Standards can aid educators as they work to produce strong student writers who can create meaningful and skillfully crafted authentic pieces of writing. This once-a-month, yearlong professional development program, conducted during the school day, shifted a district's kindergarten writing program to a writing workshop model that enabled the…

Reviews six professional books through the authors discussions of their roles as classroom teacher, reading resource teacher, curriculum developer, and change agents. (MG)

Provides eight tips that may help language arts teachers better manage their time. (DD)

Describes the experiences of an elementary school teacher as she researches a topic and simultaneously begins to understand her own learning processes. (SRT)

Describes the regular and voluntary meetings of a group of teachers. Touches on the meeting format, the support function of the group, and the kinds of issues discussed in the meetings. (HTH)

An examination of how the use of descriptive analysis of children's work such as the Modified Descriptive Review process supported professional inquiry and growth for educators and for children they serve, is presented. The Modified Descriptive Review process fed immediate actions as well as the posing and exploring of large questions about…

Reviews materials in the ERIC system dealing with teachers' questioning behaviors. (HTH)

Argues that teacher researchers are reflective practitioners searching for insights to improve their teaching practice, which does not exclude them from "proving" generalizable truths. Argues that different interpretations of the term "teacher researcher" enrich the debate. (RS)

Presents and discusses seven books in which practitioners grapple with the move toward wholeness in their classrooms, offering the practitioners' own blueprints for holistic curricula laid upon a foundation of Vygotskian principles. Notes also three collections that package popular, high-quality children's books into a variety of theme units. (SR)

Considers what it means to listen in the context of teaching, and what it means to teach in the context of listening. Explores the character of listening as it is lived in teaching by drawing from stories told during conversations among three teachers about particular students (SG)

Discusses how one teacher's experiential learning as a parent and writer provide more insight into his classroom teaching than do consultations with "expert" sources. (HTH)

Charts the growth of a special education teacher involved in an inservice program for which she kept a learning log recording her responses to readings and eventually how she assimilated new ideas into classroom practices. (SRT)

Explores a number of innovative professional development strategies for teachers. Examines the development and role of a teacher support group in Canada and its efforts to develop a language-process oriented classroom. (HTH)

Follows a four-year journey of the Center for Inquiry as teachers, administrators, and university partners engage in professional inquiry. Describes evolution of processes that have challenged and validated professional development within the culture of inquiry. Notes the Richland School District Two/University of South Carolina partnership was…

Lesson study is a form of professional development favored by teachers in Japan that has gained attention in many parts of the United States. Teachers participating in lesson study immerse themselves in a cycle of instructional improvement focused on planning, observing, and revising. The various ways in which teachers work together in a lesson…