"Improving Your Reflective Practice through Stories of Practitioner Research" shows how research has informed and created effective and valuable reflective practice in early years education, and offers depth to the arguments for a research-orientated stance to this vital field of study. This thought-provoking text explores and documents a variety…

Calls for the crucial need to incorporate alternative approaches into everything teachers do and the mistakes teachers make in the classroom. Discusses three specific instructional trouble areas of every teacher's reality and common mistakes. (ASK)

This small book presents a collection of wisdom-based guidelines for teachers who are working in inclusive settings and is based on the authors' many years of experience as educators. The brief aphorisms are grouped under the following principles: (1) Effective Teachers Have Positive Expectations for Success; (2) Effective Teachers are Good…

Reflective teachers look at classroom problems from many perspectives and consider others' viewpoints when they choose instructional strategies. Reflection is beginning to be treated as an essential part of a teacher's repertoire. Sidebars recount an exercise in reflection. (MLF)

Offering 16 essays by presenters at the first Middle School Mosaic (held in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997), this book connects the themes of literacy, reflective practice, and the special characteristics of middle level teaching. In the first section, Literature and Literacy at the Middle Level, the authors examine questions of literacy by looking at…

Documentation is a process of observing, collecting, and organizing evidence of children's knowledge, skills, and dispositions. Noting that documentation can be used as an effective method for assessing children's growth and development over time, this 20 minute videotape discusses characteristics of documentation in the early childhood classroom.…

This book provides teachers with resources necessary for providing caring and competent instruction and guidance to students of all ages, exploring human resources that teachers need to flourish in the classroom. Chapter 1, "On Being a Teacher," describes the essence of what makes teachers truly great. Chapter 2, "On Being a…

Philosopher educator describes how she presents multiple perspectives in her teaching to create learning situations that instill a sense of wonder and curiosity. She is encouraged by increased recognition of the relationships among learning, social action, and social justice, and the recognition of the consciousness of different children.…

Faculty members employed at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) should give priority to teaching and learning. The work of faculty members at such institutions is a way to reclaim individuals who have been discarded by society. Mission statements should be reviewed to be sure that college printed materials do indeed reflect these…

The purpose of this study was to examine reflective thinking as it related to instructional and personality characteristics of an effective teacher. During semistructured interviews, 42 first-year teachers identified the characteristics of an effective teacher and compared their own professional development to these ideal images. Comments from…

This brochure provides brief descriptions of 11 recent documents and journal articles selected from the ERIC database by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management (University of Oregon), all on the broad topic of teacher collegiality. The works reviewed are as follows: "A New Model for Professionalizing Teacher Evaluation," by…

Describes an instructional methodology course where preservice social studies teachers prepared various lesson plans on the same unit of study. Their presentations were then videotaped and evaluated by the instructor, their peers, and themselves. Journal writing assignments complemented the course work and excerpts from these are included. (MJP)

This volume lays out the human factors involved in effective teaching and encourages both future teachers and current practitioners to cultivate the personal and professional qualities found in the kind of teachers they want to be. The single most important factor in a teacher's effectiveness is described as his or her unique style of interaction…

This book offers a variety of forms to help the college instructor obtain feedback concerning instructional quality and improve instructional effectiveness. Two preliminary charts match specific forms to specific instructor concerns and compare the forms for sources of input, value, and limitations. Each form is introduced by a discussion of the…

This monograph gives an account of three associated studies of the professional craft knowledge of teachers as articulated by 20 teachers in 4 secondary schools in Victoria, Queensland, and New South Wales, Australia. Participants were chosen on the basis of: (1) student identification of their best teachers and (2) equal representation from three…