  



  

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