An integrated mathematics and science methods course was designed to focus on the knowledge, skills, and beliefs of teacher candidates. Teacher candidates were involved in experiences that would prompt them to consider the influence of their experiences on their beliefs, the influence of their beliefs on their instructional decisions and the…

Teacher preparation requires exemplary teaching that illustrates the systematic reflection encouraged among preservice teachers. This article provides an investigation of an innovative model for integrating action research into a preservice teacher education program. Through a self-study, one teacher educator presents reflections on action…

This article describes findings from a classroom-based action research project conducted by two in-school teachers, a literacy coach and a 4th grade teacher, implementing a new integrated literacy and social studies curriculum and the changes they made in curricular practices and beliefs over a three-year period of time. A university professor…

In this essay, the author theorizes and illustrates how engaging students in reflective talk can help them change their minds. The essay specifically addresses how patterns for reflective talk can support both the sustained, nonevaluative exploration of difficult material and the self-scrutiny necessary for acknowledging the implication in…

Through a three-stage thematic model this research has examined the evolution of the Senior Practitioner, a term introduced by the UK Department for Education and Skills (DfES) Surestart Unit, which advocates the promotion and recognition of the importance of staff with advanced and specialist skills, knowledge and experience. This status is…

This self-study was designed to explore problem-based learning (PBL) as an instructional approach in the context of a pre-service science education methods course. Through the development and implementation of PBL curriculum, the author's goals were to improve her classroom practice and her understanding of that practice, to contribute to the…

When we learn, we learn through our own experiences. So when we teach, how do we incorporate our own invaluable life lessons into a state mandated curriculum? Dale Brubaker's "Revitalizing Curriculum Leadership" provides an innovative and liberating solution to this problem. In this updated resource, the author tells why educators need to move…

This paper draws on data collected in a one-year research project focusing on elucidating theory/practice relations in learning to teach. As a teacher educator I grapple with the nature and role of teaching methodology. The notion of method, with its implied order and certainty, is confronted alongside prospective teachers throughout their…

The paper reports a study of the knowledge preservice secondary school mathematics teachers [PSSMT] hold of problem solving and the role of a reflective-inquiry approach in creating self-awareness of, and in enhancing, this knowledge. The approach included solving problems, narratives, flow charts and observations. The finding shows that the…

This study assessed, and identified factors in participants' learning ecologies that mediated, the effectiveness of an explicit reflective instructional approach that satisfied conditions for learning as conceptual change on preservice elementary teachers' views of nature of science (NOS). Participants were 28 undergraduate students enrolled in an…

This volume in the Language Teacher Research Series (Thomas S. C. Farrell, series editor) presents research conducted by language teachers at all levels, from high school English teachers to English language teacher educators, reflecting on their practices. The countries represented in this book are Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador,…

Urban public schools and their teachers are under siege. From increased standardization, privatization and testing to a growing number of students whose needs are not being met by schools, urban public school teachers face a daunting task. Without a space in which to critically examine their daily experiences within schools, many well-intentioned…

Teachers everywhere are being held accountable for their professional actions through the test-driven curricula sweeping the nation. The National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE, 2002) makes it clear that promotion of reflective practice is an important component of teacher education programs. This multiple case study…

In this case study, I attempted to understand the nature of a teacher's curriculum planning as she learned about the essence of her teaching context and developed learning opportunities for students based on her perceptions of the students' needs. The teacher demonstrated what I am calling "responsive planning"--the development of lessons based on…

Teacher educators need to remain current regarding the challenges that prospective teachers are going to face in their classrooms. One way to maintain this currency is for teacher educators periodically to spend some time in the K-12 classroom testing the theories they teach. This paper will discuss the benefits both teacher educators and…