In a three year research study we addressed the question: "How does authenticity develop and what can we do to encourage that development?" We came to understand that becoming an authentic teacher is a journey during which an individual becomes more aware of him/herself apart from the collective. We came to define authenticity as a cluster of…

Being a Master of Business Administration (MBA) instructor can be a satisfying, as well as a frustrating experience, but instructors can avoid becoming discouraged if they know and apply some important teaching strategies. In this article, the authors offer four teaching strategies that have made the difference between success and failure in the…

This paper invites science teachers to reflect on their own stories of teaching and learning, to build meaning from their personal stories, and to apply their fresh insights to better understand themselves and their teaching. The significance of the research lies in its ability to share authentic stories that represent the experiences of a…

The objective of this study was to determine the difference in teaching effectiveness between experimental and control teachers as a result of a coordinated inservice program. Subjects were 83 high school teachers of vocational agricultural and other vocational subjects. Results indicate that inservice programs with a substantial theoretical base…

This study examined reflective thinking as it is related to instructional and personality characteristics of effective teachers. During semistructured interviews, 42 first-year elementary school teachers identified characteristics of effective teachers and preservice activities that, for them, were significantly related to professional…

Becoming a better teacher through active reflection is at best encouraged in graduate school, however Teaching Assistant (TA) training often focuses so intently on the "how" of teaching writing that it never reaches the "why" of teaching; TAs are left with an eclectic grab-bag of activities that they know "work,"…

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…

Reports a study that examined the degree to which secondary student teachers' knowledge about their teaching was accelerated by their training in the use of the Low Inference Self-Assessment Measure (in which they analyzed an audiotape of their instruction). The subjects all considered the process beneficial to their teaching. (SM)

A survey of 708 Australian college teachers nominated by their department heads or deans as exemplary practitioners, and interviews with 44 participants, identified common themes and issues reflecting academics' understanding of effective teaching, including love of the discipline; valuing students and their perspectives; and taking pleasure in…

Excellence in teaching has always been a demanding and absorbing concern in institutions of higher learning. Earlier studies, which are numerous, have often dealt with the measurement of teacher qualities but have largely failed to explain the phenomenon of excellence in practice. This study focused on the outstanding professional teachers' candid…

This paper describes a project that set out to explore teachers' engagement with the issue of continuity in teaching, learning, and assessment as a central dimension of transition. The project revealed that teachers are deeply concerned with questions such as what progress students are making and how to maximise students' learning in the short and…

By exploring the question of whether teaching begins and ends in contemplative thought, this essay suggests that conceptions of teacher thinking must be expanded beyond planning and decision making. People's ordinary conception of thinking includes imagining, remembering, interpreting, and caring. In order to understand the full scope and meaning…

A discussion is presented of the philosophy undergirding the 5-year teacher education program at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. In this program, students can earn a baccalaureate degree from the university and a Master of Teaching degree from the Curry School. The program seeks to produce teachers who are effective…

A description is given of the development and evaluation of a staff development model that was used by District of Columbia teachers. The model was based on the belief that teachers learn best through an analysis of their own behavior and thoughtful application of ideas to their own contexts. The first phase of the study defined over 50…

Accountability. The very mention of the word strikes fear in the hearts of many teachers and school leaders, leading to confusion and panic rather than improved student achievement. Author Douglas B. Reeves explains how to transform accountability from destructive and demoralizing accounting drills into a constructive decision-making process that…