This article features an innovative project called the "Teacher Learning Center" (TLC) that is jointly funded by the South Dakota Department of Education, Black Hills State University (BHSU), and the Spearfish School District in Spearfish, South Dakota. The purpose of this project was to provide opportunities for preservice and new…

At the 2007 annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, we presented a workshop entitled "How to do the Scholarship of Teaching." The workshop had three main goals: to introduce participants to the literature on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) and to various SoTL outlets, to guide participants in the process of doing…

"A Nation at Risk" sounded the call for school improvement and offered recommendations for bringing it about. "No Child Left Behind" was even more prescriptive in its approach to raising student achievement. However, as the author of this article points out, for all their recommendations and strategies, both reform efforts neglect the essential…

Background: In exploring the complexity of teaching, scholars have suggested that greater attention needs to be paid to the teachers' thoughts and actions and to how these affect quality teaching. Up to today, very few studies have investigated the relationship between teachers' beliefs and practices even though it has an important role to play in…

Educational researchers have recently suggested that Schon's influential model of the "reflective practitioner" lacks a prospective, or future, dimension. In this study, we examine instances of future-oriented talk produced by novice English as-a-second-language (ESL) teachers during mentoring meetings in one North American university…

In Vietnam, despite the introduction of a new curriculum based on a child-centred education approach, there exist many problems and challenges in the educational process. To overcome these problems, the Vietnamese and Japanese governments have been conducting an in-service teacher-training programme, including school-based observation and…

This paper describes the findings of a study of general and special educators' perceptions of co-teaching in elementary and middle school classrooms. A total of 85 students, 20 general education, and 11 special education teachers participated in this investigation in which student drawings were used as both data and as tools to spark teacher…

Research on staff development suggests that teachers are more likely to benefit from training if they are able to learn on their own. This paper examines staff development for early childhood professionals, focusing on the need for an individualized approach and applying the findings to preschool education in Singapore. The paper considers the…

As soon as new teachers entered schools and classrooms, they seemed to be sorely frustrated with trying to make sense of what to do. They described a deep sense of being lost and not knowing which way to turn to find their way. The question was how to support them to realize the power and promise of drawing upon what they already knew about…

A teacher educator and artist explores alternate ways to think of teaching as a creative endeavor. This paper brings together the voices of Appalachian craftswomen and the wisdom of educator and philosopher John Dewey to create a patchwork that celebrates the common threads of quiltmaking and teaching. Interviews with West Virginia craftswomen and…

Notes that one of the major challenges facing a new teacher is reconciling all of the education and research with moment-by-moment real-life classroom action. Converts what the authors have learned from students into a set of seven guidelines that should be given to every graduating student teacher. (SG)

Analyzed how instructors designed courses to embrace the scholarship of teaching and learning. Case studies and qualitative analyses of data revealed that some are approaching teaching as an investigative process: informed by multiple assessment methods, they explored how changes in course designs can improve student learning and development. (EV)

Presents findings from an Australian study that examined experienced teachers' reflective practice by asking whether a new approach generated from aspects of poststructuralism can help teachers move to more critical reflection. While earlier research indicated that very few preservice teachers challenged assumptions on which their own visually and…

Presents the author's ideas about teaching in the form of a letter to his students. Gives his message in the form of a story. Focuses on a reverence for questions, an acceptance of solitude, and a commitment to reflectiveness. (SG)

Ways in which adult educators can bring spirituality into educational practice include engaging in autobiographical reflection, creating an environment for spiritual learning, creating a dialogical space, and fostering an ethic of care. (SK)