This is an edited version of a presentation Michael Fielding was invited to give in April 2006 at the Post Primary Teachers' Association Professional Conference. The conference, entitled Quality Teaching--Leading the Way, took place at the Wellington Convention Centre, Wellington, New Zealand. In his presentation, Michael contrasts two approaches…

Teachers' use of power in learning environments affects our students' experiences, our teaching experiences, and the extent to which learning goals are met. The types of conversations we hold or avoid with students send cues regarding how we use power to develop relationships, influence behaviour and entice motivation. Reliance on prosocial forms…

Alyssa Conklin-Moore discusses normalization in the child under three from several perspectives. She takes an extensive look at the child, including orienting parents to the Montessori environment, the child's entrance into the environment, addressing the sensitive periods, and fostering independence, contribution, and community. She reminds the…

This paper introduces The Expanded Reflection Cycle for Transformative Professional Learning as a professional learning model for practicing teachers completing their graduate studies that includes expanded opportunities for peer support and collaborative reflection. Through the model, teachers engage in systematic self and collaborative…

Philosophical inquiry (Lipman, Sharp & Oscanyan, 1980) has the capacity to push boundaries in teaching and learning interactions with students and improve teacher's pedagogical experiences (Scholl, Nichols, Burgh, 2008). This paper focuses on the potential for Philosophy to foster pedagogical transformation. Two groups of primary school…

Action research is an approach to enquiry that forges linkages between research and teaching, with each potentially informing the other in a responsive and creative cycle. This paper provides an overview of a pedagogic action research project which was undertaken in order to respond directly to learning needs expressed by a group of second year…

It has been recognized that in order to drive Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs) into mainstream use by the teaching community, it is essential to support teachers through the entire ITS process: Design, Development, Deployment, Reflection and Adaptation. Although research has been done on supporting teachers through design to deployment of ITSs,…

What happens when standards, teaching for understanding, research based strategies for improving student achievement, and teacher inquiry become a whole? Power Teaching results. A prototype in development at an urban, elementary school in the South, power teaching connects the dots of state standards, Harvard Project Zero's teaching for…

As soon as new teachers entered schools and classrooms, they seemed to be sorely frustrated with trying to make sense of what to do. They described a deep sense of being lost and not knowing which way to turn to find their way. The question was how to support them to realize the power and promise of drawing upon what they already knew about…

This paper looks at some of the commonly experienced challenges and rewards reported by teachers who have reflected in writing on their first experiences with the Project Approach. The work of two groups of teachers is reported here. One group consisted of 12 teachers in Texas, who implemented the Project Approach in their classrooms following a…

This paper discusses how deliberation and critical reflection contribute to the quality of teachers' work. The paper defines deliberation and notes factors that could interfere with the process. The paper then examines critical reflection theory, differentiating three types of assumptions, and highlighting four "lenses" that can help the…

This report examines the feasibility of using a measurement instrument, the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP), to catalyze teacher self-reflective change. RTOP was used in a summer course as a tool to help understand and even operationally define reform teaching. RTOP assesses four major pedagogical domains: (1) lesson design and…

The Impromptu Teaching Model was designed by the University of Central Arkansas for use by preservice teachers in laboratory teaching experiences. Two teaching exercises, microteaching and reflective teaching, form the basis for impromptu teaching. Microteaching provides teachers with the opportunity to master various technical skills of the…

Reading, writing, and reflecting can be used as tools during teachers' professional development opportunities. Various forums and activities that support an evolving view of professional development tend to encourage active participation and decision-making, reflective practice, and constructing knowledge based on discussions and readings. Book…

Numeracy can be defined as having the competence and disposition to use mathematics to meet the general demands of life at home, in paid work, and for participation in community and civic life (Willis 1992). An important aspect of developing the capacity to use mathematics in everyday life is, for students at school, to use mathematics to meet the…