The winter 1978-79 issue of this journal (see TM 504 601-609) contained a series of articles exploring the thinking of elementary school teachers while teaching, planning, making decisions, perceiving pupils, and expecting student behavior. Findings of this series are summarized and implications for research are discussed. (GDC)

Three learning concepts important for adult learners are that learning is accelerated by making connections to prior information, people learn best when actively constructing knowledge, and instruments are important in supporting knowledge retrieval and construction. The paper explains how index cards can be useful instruments in learning. (SM)

Three local elementary school teachers in the Milne Bay province of Papua New Guinea are trying to determine their real culture and language in order t devise better ways to maintain them. Portrays the experience of these teachers' dilemmas and frustrations, as well as their joys throughout the process of innovation. (Author/VWL)

Shares how a teacher, librarian, and fourth and fifth grade students collaborated and wrote book reviews for new books in their school library so other students could read about the new acquisitions. (MG)

Discusses the need to improve the mathematics education of future elementary teachers by making changes in curriculum and attitudes. Discusses the reform documents: "A Call for Change" of the Mathematical Association of America and the "Curriculum and Evaluation Standards" of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.…

Teacher portfolios offer educators opportunities to display quality work examples that can be used for evaluative purposes. The article discusses how to develop, implement, and evaluate teacher portfolios. It notes the value of peer evaluation and the need for planning, peer collaboration, and reflection to succeed with portfolios. (SM)

A first-grade teacher reflects on a new student in her class one year. The student was from a disadvantaged home and had few appropriate social skills but was very eager to learn and responded to the teacher with great affection. The teacher explains how much the experience affected her. (SM)

Examines teaching style differences between college and elementary and secondary school educators and how this causes collaboration problems between liberal arts and the field of education in teacher preparation. It also discusses teaching stereotypes, how these differences create problems for the teacher and for teacher education, and presents a…

Presents profiles of two instructors of elementary art methods courses for preservice elementary teachers, offering two possible scenarios in which they might find themselves. One scenario presents contradictory realities and contexts, while the other scenario discusses celebration of the artistry within teaching. (SM)

Presents a teacher's reflections on the need to know about, and talk with parents and other teachers about, the benefits of using a child development-based, whole language, thematic approach to teaching in the primary grades. (BB)

To gain appreciation for each others' perspectives, a Mississippi language arts consultant and a third-grade teacher from Iowa traded jobs for a year. As a consultant, the teacher found that classroom teachers were more interested in whole-language instruction practicalities than in theory. As a teacher, the consultant learned that classroom…

Discusses the new, expanded role of elementary English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers, focusing on content-based language instruction in elementary ESL and examining the challenges of content-based language instruction for elementary ESL (e.g., scarcity of good materials, and limited class time). Two sidebars describe how to develop thematic…

Three highly acclaimed teachers from Virginia elementary schools reflect on how they have put research into practice to the benefit of their students, discussing their experiences in teaching reading and presenting information on how their school encourages the type of professional-development activities that provide for the careful examination of…

Maintains that assigning schools responsibility for solving societal problems results in mission clutter, the root cause of failure in public schools. Discusses how mission clutter occurred and its dangers, focusing on the loss of critical educational focus, impediment to teacher recruitment and retention, occupational stress, and unfair…

Explores gender questions about males teaching elementary school, by talking with male student-teachers. Finds that the current public discourse "masculinizes" elementary education. (PA)