This paper reports on a comparison of two research approaches of the study of the reflective practice in two different modes of tele-guidance of the school practicum. The results of two studies were contrasted encouraging the dialogue between researchers coming from different research paradigms. Although the researchers in the two studies shared…

Synchronous communication has a great potential to increase individual participation and group collaboration. Despite increasing use, scant research has been conducted on variables impacting successful synchronous learning. This study focuses on learner experiences in a real-time communication mediated by the Breeze web-based collaboration system.…

In this study, a learning unit on microorganisms for ninth-grade students was developed based on the Science-Technology-Environment-Society (STES) approach. The learning unit contained 15 learning tasks, which were performed in individual and cooperative learning settings, using a variety of teaching/learning methods with an emphasis on the…

This collection draws from the best of the "ERS Spectrum" principalship literature over the past five years to provide K-12 principals with a guide to reflective practice. The resource provided here is distinctive in the way it addresses the dual roles of the principal--as instructional and managerial leader--in a format that is designed both for…

Using collaborative critical reflection as an index, this study examines the asynchronous and face-to-face discourse of 28 suburban Chicago elementary teachers developing problem based learning (PBL) curriculum. Statistical analysis of the corpus produced by the 2 mediums shows that the asynchronous online network emerges as the medium of choice…

Urban public schools and their teachers are under siege. From increased standardization, privatization and testing to a growing number of students whose needs are not being met by schools, urban public school teachers face a daunting task. Without a space in which to critically examine their daily experiences within schools, many well-intentioned…

Teaching is by nature a complex activity filled with ambiguities and dilemmas. Teaching also is fundamentally a moral activity, making the dilemmas and ambiguities both pedagogical and moral in nature. This article describes one teacher's reflections on her efforts to resolve the dilemmas and ambiguities presented to her by the competing…

Service learning can be a vehicle to promote democracy in the teacher education classroom. Incorporating service learning into a teacher education program is an uphill battle: teacher candidates lead complicated lives with professional and family responsibilities, some continue long-standing volunteer commitments to their communities, and course…

Constructivist theory has brought significant momentum to all aspects of teacher education. Currently, personal growth of the individual in educational domains is so important that teacher candidates are asked to develop their reflective skills in many courses so that they grow by having internalized and problematized the issues under study by…

This study followed a small but diverse group of biology teachers through the first two years of the pilot for a new Advanced Level Biology course--Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology. SNAB aims to modernise A-level Biology using real world contexts and examples as the starting point, promoting conceptual understanding rather than factual recall,…

This paper is to explore "I-would-have-had-more-success-if...," the reflections of a beginning online teacher and her students in an undergraduate Web-based course. The data used in the paper was gathered using the instructor's journals, student feedback, and an analysis of online discussions. The instructor maintained journals reflecting upon…

This article is based on a study conducted in a teacher education classroom in an attempt to 1) recognize and acknowledge teacher candidates' prior beliefs and experiences; 2) formalize the connection between theories of child development and learning and teacher's implicit beliefs; and 3) encourage teacher candidates to reflect on their own…

University professors increasingly are expected to infuse computer technology in teaching. Many universities are aggressively promoting the delivery of entire courses and programs using computers and the Internet as vehicles for instruction. There is also a movement to align university teaching with the national standards for K-12 teaching.…

Individually and collectively, institutions of higher education possess considerable resources--human, fiscal, organizational, and intellectual--which are critical to addressing significant social issues. Additionally, these institutions are physically rooted in their communities. Therefore, investing in the betterment of their immediate…

Turning Points is a national design for middle school change, coordinated by the Center for Collaborative Education in Boston, Massachusetts, which serves as the National Turning Points Center. The design focuses on restructuring middle schools to improve learning, teaching, and assessment for all students. It is based on the seminal "Turning…