As educators endeavor to engage an increasingly diverse student population, the curricular inclusion of elements of popular culture has been found to represent a particularly meaningful and successful approach. Research has consistently documented how utilizing issues of interest to students enhances affective links to the classroom and engenders…

Notes that collaborative action research helped Australian adult education teachers refine their classroom skills and reflect critically on their current practice. Discusses research designed to develop teachers' skills in meeting the English language learning needs of disparate groups of learners and to assist these teachers in redirecting their…

Looks at "pedagogical knowing" as one facet of a larger conceptual framework that grounds a teacher's self-knowledge as a person and as a teacher. With the help of two middle school English teachers, the paper argues for a view of subject matter knowledge that is dynamic, relational, practice-oriented, and useful. (SM)

Interviewed postgraduate early years student teachers in England. Found that, despite initial doubts about the value of spending time in nurseries, the student teachers focused on similar teaching issues in nurseries and primary classrooms. In nurseries, students learned the importance of flexibility and responsiveness to children, of noncoercive…

Types of faculty development efforts are examined, including three categories: individual initiatives (reflection, teaching scripts, self-directed learning); formal programs (mentors, teaching rounds, workshops, advanced education, sabbaticals); and organizational change efforts. Programs at the Southern College of Optometry are highlighted. (MSE)

Examines key influences on science teaching and teacher education since 1955. Suggests a new paradigm for elementary science teacher education. Presents case for three theoretical constructs that can inform policy and programs in science teacher education: constructivism, reflection, and professional community. Suggests that because of the…

Presents the story of one beginning teacher educator's struggles with grading. She used participant observation and action research to better understand grades and improve her grading practices. The paper examines political, cultural, and ethical contexts of her grading decisions; describes manifestations of grade orientation; and discusses…

Examined the reflections of a non-native English speaker who taught English as a foreign language in Korea, discussing her preferred modes of reflection during group meetings, individual meetings, and journal writing and describing her level of reflection in each activity (descriptive or critical). Overall, she clearly preferred group discussion…

The professor's primary responsibility to students is directly related to the professor's understanding of his ethical self. The first step toward establishing ethical identity within the ethos of higher education is self-reflection. The quality of faculty decision making can be improved by increased self-awareness and sensitivity to student…

The study investigated the use of case-based pedagogy to develop critical reflection in prospective teachers. Analysis of students written analyses of dilemma-based cases found patterns showing evidence of students open-mindedness, sense of professional responsibility, and wholeheartedness in approach to teaching. (DB)

A study involving eight female Canadian elementary teachers and counselors used metaphors to help teachers reflect on their experiences of student anger. This strategy enabled emotional detachment from students' anger, was more accessible than other strategies at highly emotional times, had moderating effects on inappropriate student behavior, and…

Evaluated the effectiveness of instructional information management system (IIMS) technologies within teacher education practicums in facilitating technology-supported supervision, exploring how teacher-generated data, stored within IIMSs might be contemplated by student teachers and supervisors in promoting reflective practice. Results indicated…

This case study illustrates how a highly trained and experienced early childhood educator thinks about her interactions with preschoolers. Verbal and nonverbal patterns emerging from videotaped observations demonstrated how the teacher integrated information about specific children into these interactions. Although children's conceptions of time…

Examined preservice teachers' perspectives on learning to plan within a Vygotskian-designed, reflective program. Participants made curriculum decisions and revisions and reflected on technical and conceptual aspects of teaching discussed in methods courses. Case studies of participants' self-reports indicated concerns for individualized learning…

Discusses how language teacher education has shifted to constructivist, process-oriented theories of learning; the idea that teacher education programs have failed to prepare teachers for the classroom; the importance of teachers' prior experiences; and the concern that teaching be viewed as a profession where teachers have an active role in…