Between 2001 and 2007 I conducted a self-study action research enquiry into my practice as a primary school teacher. The research had a collaborative aspect to it, in so far as my pupils and colleagues were invited to participate in the research, although I was the focus of the enquiry. I was unhappy about my teaching: I felt I dominated the…

Though researcher dilemmas are not new to the pages of "Qualitative Inquiry," we argue that the current contemporary context has both altered and intensified issues associated with conducting qualitative research within sites most affected by more recent social, political, and economic shift. Navigating such sites as researchers poses…

This article problematises representations of professional practice. It investigates assumptions behind received accounts of professional practice, including professional standards that purportedly capture what accomplished English teachers "should know and be able to do", "scientific" studies that construct accounts of classrooms from the…

Prabhu's writing about ways in which second-language students, teachers, and specialists influence events that take place during classroom lessons is critiqued. It is suggested that greater recognition of second-language theorists and pedagogical specialists is in order. Prabhu acknowledges the suggestions. (42 references) (LB)

While reading teachers have routinely introduced pre-reading activation strategies for decades, literature teachers are trained to become expert on what happens after reading, to be adept at follow-up, to be agile with close analysis of an already finished reading experience. As a result of a presentation by a reading specialist, a veteran…

Describes how a teacher and a teacher educator collaborated to extend their thinking regarding effective learning environments and to challenge their own uncertainties through dialog. Discusses four aspects of effective learning environments: creating authentic, meaningful, and personalized curriculum; making visible differences in language and…

A university professor and education researcher who also teaches fifth graders, Magdalene Lampert has compiled a library of videotapes that bring images of thoughtful practice into the teacher education classroom. According to Lampert, too much classroom talk could be classified as either lecture or recitation. The challenge is to eschew the…

The components of Cattell's motivational model are discussed. The Motivation and School Motivation Analysis Tests are described. While Cattell's model gives a valid structure of dynamic influences and methods of quantifying certain aspects of these influences, more refinement is needed before it can be applied effectively by classroom teachers.…

Describes some of the activities teacher researchers are doing in their classrooms, focusing on ways they use language, literature, and literacy activities to examine their students' development as well as their own growth. Also outlines ways teachers organize and analyze their observations in an effort to make them somewhat systematic. (HOD)

Currently, the relationship between second language acquisition (SLA) and foreign language learning (FLL) is unidirectional, with theory and hypotheses flowing from SLA to FLL, and making FLL a subset of SLA. However, this relationship is an artificial one resting on debatable or even incorrect assumptions. These include the assumptions that: (1)…

Presents the problem of teachers who are unwilling to examine critically their teaching practices, evaluate their efficacy, and make changes where necessary in the face of criticism, and suggests that part of the problem lies in the way teacher educators model teaching styles. (JC)

Suggests that learning comes about by recognizing anomalies, experiencing doubt, and making subsequent changes, and uses a study undertaken in a classroom for learning disabled students to illustrate. (JC)