Argues that teachers' perspectives prompt a particular interpretation of Donald Schon's "reflection-in-action" theory that justifies individualistic, immediate, and limited change strategies in professional development. Maintains that reflective teaching requires an approach that is social and collaborative rather than only individualistic in…

This study examined the effect of a self-evaluation intervention using audiotaped samples of 20 teachers' instructional behavior on the rates of praise in classrooms for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Results indicated the intervention had positive short-term effects on teacher praise and correct academic responses by students.…

The first part of this paper describes the rationale for and process of engaging student teachers in action research during the fourth and final year of their teacher education, which is also their first year as teachers (induction year). During this year the novice teachers are engaged in an action research project as a compulsory assignment in…

Professional development in education has recently undergone rapid change. A few years ago, most teachers did not have a voice in the types of sessions they attended or the opportunity to connect what they learned to their classrooms. Most sessions were at an awareness level only with no follow-up. All that has changed. The move toward greater…

Analyzing the creation of a digital portfolio from a digital and visual rhetorical stance, rather than from a standards-based or technical competency position, affords a teacher many more opportunities to think critically about their work, understand the choices they are making in representing that work online to diverse audiences, and continually…

Teaching critical thinking in community college classrooms involves helping students overcome emotional barriers and question and critique commonly held assumptions.

This research describes three beginning teachers and the development of their literacy instruction. Research questions addressed included a) what characterized their instruction throughout their beginning years of teaching and b) were they using the content from their literacy methods coursework? Additionally, as their former teacher for literacy…

This paper describes a professional development model with promise for supporting meaningful shifts in practice. We begin by introducing the theoretical principles underlying our professional development model, with a focus on explicating the interface between collaborative inquiry in a learning community (Lave, 1991, In L.B. Resnick, J.M. Levine,…

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…

Cohorts and expanded field experiences are two structures intended to promote reflective thinking in preservice teacher education programs. In this paper, two science methods classes are compared. One class had expanded field experiences and was organized as a cohort. The second was a more traditionally structured class that was not in a cohort…

Research on second/foreign language teacher impressions, reflections, and beliefs continues to illuminate various facets of language teacher knowledge and practice, but it has only recently begun to question the relationship between these teacher characteristics and actual classroom discourse. This collaborative case study undertaken by a…

Teacher preparation requires exemplary teaching that illustrates the systematic reflection encouraged among preservice teachers. This article provides an investigation of an innovative model for integrating action research into a preservice teacher education program. Through a self-study, one teacher educator presents reflections on action…

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…

I passionately believe that reflective practice is an essential competency for the busy GP veterinary surgeon to develop throughout their career. Action learning sets would appear to offer a way of promoting this while at the same time helping the GP veterinary surgeon find a way forward with professional issues. In this article I reflect on my…

This article describes findings from a classroom-based action research project conducted by two in-school teachers, a literacy coach and a 4th grade teacher, implementing a new integrated literacy and social studies curriculum and the changes they made in curricular practices and beliefs over a three-year period of time. A university professor…