This newsletter highlights the development of reflection and teaching skills in preservice teachers via peer coaching. Peer coaching in preservice programs can serve as an induction program, while with experienced teachers it can serve as professional development. Research suggests that peer coaching contributes to the development of effective…

A collaborative research project between the Educational Research Department of the University of Liege (Belgium) and a pedagogical high school (primary pre-service teachers) was aimed at the literacy development of the future teachers before they are able to teach reading and writing in first, second, and third grade classrooms. In Belgium future…

The document provides information about Courage to Teach (CTT) quarterly retreats for the personal and professional renewal of teachers, administrators, and counselors in the public schools. CTT retreats focus on renewing the inner lives of professionals in education. Information on what to expect, eligibility, schedule, venue, costs, and…

To examine the utility of the "Systematic Self-Reflection" (SSR) process, a study investigated the effects of three levels of self-reflection--systematic, focused, and random--on problem solving and efficacy in 62 elementary school teachers. The study examined the application of four components of a problem-solving model (problem…

The set of papers collected in this anthology were developed from presentations given at the 16th meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME-NA), November 5-8, 1994, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. These papers provide conceptual explorations of dimensions of teacher change such as…

Classroom strategies and techniques can help novice teachers break with traditional ways of thinking about teaching English and begin the process of becoming reflective practitioners who see teaching as a complex activity that requires creative solutions to teaching problems. Research on pre- and inservice teachers on their metaphors for teaching…

Howard Community College uses the Quality Evaluation of Service Trends (QUEST) Survey to ask its employees to evaluate themselves and each other in terms of the quality of service they render to their various constituencies each year. Results of the 1999 survey include: (1) of the 51 service areas listed, 34 improved their ratings over the last…

This paper describes the development of a secondary education collaborative model leading to the redesign of the secondary education preservice teacher preparation program at one university. To initiate the collaboration, an invitational conference was held which included representatives of all stakeholders in secondary teacher preparation (school…

This book offers an array of useful strategies for implementing shared reading techniques in pre-K through grade 2 classrooms. Starting with an overview of shared reading theory, the book draws largely from the models of Don Holdaway and illustrates the correlation between classroom reading and the bedtime story. While traditional aspects of…

Based on more than three years of in-depth research, this book tells the stories of a small group of Latino and Latina students attending a predominantly White high school in a rural area of southeast Michigan. The book takes readers inside the hallways and classrooms of Addison High and into the homes and neighborhoods of Spanish-speaking…

This paper argues that teacher knowledge is a necessary component in the development of new knowledge about teaching and learning. Teacher knowledge in collaboration with university partnerships that are engaged in the practice of intentional change coupled with reflective conversations that serve as an enhancement to ongoing, long-term…

This paper describes J. Rosengren's post-final assignment and M. Harmin's truth signs activity that were incorporated into a secondary science methods course for preservice teachers. The strength of the post-final assignment is that it is a strategy for extending student learning past the end of a course and even beyond the initial teaching…

As one of the major schools of thought in ancient China, Taoism centers on the concept of "Tao", the Way, which has two distinct characteristics: (1) Tao itself can be deemed as a final "reality" that is equivalent to the ontology of the Universe; and (2) Tao itself cannot be defined directly by human language. Taoism posits a holistically…

This paper describes how preservice teachers at Sweden's Linkoping University are prepared to become reflective practitioners. Students participate in a pedagogical seminar group that meets monthly. Within the group, they discuss matters important to all teachers and examine reflective texts that they had to write at the beginning of their teacher…

This report argues that the most effective way to raise academic achievement is for teachers to become inquiring professionals with action-research and reflective-thinking skills. The report defines effectiveness and examines the views of various stakeholders about what qualities they value in school, arguing that effectiveness is a complex…