Asserts that teacher education programs should emphasize pedagogical concepts that interweave theory and practice so that preservice teachers learn consistent, unified approaches to teaching, noting that the theory-practice dichotomy lacks the richness of Vygotsky's notion of concepts and recommending that teacher educators strive to teach…

Teacher education is often viewed as too theoretical and not sufficiently concerned with the realities of classroom practice. From this perspective, theory and practice are cast as distinct realms whose only connection comes when theory influences practice. This paper argues that the theory-practice dichotomy lacks the richness of Vygotsky's…

Intended to help teachers think of ways to broaden the range of intelligences students use in language arts classes within the constraints of the content area, this book offers help for teachers who want to create classes in which students enthusiastically participate in constructive activities. In its first section ("Theory and…

Considers two competing accounts of how writers construct meaning, the designative tradition (which holds that speech artifacts mediate people's thinking) and the expressive tradition (which focuses on the transformation of inner speech to public speech). Show how one student's writing experiences reveal the interrelated roles of these two…

Studies the ways in which three graduate students applied theoretical and pedagogical tools in a collaborative independent study course. Concludes that the students' use of research tools was more consistent with the teacher's understanding of profitable uses than was their appropriation of the conceptual tools advanced in the course readings. (TB)

Explains how learning the benefits of doing classroom research during student teaching can give aspiring practitioners an opportunity to appreciate the benefits of classroom investigation and gain knowledge of research methods. Proposes that such investigations be undertaken as a collaborative venture between a student teacher and a cooperating…

This book is based on the premise that, although many professional organizations and the public are concerned about how teachers are prepared for their profession, this concern is not reflected in research about teaching methods classes. By presenting findings about the educational experiences of preservice teachers, the book aims to generate…

In this paper the authors focus on one early-career teacher, co-author Natalie Gibson, whose initial teaching experiences were mediated by educational settings shaped by these different and often conflicting traditions. Their study of Natalie's early-career trajectory is concerned with understanding her effort to develop a conception of…

In this article, the authors try to extend the complex and provocative conversations at the Conference on English Education Summit. They argue on several critical programmatic issues, including the need for greater program coherence, the continuing dilemma of the gulf between schools and universities, and both the promise and the problems of…

Noting that teachers sometimes fail to draw on students' prior knowledge, this guide focuses on helping teachers both to think about the cognitive processes involved in learning and to design activities that provide students with a solid introduction to various learning tasks. The first section briefly discusses current theory and research in…