This paper examines a university professor's roles in and experiences with teacher action research to promote professional development. The first section discusses the importance of linking preservice teacher action research investigation with inservice action research teams in schools. It explains that this approach begins with a structure and…

Investigates a variety of instructional strategies and teaching methods used in a graduate level multicultural education class. These included autobiographical analysis, role playing, and dialog journals, as well as, more traditional methods such as guest speakers and lectures. Discusses how the insights gained could be used in future research.…

To explore the implications of recommendations from national reports on teacher education reform, a university course was designed for teachers using practical inquiry to structure the use of craft knowledge, collaboration, and reflection. Participating teachers reported that they gained confidence in their teaching choices through the course.…

Teacher networks used in California and Vermont are examined. Interviews, observations, and document analyses identified how teacher beliefs, teacher experience, social influences, and practical circumstances interacted with program goals and methods to shape teachers' experiences with networks, views of teaching and learning, and classroom…

The National Center for Effective Schools worked to translate knowledge gained from research on effective schools, educational change, and organization development into a professional development program that builds the capacity of teachers, administrators, parents, and community members who are committed to making schools more effective. The…

A study of predominantly white teachers participating in a multicultural education staff development program illustrated how social class and gender experiences informed their understanding of the social order they used to understand race. Following the staff development, few teachers substantially restructured their perspectives about racial…

A framework for developing teachers' reflective decision making ability is provided along with specific staff development activities that promote teacher reflection. Strategies include conducting personal histories, video/audio self-assessment, journal writing, cognitive coaching, cases, role playing, and problem framing/action research. (SM)

Maintains that the standardized teacher/course evaluation form has become a ritual at virtually every major U.S. university. Argues that many good teachers are unrewarded, ineffective ones win prizes, and the evaluation process is a means of monitoring political orthodoxy. (CFR)

Examines the educational trends and quality of special education in Japan through discussions of its curriculum, the employment trends of special education teachers, and issues concerning internship, sabbaticals, and enrollment in graduate programs. Through amendments in Japan's Teacher Certification Law, qualitative improvements have been…

To study the importance of acknowledging cultural factors when retraining teacher educators in developing nations, researchers examined the learning experiences of teacher educators and inservice teachers in Papua New Guinea. Results highlighted how educators handled incongruencies between their own beliefs about teaching and learning and those…

Examined the preparation of student teachers at four Professional Development Schools (PDSs) longitudinally, comparing their experiences with those of traditional student teachers. Data from meetings with administrators; site visits; document analysis; graduation and professional status information; student teacher surveys; and graduate surveys…

Most teacher educators would agree that one of the primary goals of a teacher preparation program is to teach individuals how to become good teachers. What is open to debate is exactly what characteristics define good teachers. Although there is a vast literature on good teaching, few studies have compared the beliefs of individuals at various…

This study reassessed the series of four intensive summer institutes conducted at Mississippi State University on instructional strategies for culturally diverse students to determine the extent to which institute participants implemented these strategies in their respective schools or districts. The Strategies for Instructing Culturally Diverse…

This book is an autobiographical effort to understand life as a person and as a high school English teacher, and how those two lives have intertwined. The text examines how the author, trained in certain ways, thinks of herself as a professional person. In addition to the subject of the teaching of reading and writing, the author explores how her…

The Mathematics Learning Forums, a collaborative effort of Bank Street College and the Center for Children and Technology, Education Development Center, Inc., provided the primary research setting for this study. Each 8-week forum focuses on specific elements of a mathematics content area and is designed to address both student learning and…