One of the best ways to learn how to be a better teacher is by watching, listening to, and experimenting with the practices of great teachers, including those in your own school. "The PD Curator" is about how professional learning experiences can become more inclusive, participatory, cohesive, and effective--and about the role teachers…

Early educators are the best spokespeople about the conditions under which they work and what they need in order to thrive. Policy leaders have much to gain by actively engaging educators in identifying workable solutions to the child care crisis. The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE) believes that educators have the right to…

The Center for Community College Student Engagement encourages colleges to hold focus groups with part-time and full-time faculty to learn about differences in the faculty and their experience at their college and to complement survey data. Survey responses tell the "what" about faculty's experiences; through conducting focus groups,…

The focus of this article is the more immediate way to help new science teachers, which comes from the experienced and professionally active teacher--you! As science teacher educators who work with and study the development of beginning teachers, the authors found the support offered knowingly and unknowingly by the teacher next door was a…

Suggests that teachers at any career stage can use hobbies to regenerate the soul, ward off stress, and allow one to return to work refreshed. Notes that teachers can use their own hobbies to enhance student learning and encourage students to develop interests in useful and fulfilling avocations. (RS)

An increasing number of administrators are being asked to return to the classroom to better understand the demands of classroom teachers and to enhance their own credibility. This article offers suggestions for making the transition more easily. (Author/WD)

This acclaimed framework for successful teaching practice--a benchmark for thousands of school systems and educators around the world--is now fortified with new applications for state standards, formative assessments, and school specialists. Use the book's 22 components of successful teaching practice to support novice teachers who are concerned…

Argues that theater instructors must also be artistic directors. Relates one instructor's experiences in taking over the acting and directing program at the Los Angeles High School of the Performing Arts and how his changing attitudes were reflected in his restructuring of the program. (PA)

Seeks opinions from two young professors whom the author and the department's personnel and budget committee had the good fortune to hire in the class of 1996. Considers four questions that someone might ask while considering a teaching career at a two-year college. Addresses and discusses each question. (SG)

The college writing center can be most helpful in preparing prospective English teachers for the classroom. Students could be required to spend some time each week tutoring in the writing center. Although the methods course focuses on the theory of teaching writing, the work in the center can put that theory into practice. Before actually…

Focuses on what has the potential to get lost - for both faculty members and students - in working in an environment that does not see undergraduate education as its first priority. Explores in more depth the challenges and pleasures of working in a college whose primary focus is the teaching of undergraduates. Describes four classroom examples of…

Describes a teacher's experiences in working with student teachers. Notes that the experiences have been continually rewarding but not always easy. States that the teacher feels renewed, revitalized, and reassured after working with student teachers. (RS)

Recounts, through the author's journal entries, four days of a junior high school writing teacher's experience. (MM)

A proposal is made for creating a one-month study unit for the study of Haiti by eighth grade, social studies students. Background information on Haiti's geography, population, economy, culture, and history is provided. Ideas for three lesson plans on Haiti include the iron market in Haiti, Haitian history, and the role of voodoo in Haitian…

Asserts that tutoring in a college writing center is an effective way to train future composition teachers. Notes that this experience directly involves process teaching, provides a variety of pedagogical roles, and gives insight into the nature of writing assignments and teacher response. (MM)