Teacher education 

Use a reference book to gain an overview of the subject matter

For example read an article on the "Super-Peer Theory" in the Encyclopedia of Children, Adolescent and the Media (LMX REF 302.23083 .E53 2007)

Use a reference book to understand a term you are unfamiliar with

For example to understand the idea of ethnicity in a multicultural context look in the Dictionary of multicultural education (MRT REF LC 1099 .D53 1997)

Use a reference book to gather keywords for a search in a database or the library catalog

Find as many synonyms as you can for the subjects you wish to find resources on by skimming various articles

Use a reference book to find books and articles

Look for "further resources" or "works cited" at the end of encyclopedia articles and for bibliographies at the end of reference books.  These are some of the best resources in the subject area. 

Arnett, J. J. (2007). Encyclopedia of children, adolescents, and the media (th.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
LMX REF 302.23083 .E53 2007

Grant, Carl A. and Ladson-Billing, Gloria (1997). Dictionary of multicultural education. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press.
MRT  REF  LC 1099 .D53 1997

Guthrie, J. W. (2003). Encyclopedia of education (2nd.). New York: Macmillan Reference USA.
Electronic Access

Howard, C. (2005). Encyclopedia of distance learning (th.). Hershey, PA: Idea Group Reference.
Electronic Access

Lee, S. W. (2005). Encyclopedia of school psychology (th.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
LMX REF 370.15 .E523 2005

Reynolds, C. R. and Fletcher-Janzen, E. (2000). Encyclopedia of special education : a reference for the education of the handicapped and other exceptional children and adults (2nd.). New York: J. Wiley & Sons.
LMX REF 371.903 .E53 2000

Winch, C. and Gingell, J. (1999). Key concepts in the philosophy of education (th.). London; New York: Routledge.
Electronic Access

Barber, K.,. (2001). The Canadian Oxford high school dictionary (th.). Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford University Press.
LMX REF 423 .C3834 2001

Oxford English dictionary (2003). (th.). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Electronic Access

Pilard, G. (2000). Harrap's shorter dictionary : English-French / French-English = Harrap's shorter dictionnaire : anglais-français / français-anglais (6th.). Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap.
LMX REF 443.21 .H28 2000