Reflection is a commonly accepted practice and considered advantageous in teacher education programs. Teachers are encouraged to think critically about their beliefs and teaching styles with the intended goal of fostering greater professional and personal development. Nonetheless, researchers have noted the challenges inherent in encouraging…

Principles of the Reggio Emilia approach are a catalyst for thinking about practices in early childhood education. Teachers in the child care system of Reggio Emilia encourage us to think about our image of childhood and the ways we interact with children, plan curriculum, and design environments. This article examines experiences in a rural…

In this article, the author examines the effectiveness of reflective teaching in Kindergarten which promotes children's learning. Reflective teaching encourages kindergartners to extend their thinking by asking questions and by modeling their own use of reflection. Further, he emphasizes that it is possible for teachers to nurture reflective…

The act of reflection provides an opportunity for amplifying the meaning of one's work through others' insights; applying meaning to new situations; committing to experimentation or innovation; and documenting learning and sharing knowledge. Students and teachers need time for metacognitive reflections, collaborative dialogues, and portfolio and…

Traces a systematic, respectful process for using narrative materials in teachers' professional development. One high school teacher wrote a series of stories about school experiences, using them to facilitate discussion, thinking, and writing about her ongoing practice. Outlines the methods of narrative inquiry used to safeguard the teachers'…

The Early Childhood profession would benefit from a systematic inquiry into "calendar math." The authors offer an organized framework for this work. After a description of calendar math practices, the authors examine problematic aspects of its implementation, based on developmental theory. The essay concludes with a call for more reflective…

To benefit from reflective and reflexive actions there is a need to contrast these two terms to understand what each is and is not. Both terms can indicate a level and concern for self-development. For instance, to be reflexive is to self-examine, to consider internal conversation, and use this voice to guide, support, and enhance work.…

This article articulates a framework for examining the quality of formative assessment practice and provides empirical evidence in support of one of its components. Based on a study of middle school science, the study examines the accuracy of teachers' judgments of students' understanding and the relationship of such accuracy to middle school …

The authors' purpose was to examine teacher candidates' perspectives of successful teaching through personalized video vignettes. Furthermore, the authors were interested in how participants' written reflections might change as a result of creating these vignettes. This research used mixed-methods within the context of an exploratory multi-case…

This case study explores the reality shock experienced by a White novice teacher, committed to socially just teaching, in her first year in an urban context. The apparently successful novice held three beliefs about her practice and herself: that socially just teaching was a holistic practice; that it could and should be done "right"; and that,…

Background: Examined or unexamined, all teacher candidates (TCs) bring to their teacher education programs their prior school experience as well as the socio-cultural history of education. This study was one of a series done by this researcher (1994, 2004, 2005, 2006) to find ways to promote reflective practice in teacher education. Purpose: The…

This article involved a series of investigations influenced by the Reggio Emilia approach to early education as well as ideas of Paulo Freire. Within a Reggio-influenced classroom, teacher professional development is seen as essential, whereas for Paulo Freire, both teacher and the student are learners. These 2 ideas were brought together in a…

In our increasingly interconnected global society, learning to think about ourselves in a border context, making crossings and connections, reflecting on our position and power, and articulating a vision of social justice are necessary civic skills. Developing educational border crossers who have moved beyond stereotyping and the tourist's gaze to…

Service-learning continues to be utilized in teacher education programs. A salient feature of this form of pedagogy is the use of reflection. Many instructors and students struggle with the reflection process. Particularly, instructors are challenged to assess students' reflection entries. This article describes a guided reflection rubric that was…

This investigation examined how documenting preservice teachers' work during engaging, authentic classroom experiences influenced their understanding of developmentally appropriate practices (DAP). A pragmatic action research design was used to systematically plan, document, and reflect on learning experiences to evaluate the impact of such…