A self-study methodology is used to explore the impact of introducing interactive whiteboard technology to a primary school classroom. Several key insights, described as "nodal moments", provided the impetus for the teacher to review her practice, reconsider her students' learning approaches and explore the relationship between the introduction of…

This article explores how dialogue journals and response journals can be used to encourage reflection among pre-service teachers. Thirty-one pre-service English teachers from two Hong Kong universities participated in the study. One group wrote dialogue journals and the other group wrote response journals throughout two semesters on two separate…

A great deal has been written in the professional literature about the importance of dispositions for beginning teachers with initial certification; however, little attention has been paid to the dispositions necessary for advanced certification candidates. What dispositions are expected of advanced certification candidates? How can these…

This article deals with a group of distance learning student teachers, who, after the course was completed, called themselves "The Magic Group". The concept "magic" refers to the reflective and productive learning process the group members experienced, a process far beyond their individual borders. The collaborative process was…

This article involved a series of investigations influenced by the Reggio Emilia approach to early education as well as ideas of Paulo Freire. Within a Reggio-influenced classroom, teacher professional development is seen as essential, whereas for Paulo Freire, both teacher and the student are learners. These 2 ideas were brought together in a…

This book presents a feminist pedagogy of multiculturalism developed from Paulo Freire's theories on the politics of literacy. Freire has argued that literacy is the precondition for not only forms of social and political agency, but also social transformation and emancipation. In his view, teachers and students must refuse to be either experts or…

The changing world requires an improvement in school education, part of which involves the creation of self-renewing educational organizations to assist that implementation. This paper argues that the quality of teacher education can help to produce these self-renewing organizations and describes East Carolina University School of Education's…

This paper presents a model of adult reasoning that is consistent with a set of related psychological theories of learning known collectively as constructivism. Three general factors comprise the model: (1) personal epistemology (defined as beliefs about learning, dispositions toward thinking, and assumptions about knowledge itself); (2) sustained…

A university supervisor used a "Stages of Concern" activity to promote reflective practice in preservice teachers. She wanted to show student teachers early in the semester that changes could be predicted, followed, and charted through their practicum to assess professional growth. The "Stages of Concern" model provides an…

Research suggests a strong association between the existence of professional learning communities within schools, increases in the effectiveness of practice, and improvement in student achievement. This paper describes the National School Reform Faculty (NSRF), a professional development program at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at…

This study reports on a high school teacher using emancipatory action research to implement cooperative learning strategies in a chemistry class. Data were collected and analyzed using qualitative methods. The findings of the study indicate: (1) students accept cooperative learning if they feel it can increase their ability to learn content; (2)…

Members of the National Center for Research in Mathematical Sciences Education Working Group on the Teaching/Learning of Quantities began research in 1991 to identify the teacher characteristics associated with individuals considered by their peers as leaders or early adopters--whose mathematics teaching already exemplifies the spirit of the…

Preservice teacher education curriculum and instruction were surveyed to reveal the state of the art, to identify issues and problems, and to submit suggestions for improvement. Part I, "The Teacher Education Curriculum," presents an overview of current practice in the preservice curriculum. It considers both the general and professional education…

In its lifetime, the profession of language teaching has undergone many changes. Early attempts at language teaching almost entirely lacked a theoretical base. In the 20th century, however, two sets of language teaching methods emerged; the first set borrowed theories from psychology, linguistics, and sociolinguistics whereas the second set was…

The paper describes efforts to support the development of reflective practice at a basic school in Brno, the Czech Republic. The aims, structure, content and methods are mentioned, as well as some preliminary results. Also, the authors suggest a few preconditions of the success of possible future actions. The specific case is seen from the…