Interviews Ralph Peterson of Arizona State University about S.M.I.L.E., a group of teachers taking control of their own learning. The group was formed to Support, Maintain, and Implement Language Experience in teaching. (HTH)

Reviews ERIC materials dealing with the factors that influence interaction between teachers and students in the classroom. (HTH)

Argues that focusing vision and going beyond imitation is the path by which the teacher becomes a learner and, as a result, a better teacher. Illustrates the individual search for authority of two teachers through two personal stories. (SR)

Presents, in their own words, teachers in the process of becoming researchers. Shows how research is not just neatly laid out end-products of new knowledge but is also the ticks of discomfort arising from new awareness. Notes that all of the teachers featured were going about their normal daily tasks when they experience major changes as…

Considers what role professional organizations play in helping educators live their lives as intellectuals. Notes that being an intellectual means engaging the world, acting on it and in it, reflecting on and learning from the events around them and from their interactions with others. Concludes that to experience being an intellectual, a…

Interviews Gordon Wells of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Toronto, Canada. Wells extends the concept of children negotiating with people in their environment to create meaning to teachers taking control of their own learning and in so doing facilitating children's taking control of their own learning. (HTH)

Interviews Jan Turbull about her work with writing teachers in the St. George Writing Project in Australia. (HTH)

Describes the mentor program of the Teachers College Writing Project of New York City. (HTH)

Offers teachers of upper elementary grade students practical guidelines for learning how their students respond to literature and how to use this information in the classroom. (HTH)

Describes how a teacher explores the bullying behavior of a girl in her class to understand how kids negotiate for power within a learning community. Discusses activities she used to explore and examine the behaviors in her class. Focuses on understanding processes and practices, not on fixing or "normalizing" individuals. (SG)

Shares the author's minute-by-minute decisions in working with an alienated student whose beliefs about reading created a wall of resistance to learning. Notes the student's beliefs about his learning potential and his lack of strategies were at the root of his reading problems. Concludes that before alienated students can overcome the restrictive…

Describes how a classroom teacher's experiences as a second-language learner (during a summer institute in Spain) helped her become a better teacher of her bilingual students. (RS)

Presents a case study of a sixth grade teacher trying to increase her use of literature for language arts instruction. Shows the challenges and successes of attempting to get better at teaching. (PRA)

Offers strategies teachers can use to keep their teaching fresh. Discusses what gives teachers energy and what takes away energy. Notes that when teachers had strong emotional connections with colleagues their teaching energy was high. (SG)

Outlines how the Talk Workshop Group of England, a support group model, was transplanted to inservice workshops conducted by Bay Area Writing Project personnel. (HTH)