Several groups have issued recommendations regarding undergraduate courses required of prospective teachers. Recommendations from the Mathematics Education of Teachers Project (Conference Board on Mathematical Sciences, 2000) address both the nature of required mathematics courses (e.g., that they develop deep understanding of the mathematics undergraduates will be expected to teach) and the extent of those mathematics courses (ranging from nine semester hours for elementary teachers to a major for high school mathematics teachers). The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA, 1998) has issued comparable recommendations regarding science coursework for prospective teachers of science. In addition, the NRC Committee on Science and Mathematics Teacher Preparation (NRC, 2000) specifically recommends that the higher education community “assume greater responsibility for offering college-level courses that provide teachers with strong exposure to appropriate content and that model the kinds of pedagogical approaches appropriate for teaching that content” (p. 111).

There are currently a number of mechanisms that enable individuals to enter teaching without participating in a conventional teacher preparation program, often associated with recruitment efforts intended to address teacher shortages. Alternative certification routes often involve some level of introduction to pedagogy, ranging from several “crash courses” during the summer before the candidate starts teaching to professional development extending over the first several years of a teaching career.