In this research-based, reflective narrative, five educators across diverse educational contexts reflect on the influence of their lifeworlds on their experience and practice. As reflective practitioners, the authors demonstrate how they have applied lifeworld fractions to affect their educational practice with purposeful action. They discuss the…

Resisting a deep-seated technical perspective of education, I attend to the notion of attunement as a key concept with which to imagine curriculum as a complicated conversation. As fully appreciating the meaning and potential of attunement requires an embodied sense of the word that is deployed by working from within our bodily, social, and…

This paper provides a review of "Reconstructing 'Education' through Mindful Attention: Positioning the Mind at the Center of Curriculum and Pedagogy" by Oren Ergas. The review examines the central argument of the book, namely that present educational theory and practice avoids substantial self-inquiry, paying lip service to reflective…

In this commentary, theoretical principles pertaining to the role of epistemic cognition in teaching and professional development, synthesized from the content of this special issue on reflection and reflexivity, are proffered. These theoretical notions are then followed with a critical analysis of specific challenges encountered in enacting these…

Rational and operationalized views of science and what it means for teachers and students to know and enact legitimate science practices have dominated science education research for many decades (Fusco and Barton in "J Res Sci Teach" 38(3):337-354, 2001. doi: 10.1002/1098-2736(200103)38:3<337::AID-TEA1009>3.0.CO;2-0). Michalinos…

In this Thinkpiece, the author, who is a Fulbright Teaching Assistant, examines what it really means to have mutual cultural exchange. She reflects on her experience as an American working in a university in Bucharest. In this paper she describes how some of her assumptions about academic life were challenged, and how being open to these…

Is distance learning transformational? The author heard this question posed to a panel of faculty members during Distance Education Week activities. After reflecting upon her own students' reaction to her syllabus, her answer to the question changed from an initial, enthusiastic "yes" to a reflective "maybe," given the most favorable environment.…

As teachers, we are always reflecting on and refining our craft. In this article, the author shares how her understanding and implementation of comprehension strategy instruction has evolved over the past ten years. These shifts include her current thinking about the gradual release of responsibility instructional model, how content and big ideas…

Since the author began work in reflective practice, at first informally in the late 1970s and then more formally in the mid-1980s, he has always looked at reflective practice as a compass of sorts to guide teachers when they may be seeking direction as to what they are doing in their classrooms. The metaphor of reflection as a compass enables…

In a previous paper (Loizou, F. 2011. How Cypriot primary school teachers promote their professional development through reflective practice. "Education 3-13" 39, no. 3: 233--247.) I explored the concept of theories-in-use within a qualitative research study in order to analyse the role of reflection in bringing about change in the…

There has been little critical exploration of the ethical issues that arise in professional practice common to adapted physical activity. We cannot avoid moral issues as we inevitably will act in ways that will negatively affect the well-being of others. We will make choices, which in our efforts to support others, may hurt by violating dignity or…

The author began his first year teaching at an open-enrollment university with the belief that "most students can learn to do intellectual work, if they are only given the opportunity." This belief is inspired by the research on teaching and learning and is rooted in the characteristic idealism of teachers. He had seen the principle borne out in…

Adventure in school culture may seem quite a contradiction. In this paper I will present arguments on the idea that outdoor adventure learning contributes to formal education and is compatible with school practice and goals. This paper is based on research conducted for my thesis. The doctoral degree was completed at Oulu University, Finland, in…

In the pseudo-documentary "The Age of Stupid" (Armstrong 2009), a historian from 2055 scans the remnants of civilization and asks why, in the early twenty-first century, people did not save themselves when they had the chance. The film serves as a motif for issues raised in this article. Why do people continue to believe that education plays an…

In their longitudinal study, Kosnik, Beck, Cleovoulou and Fletcher accompanied a group of 22 beginning teachers along the critical period of their first three years in the profession. While the overall tone of this inside-the-classroom-door-study is positive and even optimistic, the findings point to seven key areas where the authors concluded…