The author is part of the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) induction program--a California state program that is meant to offer support to new teachers as they exit the credential program and begin a job in a district. More than 80% of new teachers across the United States participate in some kind of induction program. At least 30…

Campuses are often in flux. When school leaders seek immediate solutions for problems, the status quo gives way to the next big thing. The new program brings excitement and hope yet some anxiety as teachers scramble to learn and apply it successfully. In a few short months, however, when things are not working quite as they should, teacher resolve…

Experiential learning is making meaning from direct experience. Experiential learning is used in workplace training (Silberman, 2007), and is the theoretical foundation for all practicum and co-op program learning. Supported by findings on expert/novice learning styles (Boshuizen, Bromme, and Gruber, H., 2004), this essay reflects on the practice…

Intentional, systemic philosophical change on an educational program level and on an individual level is often a slow and cyclic process. In this article, we reflect on the journey of philosophical change and growth from a traditional philosophy to an inquiry-based, Reggio-inspired one that occurred on both levels in an early childhood teacher…

Through their own pedagogically oriented inquiry-based learning, teachers become better prepared to support an increasingly diverse student population in their learning.

The environmental and interdisciplinary nature of environmental education presents extraordinary challenges to individuals' abilities as a field to clearly conceptualize, theorize and communicate findings about what they have learned about practice, research and theory in environmental learning (Disinger, 2001). Unfortunately, these factors also…

Presents a rationale for the self-study of professional practice and illustrates how the inquiry process can help make sense of professorial practice in education. Excerpts are included from life history interviews, individual and collective reflective writing, and electronic mail exchanges to explore the role of questioning in developing…

Presents a position statement from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) that expresses a vision for the reform of science teaching and learning. Comments on inquiry-based instruction, reflective teaching, assessment practices, subject matter, equity in science programs, and the professional development of science teachers. (DDR)

This paper presents an argument for self-study of teacher education practices as a means-and-ends tool for promoting reflective teaching. The assertion is that self-study serves a dual purpose: as a means to promote reflective teaching and as a substantive end of teacher education. The argument consists of a five-part theoretical rationale for the…

In this article, the authors show how two first year teachers a continent apart--Kim in the village of Tununak on the Bering Sea in Alaska and Chris in Beaufort, South Carolina, on the Atlantic Ocean--were able to take inquiry stances on their classrooms. In particular, through analysis of e-mails written in Chris' and Kim's first years of…

This book provides insights into one of the nation's largest and most comprehensive school-restructuring movements, the Accelerated Schools Project. Since its inception in 1986, the focus of the movement has been on transforming schools with students at risk of dropping out into schools with high expectations of all students. This is accomplished,…

In this paper three different meanings ascribed to reflective teaching are examined. The first, Cruikshank's Reflective Teaching Model, sees reflective teaching as the ability to analyze one's own teaching practices. Schon's "Reflection in Action," on the other hand, argues that the professional practitioner is one who can think while acting and…

This article presents excerpts from an inquiry group involving preservice teachers during a one-year internship. The inquiry group supported the interns in pursuing questions that arose out of their own practice. The excerpts illustrate three central topics (classroom management, curriculum and planning, and assessment), noting the challenges that…

This book redefines teaching as a profession with pronounced service and moral dimensions, then shows how this new paradigm can be instilled in both teacher education programs and teaching practice. The book argues that teaching practice requires much more than knowledge and technical competence. It calls for reflection and inquiry, a dedication…