The proliferation of "teacher-proof" scripts for lessons reveals a deep distrust of teachers' intuition and blatant ignorance of the essential humanistic elements underlying education. This model of standardization positions teachers as mere delivery agents of centrally planned curricula based on a hollow promise of effectiveness. We…

Concentrating on job satisfaction and five school context variables--teacher autonomy, collegial support, time pressure, student demotivation, and student discipline problems--this study explored the interplay of these variables with reflective teaching and their relative contributions to prediction of teacher reflection. Data were collected from…

The lesson study (jugyoukenkyuu) approach to professional development, used in Japan and various regions of North America, encourages teachers to reflect on their teaching in order to improve its overall quality. The purpose of the current study is to analyze the influence of this approach on the professional development of English as a foreign…

This article explores the nature of reflective practice in a professional development process based on lesson study. The authors examine how a lesson study model initiates reflection as a meta-action scaffolding reflective practice among teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) at a university in Turkey. Fieldnotes, interviews, and audio…

This article shares findings from the implementation of an ongoing National Professional Development (NPD) project that advances second language literacy and biliteracy in secondary content areas. The project is part of a research-practice partnership between a large public university and two school districts in south Texas that engages in-service…

Contemporary K-12 standards-based educational reform has emerged as a central focus of scholarship in TESOL, with robust discussions (practical and theoretical) addressing the shift from ESL as a subject matter unto itself to teaching standards-based content in English (and the standardized assessment of students' achievement across those content…

Recent educational research has underscored the criticality and centrality of teacher quality as a decisive and prominent influence on students' academic growth and success. Consequently, it becomes imperative to define, understand, and study the qualities and qualifications of effective teachers so as to inform preservice and in-service teacher…

This study investigates the written feedback the author gave during her first year as a university English as a second language writing instructor. The article investigates the form (questions, commands, comments) and the themes (organization, content, grammar) of feedback, the use of mitigation, and the treatment of grammar errors. It shows how…

Discusses an activity developed to encourage beginning graduate students studying English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL) and second language acquisition in a teacher training program in Paraguay to reflect on what happened in their tutoring groups and to apply this knowledge to the classroom context. Another activity focuses on whole-class…

This study investigated the use of dialog journals and peer response to them in a semester-long student teaching practicum. Subjects were nine teachers of English as a Second Language, focusing on the indicators of peer help occurring in the writing and responses and on evidence that peer responses promote reflection. A number of journal excerpts…

Discusses an innovation second-language teacher education project for teachers of English as a foreign language from Egypt. The model program used was based on the premise that teacher education programs must provide trainees with opportunities to reflect critically upon their own teaching practices and beliefs in a context of collaboration with…

Notes that collaborative action research helped Australian adult education teachers refine their classroom skills and reflect critically on their current practice. Discusses research designed to develop teachers' skills in meeting the English language learning needs of disparate groups of learners and to assist these teachers in redirecting their…

Discusses a project in which staff from a British university worked with subject teachers in a local secondary school to investigate classroom practice and develop effective strategies to teach English as a Second Language. Findings suggest that inservice education may generate change in classroom practices more effectively if teachers are given…

Discusses a program in which adult education English-as-a-Second-Language teachers worked with mentors to cultivate valuable professional habits. Notes the three characteristics of the program: concentration on the dynamics of classroom instruction; emphasis on practices such as reflective journaling and peer discussion; and a commitment to allow…