Folk belief theory is suggested as a primary cause for the persistence of the achievement gap. In this research-supported theory, culturally specified folk beliefs about learning and teaching prompt educators to direct more rigorous curriculum to high-advantage students but not to low-advantage students, resulting in impoverished pedagogy in…

The purpose of this study was to investigate how high school mathematics teachers' descriptions of academic optimism, responsive teaching, technological pedagogical content knowledge, formative assessment, reflective practice, supervisor instructional leadership, and receptivity to change are related to student mastery on a NYS Regents exam in…

This article discusses the challenges faced when integrating new technologies into the classroom. Viewing the experiences of teaching a first year learning community through the lens of the principles of the Reflective Teaching Portfolio, the author looks to answer the question: "How should Technology relate to our Teaching Philosophy?"…

It is important for teacher educators to understand new alternative certification middle and high school teachers' mathematical problem solving abilities and perceptions. Teachers in an alternative certification program in New York were enrolled in a proof-based algebra course. At the beginning and end of a semester participants were given a…

Trying to develop new perspectives of teaching is never easy, but trying to cultivate ownership and initiative among teacher education students is a still greater aspiration that is infrequently realized. This article addresses each of these highly valued goals for teacher educators as a case study reveals the impact of involving teacher…

This study examines the experiences of ten first-year English teachers in various school contexts in two Northeastern states. Through a phenomenological approach to in-depth interviewing, teachers were interviewed at the end of their first year of teaching. Commonalities in teachers' experiences include former teachers' influences on their teacher…

New York's Maine-Endwell Central School District has faced a decreasing budget, even as its needs have increased. As opportunities for paid summer or after-hours professional development work evaporated, the district needed to support teachers' professional learning within the workday. Giving teachers time within regular work hours, however, led…

In this essay, the authors argue that only by sharing their mistakes and uncertainty can they fully reflect on their own process as teachers, only by understanding their process can they begin to identify the many factors that contribute to classroom messes in the first place, and only by acknowledging the perpetual messiness of their practice can…

Using a Vygotskian sociocultural view of learning, this article explores what teacher-authored narratives can tell us about the internal activity of teacher learning, how teacher learning works to alter the nature of activity in the classroom, and how that, in turn, influences how teachers describe the nature of student learning. By examining how…

Despite the long history of the study of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), two facts remain obvious. First, there are almost as many conceptions regarding the definition of PCK as there are researchers interested in it. Second, it is largely unclear which methods enable teacher educators to best prepare teacher candidates to use PCK. Recently,…

This article examines the impact of racial consciousness on the practice of a group of five exemplary teachers, participants in a long-term professional development program in diversity education. The article draws from transcripts of group discussions in which teachers reflect on the development of their consciousness of race, racism, and…

For new educators, the obstacles of high-stakes testing, curricular mandates, and their own inexperience and self-doubt can render teaching for justice and equity overwhelming, seemingly impossible ideals. However, as students are increasingly tied to prescriptive curricula and academic performance standards, the goals of social justice and…

This descriptive narrative presents a university/school partnership that led to an inquiry-based approach to language arts instruction, resulting in increased opportunities for reflective teaching and learning, students' environmental awareness projects, the integration of science, and the individualization of instruction at the middle school…

The focus of this article is on the learning and teaching processes of six teacher candidates, made possible by the study of a work of art in their internship placement. The interns observed and worked closely with two Lincoln Center Institute (LCI) music Teaching Artists (TAs) and six classroom teachers to provide students in kindergarten through…

Notes that within the past five years, the national standards movement has prompted many states to turn to the use of test scores to hold students and teachers accountable to higher standards in academic achievement. Discusses the unintended consequences: pervasive emotional pressure, reductionist views of literacy, conflicted views of teaching…