Teachers' narratives, when viewed as a form of critical inquiry, can allow teachers to tell and retell stories from their evolving points of view and contextual positions, with the goal of better understanding the complexity and depth of the experiences that have informed their teaching. This narrative, which weaves the voices of the author and…

This easy-to-use, introductory guide to teaching in contemporary middle and high schools provides teachers with the tools to become reflective practitioners. It shows pre- and inservice teachers how to use standards to choose instructional materials and methods that are appropriate with particular students, at a particular time, in a particular…

This postmodern ethnographic study of teacher conceptualization of teaching expanded the findings of other research regarding the disconnect between teacher preparation programs and classroom teaching by exploring how personal and professional knowledge and identities are synthesized for 10 in-service teachers. Teachers in the study filtered…

It is aimed in this study to determine to what extent the geography teachers at high schools reflect their personality on their teaching experiences. It has been observed by researchers that teachers with different personalities affect their students in different ways. The personal characteristics of a teacher play a significant role in…

This book presents the narrative of one educator's first year as a high school teacher. The teacher was a former lawyer who returned to college to get his teaching certification. The book uses the teacher's reflections from the journal that he kept throughout the school year. It is divided into weeks. It begins with a chapter about the day before…

Two teachers discuss their experiences implementing Foxfire practices in an alternative high school. One teacher was apprehensive about changing from the "traditional" approach to "student-initiated learning." The other teacher also experienced moments of doubt, but both teachers realized the benefits of the Foxfire approach…

In this book, a professional historian provides a personal narrative of how he thinks about teaching history. While the historian's experience seems, at first glance, to be removed from that of secondary teachers, it is to such teachers that his account is directed. The historian stresses that the essential questions about teaching history are the…

A high school teacher describes student experiences of meeting resistance when attempting to learn more about community issues or problems. These negative encounters, although causing some anxiety and distress, taught beneficial lessons that enabled students to grow and learn. (LP)

While politicians and the media have devoted a great deal of attention to the "problem" of school violence, classrooms teachers remain an underutilized source of information and inspiration about the frequency of school violence, its causes, its consequences, and appropriate interventions. In essence, teachers have been given little, if any,…

A high school teacher and four students restructured the curriculum for a shop math class based on Foxfire practices. The students, former underachievers, gained support and raised monies for building a gyroplane by writing grants, meeting with school administrators, and taking part in community speaking engagements. (LP)

Profiles a successful music course that provided instruction on the electric guitar, drums, and bass guitar, and helped expand the instrumental music program at Evergreen High School in Golden, Colorado. Highlights students' motivation and self-teaching, and the rock band competition that the course spawned. Includes an annotated list of…

Explains a class project in which high school seniors designed a "Trivial Pursuit" game focused on the Civil War. Students developed questions in chronological categories then divided into teams to play the game. Stresses student involvement and active learning while creating and playing the game. Includes sample game card and references…

The East Longmeadow/University of Massachusetts Professional Development School collaborative began in 1985 as a collaborative effort to transform East Longmeadow High School into the equivalent of a teaching hospital for preservice teachers. Eventually Birchland Park Middle School (Massachusetts) joined the project. The objective has been to…

These are challenging times for teachers. Mixed messages, conflicting demands, and increasing needs on all fronts surround them. Each day, teachers face increasing requirements and significant pressures on their daily practice from administrators and policymakers. It is hard to be, or remain, a teacher of quality committed to one's ideals. In this…

This paper examines a preservice teacher initiative whose overarching goal is to begin to reverse the cycle of educational failure for students labeled "at-risk." Although research in teacher preparation has explored the ways in which preservice teachers learn to teach, few studies have focused on how teaching in an alternative high school…