Coaching is increasingly emphasised as a promising feature of professional development, yet concrete understanding of this complex process is lacking. This study investigates an observation-based coaching process by interviewing coaches and teachers from a three-year longitudinal PD programme. Findings indicate that coaches often supplemented…

In this qualitative study, five student teachers engaged in dialogic viewing of video of their own teaching with their university supervisor. The questions guiding this research included: (1) What do teacher candidates notice as they watch videos of themselves teaching in the company of their university supervisor?; (2) How does dialogic viewing…

In this article the authors compare two phases of an ongoing, annual online peer observation project at the Open University. Adopting a non-managerialist approach, the project aims to give teachers a renewed sense of collegiality, allowing them to take responsibility for aspects of their professional development and share practice points. While…

Reflective practice means that teachers must subject their own teaching beliefs and practices to critical examination. One way of facilitating reflective practice in ESL teachers is to encourage them to engage in classroom observations as part of their professional development. This paper reports on a case study of a short series of classroom…

A video club is a group of teachers who meet on a regular basis to view and discuss video segments from their classrooms. In a video club, the group establishes the goals, then tapes and selects the video segments for viewing. A video club is a fairly simple way to use technology for teacher learning. Video captures classroom interactions that…

In order to improve teaching and learning within a faculty, an action research intervention involving peer observation of teaching staff via an expert was designed and implemented. A total of ten staff (including the first author) were observed over the year. The process consisted of observation at class, a written report, discussion between…

As professional development models of teacher education that allow for self-directed, collaborative, inquiry-based learning are increasingly replacing more traditional top-down models, researchers acknowledge the impact of teachers' reflective practices. Although many different types of reflective practices are reported, the differences across…

Peer Observation of Teaching is one process employed within higher education establishments in Britain that can be instrumental in developing the reflective practices of professional lecturers. It is a means of making the focus and purpose of reflection more explicit and effective through allowing academics to consider their roles as professional…

This paper reflects on the collaborative learning experiences of two 'student teachers' who have recently completed a Masters in Higher Education. Its purpose is to enhance our general understanding, and to encourage debate on how the professional expertise and confidence of new academics may be supported. Specifically, the article examines the…

As a result of recent changes to U.S. undergraduate mathematics instruction, graduate student teaching assistants (TAs) may now be asked to teach in ways that they did not themselves experience as students. One such example is the use of collaborative group learning. The preparation TAs receive to teach in these new ways has the potential to shape…

A collection of brief articles of reflective teaching focuses on how second language teachers can use reflective practice for their own continuing professional development. The first title in the "Reflections on Practice" series, this collection introduces the concept of the reflective practitioner of language teaching and serves as a foundation…