Examined the experience of being part of a cohort-based Masters Degree program for practicing teachers. Data came from participants electronic portfolios and a qualitative survey that explored eight cohort dimensions. Results indicated that use of a cohort-based delivery model enhanced program coherence and fostered collaboration, inquiry, and…

A first grade teacher recounts how she applied findings in the literature about effective organizations and leadership to build more responsible, self-sufficient, and empowered young citizens. The account is organized around seven "realities" such as: "if something enters the curriculum, something usually exits the curriculum,""determine what is…

Focuses on the reporting of critical incidents as a tool for self-reflection in a program to train English-as-a-Second-language (ESL) secondary school teachers in Malaysia. Case studies of critical incidents highlight the potential value of encouraging ESL trainee teachers to record, analyze, and reflect on significant personal events in their…

A kindergarten teacher relates her teaching experiences as she reexamines her role as teacher and shifts her focus from reading readiness to teaching reading. She reflects on her teaching practices, on learning new skills herself, and the challenge of incorporating new knowledge and practices into classroom instruction. (TJQ)

Discusses new challenges for preservice and inservice teacher education connected with changing conceptions of the teaching profession in the Czech Republic, noting innovative approaches and strategies (e.g., constructivist approaches, reflective practice, and university-school cooperation) and examining training strategies to help students…

Investigates the use of computer mediated communication (CMC) with a six-member preservice teacher cohort during their student teaching experience. Concludes that opportunities for peer collaboration were enhanced, CMC allowed participants to engage in professional dialogue, the use of technology was translated to the classroom context, and…

Maps the personal and professional contexts for reflection of participants in an interprofessional doctoral program entitled "Reflective Practice," describing the contexts and the effects of teaching strategies designed to ensure that cognitive and emotional self-examination and confrontation were accompanied by teacher and peer support…

This article examines the responses of European American monolingual English-speaking preservice undergraduate education majors to critical issues related to the education of language minority students in P-12 schools. Data analysis of autobiographies, journals, portfolios, thematic units, position papers, and case studies indicated a correlation…

Teachers for the twenty-first century for the global world need to be proficient in technology and skilled as reflective practitioners. They need to be able to reflect on diversity in myriad ways: learning styles, special needs, cultural differences, racial differences, developmentally appropriate differences, teaching styles and personality…

Several years ago the author attended a week-long orientation for a new job she was taking as an English teacher in an affluent suburb of Chicago. On the first day, the school's director of student activities led all of the new teachers in an "icebreaker," wherein they were taught how to juggle. However, the author could not juggle. When it was…

Mindfulness meditation is increasingly recognized as a health promotion practice across many different kinds of settings. Concomitantly, contemplative education is being integrated into colleges and universities in order to enhance learning through reflection and personal insight. The confluence of these trends provides an opportunity to develop…

This article draws upon and integrates a number of distinct but overlapping areas of inquiry in the literature on teaching: teacher inquiry, reflective practice, spirituality and education, and contemplative practice. In it, we examine the implementation of a particular phenomenological form of teacher inquiry, the Descriptive Review, in an urban…

The article reports on a project conducted with a group of MA-ELT students during their teaching practicum. Many student-teachers, like many teachers in general, rarely see and hear themselves or experience the lessons they conduct from the other side of the fence. When teachers themselves are asked to do the things they normally assign to their…

The purpose of this study was to examine how student teachers (STs) linked their observation and reflection skills to assist them in bridging the theory to practice gap during their elementary student teaching experience. Eight STs were videotaped on two different occasions during their elementary assignment. Immediately following the lesson, the…

This case study focuses on one student as she engaged in a general education art course that integrated visual art, writing, and expressive movement. In the beginning of the semester, this elementary education major had little interest or experience in the arts. Over the semester, however, she moved from being resistant and fearful of art to being…