This digest highlights ways in which new and seasoned teachers are developing a repertoire of skills and knowledge that complement education reform efforts. For example, rather than seeing each stage of a teacher's professional life as distinct and separate, a more holistic view of the development of teacher from novice to advanced practitioner is…

This document presents an overview of the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) Teacher Development Modules for Elementary School Science. It documents the collaboration of BSCS with science educators, science supervisors, and outstanding science teachers in developing, evaluating, refining, and disseminating four teacher development modules…

The state of Maryland views learning to teach as a developmental process in which there is continuous engagement with research, best practice, and expert opinion. This publication identifies 10 performance-based standards for the career-long development of teachers and teacher candidates. Learning to teach is viewed as a continuous learning cycle…

Translating theory to practice is a major challenge for beginning teachers. An experiment was conducted to help preservice teachers meet this challenge by enhancing their capability to cope with the complexity of the classroom environment through the use of case method during their field experiences. Study participants were seven student teachers…

With the growing recognition of the importance of personal narratives as a tool for promoting and analyzing professional development, this study looked at what trends emerged from the personal narratives of female graduate students (most of whom were also teachers) when they were categorized by their rhetorical function and by stereotypical styles…

This project researched theoretical self-study, i.e., how to improve, support, and facilitate the ability of a student teacher to learn to reflect on his/her learning and development through large (n=80) and small (n=5-8) group work and supervision where the basic idea is to foster professional growth of the student teacher. In the supervision…

This study explored the potential of videotape and E-mail technology for developing a course delivery system encouraging personal reflection on the topic of classroom management. Since the process of teaching preservice educators techniques for democratic classroom management depends on a wide array of factors pertaining to individual personality…

This paper describes the experiences of four university teacher education institutions collaborating in an European Union-funded project called the REFLECT project: the Universities of Barcelona (Spain), Exeter (England), Trondheim (Norway), and Utrecht (Netherlands). The project s focus is on the development of reflective competencies in…

This case study documents one graduate student's reflections on her personal and professional development as a teacher as part of a portfolio project. Her story describes how she has blended a teaching philosophy that combines the traditional pedagogy of her own early education with her subsequent experiences as a student and as a teacher using…

This qualitative study examined the personal practical theories (PPTs) of the members of the supervisory triad--college supervisor, cooperating teacher, and student teacher--to discover whether PPTs could provide information about relationships within the triad. Three preservice teachers, three college supervisors, and five cooperating teachers…

This paper explores questions about the ways in which students, teachers, administrators, and parents negotiate new sets of roles and expectations for schooling in the innovative climate of a new middle school. A new school in an Australian city has implemented a coordinated package of approaches including integrated curriculum, portfolio…

Students in the Elementary Teacher Education Program at Rowan College (New Jersey) are predominately White and have had little previous contact with minority communities. Reflective classroom activities have been developed to facilitate critical reflection on teaching for diversity and to raise consciousness regarding educational equity. In one…

This study evaluated the impact of reflective teaching on the ability of preservice teachers to articulate a teaching philosophy. Three questions were explored: (1) how effective will a structure for reflecting be if used throughout a teacher education program? (2) how effectively will students be able to use that structure as a framework for…

This paper reports on a strategy for encouraging preservice teachers to use reflective techniques when developing lesson plans. A focus on reflective practice incorporates and integrates the minimal teaching competencies required by West Virginia State Teacher Certification. Practicum students must provide evidence demonstrating at least minimal…

In 1990, a county school district in the metropolitan Atlanta area collaborated with West Georgia College's School of Education to equip experienced teachers with the skills necessary to nurture new teachers to become more reflective and to share in cooperative learning. A study was conducted to examine teachers' perceptions of the program and of…