Effective teachers consider interrelationships among aspects of teaching including learners, subject matter knowledge, assessment, and instruction. The 70 journal entries of 25 preservice elementary teachers are analyzed to characterize the teachers' written reflection. One focus of the analysis is on how the preservice teachers integrate ideas…

This paper takes up two important issues in the professional development of university teachers: the controversy surrounding reflective inquiry and its purported benefits for professional development and the lack of research on what teachers learn from reflective inquiry and how that affects and/or changes their professional practice.…

This article re-examines the initial training of physical education teachers with the purpose of pinning down its professional significance. The author maintains that we have lost, in part, its meaning, and, in an attempt to recover it, offers two initial strategies: to revisit two basic concepts--education in general and physical education in…

Writing is a powerful social tool that offers students opportunities to chisel their identities as they position themselves and others on issues and beliefs (Dyson, 1992). This article presents the story of how Mark, a fifth-grade student who resisted writing in certain classroom contexts, used positional writing practices to shape his identities.…

Discusses how student teaching is supposed to use all the elements of the learning cycle. Considers the realities of student teaching experiences and illustrates models of student teaching. Presents four profiles of student teachers that are drawn from semester-long reflections. Discusses supervisors' reactions to the reflection cycle. Concludes…

Conducts a critical review of empirical research focused directly on reflection activities with prospective teachers, and conducts a study in the authors' own literacy methods courses to learn what their students do when asked to reflect on course assignments. Concludes that engaging future teachers in multiple opportunities to critique their own…

This action research project examined students' and teachers' self-concepts in a literature course at a German university. Data (student diaries, video documentation of classes, and interviews) were collected and analyzed to help students reflect on their class participation and teachers on their control and dominance. Data were analyzed in…

This article draws together findings of two studies: the first a study of secondary students identified as having high potential and the second a study on encouraging reflective practice and action research with talented students. Analysis and sample case studies illustrate the centrality of the teacher in forming students' attitudes to school and…

This article discusses one first-time student teacher's experience. Her experience was not unsuccessful, but was different than she had expected. She passed the semester with an acceptable report and found a position the next fall in her chosen school district as a kindergarten teacher, and perhaps more importantly, she learned some valuable…

Peer Observation of Teaching is one process employed within higher education establishments in Britain that can be instrumental in developing the reflective practices of professional lecturers. It is a means of making the focus and purpose of reflection more explicit and effective through allowing academics to consider their roles as professional…

Changes in the profession of medicine are creating the demand for a substantive reexamination of current practices in medical education. Many of the major issues in addressing this challenge are structural and political rather than scientific; here we address one critical scientific issue that will be important to (though not by itself adequate…

Recent changes in education, including inclusion of students with disabilities, promise to heighten the complexity of teaching. Preparing reflective teachers may help to deal with these increasing demands. This paper reports analysis of critical reflection and two other features in cases authored by teacher candidates and submitted in a course on…

In contemporary times educators must be able to work effectively within contexts of change, paradox and instability. This has implications for programs that prepare teachers. In particular, teacher education programs should seek to develop teachers who can enquire systematically and critically into their educational practices. However, current…

Levels of confidence of novice teachers were investigated pre- and post-induction program. In sum, 119 beginning teachers completed a New Teacher Confidence Survey on 28 teaching performance behaviors. There was a statistically significant confidence gain from pre- to postinduction on 20 of 28 teaching behaviors. Statistically significant gains…

Northern Ireland has invested heavily in the use of technology enhanced learning at all levels of education. Alongside this, radical changes to the school curriculum and the planned move away from academic selection towards a more inclusive system are challenging those involved in Initial Teacher Education to find ways to improve teaching and…