The practice of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) has been known to be troublesome to teachers. (Webb & Tierney, 2020). The authors argue that a mentoring approach based on threshold concepts in SoTL has the potential to lead to more confident conceptual border crossing by new entrants to the SoTL of English communication. A…

This article describes a qualitative study into student teachers' learning processes through changes in their interactive cognitions. First, theoretical propositions about the relation between learning to teach, professional development, and practical knowledge are defined. Next, the procedure to grasp interactive cognitions as part of practical…

Professional development is frequently undertaken as an activity to be done to teachers rather than in collaboration with them; designed to make teachers more effective, with the assumption that they are currently deficient; communicates ideas with an air of expertise and a messianic quality; and assumes universally effective teaching practice…

This paper explains the investigative attempts of The New York City Math Exchange Group (MEG) on elementary mathematics teachers' content knowledge in Adult Basic Education (ABE). The study is comparative in nature and took place in a workshop at the Adults Learning Maths Conference in Boston. The new members of the MEG professional development…

Explores the dynamics in the loci of commitment of several participants in a university-level biology course developed for elementary school teachers. Concentrates on two instructors with almost opposing loci of commitment. Contains 19 references. (DDR)

Highlights the creation of centers that promote the professional development of teachers including Teaching and Learning Centers, Centers for Teaching Excellence, and Centers for Faculty Development. Presents examples of such centers where teachers help one another hone skills, stay abreast of pedagogical developments, and mobilize institutional…

The term "teacher enhancement" is recent; however, its underlying goal--to improve, broaden, and deepen the disciplinary and pedagogical knowledge of elementary and secondary teachers employed in public schools--has been addressed by educators and educational policymakers in the past, usually through the mechanism of inservice training. This…

During the 1996 Teacher Enhancement Institute (TEI) on the campus of Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, a very diverse group of teachers actively pursued instructional improvement through workshops in thinking skills, content area, and group seminars for a period of 4 weeks. This report contains evidence of improved teaching skills in…

Project TEAM--Teacher Education for the Approaching Millennium--represents an educational partnership designed to improve science teacher preparation, content knowledge among both students and teachers, and the desire to better connect the theoretical constructs offered in a science methods course with the practical concerns expressed by students…

Describes the various tools used to promote reflection that have been introduced to prospective teachers. Those tools include portfolios, journals, cases, learning maps, stories retold, metaphors, and proverbs. Contains 58 references. (DDR)

This brief discusses some of the results and conclusions from the Professional Development Project of the National Institute for Science Education (NISE). The project was intended to explore whether the science, mathematics, and professional development communities share a common understanding of what professional learning experiences look like…

A survey was conducted of teachers and administrators from schools for the deaf to analyze the poor mathematics performance of deaf and hard-of-hearing students. The insufficient training of deaf education teachers in mathematics, based on the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Professional Teaching Standards and the proposed…

This report discusses the outcomes of a study that drew upon the reflections and self-assessment of seven preservice teachers who served as assistants in a university-based summer program for gifted students. Of the preservice teachers, four were elementary education majors, two were early childhood majors, and one was a special education major.…

Discusses meanings of the term "teacher research," a rationale for preparing teachers to do research as they learn to teach, and ways to educate prospective teachers as researchers. Contains 59 references. (DDR)

Argues that the science methods course should be envisioned as the launching pad for a career-long process of professional development, a foundation for a successful student teaching experience, and the lynchpin of a teacher education program. (DDR)