Research intensive universities have important roles in society and cannot be valued solely on the basis of their contribution to economic growth. Their activities are only part of the diverse spectrum of the higher education system which advanced societies need. League tables of universities discourage diversity, distort the goals of higher…

The struggle to equitably serve low-income students of color in U.S. schools is as significant as ever. The nation is also struggling to prepare enough teachers to serve these students. These challenges are exacerbated when these students are more likely to attend substandard schools. Combined, a tension exists between producing enough teachers…

In this critically reflective piece, I describe the design of a foundations of education course and my first year teaching experience. I discuss thematic statements of issues that emerged as I came to construct the meaning of my experience and evolving ideas about teaching for public service professions. These included that: (1) Questioning is not…

This article is about the moving toward a new instruction style--a transformative model of instruction. One university instructor attempts to change her teaching strategies, and she encounters her own belief as obstacles, self-labeled her pedagogical discrepancies. Through peer feedback, reflective journal writing, and readings she uncovers the…

The present article is first of all a contribution to theory in the broad field of adult education in lifelong perspective, that, starting from literature and theories in this field, develops a reflection based on empirical work, related in particular to the use of qualitative methodologies in the learning process for mature students enrolled in…

Similar to faculty development offerings at other North American post-secondary institutions, the University of Alberta has delivered orientations and short programs that primarily focus on teaching techniques. While this type of professional development is an important element of enhancing teaching, the literature stresses the need for learning…

To achieve sufficient pedagogical content knowledge on nature of chemistry related issues, teachers need structured opportunities for reflection and discussion. One way to provide those opportunities is through teacher-scientist interaction. This study is based on reflective essays of thirty prospective teachers who participated in a new course…

The issue of how to produce high quality teachers is an ongoing concern for teacher educators worldwide. Research studies consistently conclude that despite the best efforts of teacher educators to provide programs that equip new teachers well for their work in schools, many new teachers find it difficult to enact what they have learned in…

In an effort to promote a critical reflective stance in the beginning teacher, this study developed an instructional model for preservice teachers at the undergraduate level. Its sample consisted of students in two sections of a student teaching seminar course taken during their last semester of undergraduate course work. The work took place at a…

Research and practice going back to the 1960s support the use of videotaping to facilitate preservice teachers' development of reflective teaching skills. Emerging research suggests that additional video-based activities, including editing video vignettes of teaching, can deepen preservice teachers' reflection. This action research study describes…

The purpose of this research was to investigate instructional conditions aimed at improving future teachers' reflective thinking, to systematically trace how features of a guided instructional procedure influenced these teachers' pedagogical reasoning. The reflective thinking protocol that formed the basis of the instructional approach was built…

Drawing on Zeichner's levels of reflection (Liston and Zeichner 1996), this study uses a fine-grain analysis of portfolio entries to describe the reflective practice of a cohort of preservice secondary education teachers as they student teach, participate in a student teaching seminar, and prepare the Vermont Licensure Portfolio. The paper raises…

School-based curriculum development has been a highlight of China's new curriculum reform since 1999. This reform introduces a curriculum policy change towards devolving partial power in curriculum decision-making to teachers, and invites their active involvement in transforming their role from being book-knowledge transmitters to curriculum…

This paper explores narrative inquiry practices in pre-service teacher education program. Written dialogue by teacher candidates provided deep and long term reflection during a 5-year initial teacher education program. This 4-year longitudinal study with 30 teacher candidate participants considers participants' knowledge formation in becoming…

This empirical study, conducted in a Canadian university, argues that the objective knowledge growth framework (OKGF), a self-directed reflective approach, can contribute to the professional development of pre-service teachers in dealing with the complexities of teaching. The paper seeks to answer the following research question: How do…