Reports the results of a two-year longitudinal study that examined the development of primary teachers' understanding of force and energy following inservice education. The approach used constructivist strategies and analogical reasoning to promote qualitative learning of science concepts. Interviews, questionnaires, and drawing tasks indicated…

Study assessed preservice teachers' knowledge and attitudes about HIV/AIDS to develop preservice HIV/AIDS curricular guidelines. A questionnaire examined AIDS symptomatology, transmission, risk behaviors, consequences, prevention, classroom policy, and attitudes. Results provided guidance for developing an HIV/AIDS curriculum for preservice health…

Examines common assumptions about the nature of teaching and professional learning that influence the design of teacher education courses. These assumptions are contrasted with current empirical research about teacher knowledge. A role for the emerging theory in the analysis, evaluation, and development of professional training courses is…

The postgraduate Teacher Thinking Seminar (TTS) was created to explore the implications of constructivist theory for teachers' education and development. Using participants' own practical knowledge, the main strategy was the dialectical process of group reflection. The article elaborates four seminar examples, suggesting that TTS can effectively…

Studied collegial interactions of four Canadian elementary teachers and their partners participating in the Supervision for Growth program to determine the effects of collegiality on teachers' work. Using field notes and interview transcripts, found that the quality and quantity of collegial interactions covered a broad spectrum and that the…

Describes an innovative collaboration between a Texas University and several school districts which partners veteran and novice teachers in a professional growth opportunity. Certified beginning teachers receive a fellowship stipend and tuition to get a master's degree, partner with full-time mentor teachers, and perfect their teaching skills.…

Investigated the impact of a school-based teacher-education partnership on the professional development of elementary mentor teachers. Analysis of two mentor-teacher surveys indicated that mentors perceived benefits in the areas of teaching style, addressing student needs, and program influences. Mentor teachers became more self-confident,…

Describes a professional development experience in which elementary teachers and college faculty participated in an Inquiry Seminar housed in the elementary school over 3 years. Teachers discussed classroom action research, and college faculty reflected on problems of practice in today's elementary classrooms. The boundary-crossing activities…

Describes a structured yet informal and flexible reading lesson observation framework (representing one district's vision of what an exemplary reading lesson ought to look like in its elementary schools) that can help teachers, principals, and literacy supervisors to work together to enhance quality and consistency of daily reading lessons. (SR)

Describes the "Teaching and Learning Website Seminar" held at Ball State University (Indiana) that encourages teachers to review state and national economics content standards and to use technology to augment economics lessons. Provides an example of an online lesson plan created at the seminar called "Why Do Some Beanie Babies Cost…

The two questions in this chapter are whether school restructuring promotes or constrains the professional development of teachers and which mechanisms for workplace learning appear to enhance the capacity of teachers to critically interpret educational reforms. To answer the first question, the implementation of structural changes and…

Harriet Bishop (HB) Elementary School opened in 1996 with an articulated educational model developed collaboratively by the teachers, parents, and the administration. The model includes a mission, set of beliefs, and rationale for the instructional design. While nearly every school district or school has a formal mission, the statements…

Local responsibility for school development in Sweden has led to new possibilities for teacher improvement. This paper looks at using the potential of action research generated by the decentralization for the inservice training of teachers. Decentralization offered opportunities for inservice development work through special funding for projects,…

This paper reports on a study of teacher development practices in Turkey, exploring teachers' perceptions of professional development opportunities in the Turkish elementary school, and the extent to which elementary school teachers believe that these opportunities have helped them improve their instructional practices. Of the 500 teachers from 52…

This 2-year qualitative action research project focused on improving the experiences within several sections of an advanced methods course in an undergraduate elementary teacher preparation program. The course stressed preservice teachers' developing conceptions of curriculum and of their roles in defining the nature of the curricula they will…