Intended for teachers, the articles in this book examine some of the uncertainties and problems that practicing teachers encountered when moving from a traditional to a holistic perspective in their teaching. The book shares the questions, the conflicts the teachers have undergone, and the change in beliefs that are part of becoming a…

As reflective teaching has been a major concern in education with the movement for increased teacher professionalism and involvement in all aspects of school decision-making, the 10 articles in this volume address reflective practice in the social studies with an emphasis on how reflection and inquiry can contribute to both teacher and curriculum…

This research probes the content and consequences of the decisions that teachers make while conducting a lesson. Subjects included 2 middle school teachers (grades 7 and 8) and 35 of their students. This research employed participant observation, informant interviewing, and shared viewing of a videotaped lesson to explore interactive decision…

The Ohio Consortium for Portfolio Development was established in 1988 as an interinstitutional research effort to integrate portfolio development into teacher education. In addition, a sub-phase focused on portfolio use by entry year teachers in a metropolitan school system. The three founding universities, located in southwestern Ohio, are:…

This paper puts forth techniques for the promotion of reflection which can be used in university seminars for preservice teachers. The techniques are based on the idea of reframing, i.e., looking at experiences from a new perspective. From a cognitive psychological point of view, this means that the person's cognitions about a situation or…

The purpose of this study was to explore the potential of a self-study project which required explicit self-monitoring as a tool for initiating reflection in a group of novice teachers during their student teaching experience. The study was structured to encourage student teachers to bring to a conscious level of awareness a problem within their…

The purpose of the paper is to examine potential reasons for the lack of influence that reflective inquiry has had on social studies theory and to suggest an alternative perspective. The first two sections of the paper discuss the reasons for reflective inquiry's failure to impact on practice and include: (1) the interpretation of the inquiry…

This study describes the interactive styles of two university professors and their students in traditional and reflective seminar contexts. As both professors taught the same group of undergraduates in an inquiry oriented experimental teacher education program and also taught groups of graduate students in traditional seminars, it was possible to…

Many educational philosophers and researchers have argued the importance of including ethical study and reflection in educational preparation programs, both for prospective teachers and administrators. Among other potential benefits, a moral foundation allows educators to evaluate current practices and assess their work amidst a seemingly…

"Stepping Up to Science and Math" invites teachers to step back and rethink the way they teach both of these essential subjects. Then it illustrates how teachers can step up the pace with Standards-based activities that make learning more effective and efficient. (New lessons featuring gummy worms, school buses, or the planet Mars help teachers…

The paper reports a study of the knowledge preservice secondary school mathematics teachers [PSSMT] hold of problem solving and the role of a reflective-inquiry approach in creating self-awareness of, and in enhancing, this knowledge. The approach included solving problems, narratives, flow charts and observations. The finding shows that the…

This brief paper describes the Peer Coaching Rural In-Service Model (PRISM) Behavioral Consultant (PBC) program, an online tool for teachers that provides advice on handling simple classroom behavior problems. PBC's advice is based on a series of rules and expressions used by the computer program to make inferences and eliminate inappropriate…

This book is about meeting the needs of all students--especially those in the intermediate grades with mild to moderate disabilities who need special education services--by teaching them in inclusive, general education classrooms where literacy is a personal, academic, and social event in which children are immersed all day. The book tells about…

This study examined the evolution of the accuracy and thoroughness of teachers' recall of their own, and their students', specific classroom behaviors, noting its relationship to the frequency and level of their reflection. Participants of the study were three groups of elementary teachers (four novice student teachers, five teachers with 1-6.5…

Much is being emphasized in staff development in the area of reading instruction. It is important for teachers to study and think reflectively about what can be done to improve the elementary reading curriculum. One procedure that can be used is to hold a quality workshop based on the needs of reading teachers. Teachers might volunteer to serve on…