This quantitative study was conducted to examine if teacher reflective practices had an impact on student engagement, teacher-student relationships, and student engagement. Survey data were collected from 356 middle school teachers and students. Data concluded no significant relationships among the reflective practices of teachers, student…

Instructors in higher education are often asked to reflect on their pedagogical choices in formulaic, detached, rote ways such as end of the year faculty evaluations or in response to peer review of teaching. Yet, because of the parameters for these reflections, they often lack depth or much consideration. Particularly because higher education…

Aim/Purpose: This study aims to explore the reflective practices of educators in blended learning environments, specifically in interdisciplinary courses, and to understand how these practices impact student engagement and learning outcomes. Background: Blended learning, combining online and face-to-face instruction, has become increasingly…

More than fifty years ago, an idea took hold in Georgia. Eventually called the Foxfire Approach, its main idea is centered around a view of a democratic classroom. Following a general sense of John Dewey's pragmatism, Eliot Wigginton invested his energy and skills into his English classroom to propel students to choose worthwhile activities. This…

This article presents an autoethnographic account of a project implemented to increase online student engagement in a postgraduate organisational behaviour subject comprised predominantly of international students. Autoethnography provided a lens to critically explore my andragogical practice as an early career academic (ECR) engaged in teaching…

Over the past half century, much has been learned about the ways in which students develop and learn. Unfortunately, this knowledge often does not find its way into the classroom. Teachers can begin to use this knowledge by focusing on a few key ideas. They need to go beyond the presentation of content to helping students acquire strategies for…

Wilhelm asks, "But are new literacies just fun?" Then he immediately answers, "Absolutely not--if we as teachers provide the right context and conditions of their use." Offering research-based advice on incorporating technology to increase motivation and deepen learning, Wilhelm boils it down to this bottom line: it's engaged, substantive,…

In this article, the author illustrates how the Descriptive Process can assist teachers in shifting relationships with students because it requires both associative and reflective processes. Drawing on discussions from a teacher study group, she illustrates how associative processes can lead to a strengthening of connection with self. Similarly,…

While developing critical literacy in our students is a priority for all of us, Wilhelm believes that we must develop a critical literacy of teaching, as well. He asserts that this can best be achieved by 1) teaching through an inquiry context, and 2) taking on a teacher-researcher stance to think both reflectively and reflexively about our…

For decades there has been a divide between educational research and practice. Sometimes the blame is placed on teachers for not following research-based strategies or not being trained well enough to read the literature. Just as frequently the blame is placed on researchers for not (a) studying topics important to teachers, (b) writing them so…

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…

May Sarton's (1961) novel, "The Small Room", provides a rich and compelling description of the complex relations among teachers, students, and subject matter at Appleton College. This article explores that "wild triangle of relations" in the context of teacher education, arguing that teacher educators and their students (prospective teachers)…

This article dealt with methods for making substitute teaching more effective. The purpose was to articulate a sequential method for maximizing the effectiveness of substitute teaching while providing substitutes with a comprehensive method for diligently and flexibly earning respect and using reflection to continually improve substitute teaching.…

Using a grounded theory approach to investigate the multidimensional reflections of two Reading Recovery teachers, this inquiry responds to calls for research on reflection and provides information for the field of education in understanding the nature of teachers' reflections and how they inform teaching practices. Reading Recovery is a…

This paper reflects on the role of mobile learning in teachers' professional learning. It argues that effective professional learning requires reflection and collaboration and that mobile learning is ideally suited to allow reflection-in-action and to capture the spontaneity of learning moments. The paper also argues for the value of…