Discusses mentoring as a professional development strategy to meet the needs of experienced and novice practitioners. Defines mentoring and differentiates it from supervision. Discusses the following aspects of early childhood mentoring programs: (1) goals and assumptions; (2) design and structure, including mentor qualifications and training; (3)…

Advocates a broader and more flexible conceptualization of the Canadian social studies curriculum, emphasizing thematic and interdisciplinary approaches rather than chronology and topics. Praises the reflective inquiry teaching model that adopts a learner-centered approach. Compares social studies to other curricula in an attempt to discover a new…

Discusses the implications of postmodernism for the field of the history of education, specifically from the point of view of theory and methodology. Briefly reviews theoretical applications and their leading adherents in Britain. Concludes that postmodern theory should make historians more self-reflective. (MJP)

This article describes one teacher's use of case studies with a class of secondary student teachers, examining her efforts to assess and better understand the effects of case method in teacher education. The challenges and possibilities of reflection on practice are discussed through the examination of case method. (Author/SM)

The frame analytical approach was used to explore the frames through which nine Finnish educators in early childhood programs interpret their working situations. Findings indicated that the educators interpreted their work through five different frames: educational, caring, managing, practical, and personal. Frames provided the rules and…

Describes the development and implementation of "The Curriculum and Pedagogy of Teacher Education," a doctoral course that used case studies to facilitate teacher learning opportunities at all levels. Students examined a set of oral cases, wrote their own cases, and discussed articles exploring subject matter, method, theory, and practice. (SM)

This article presents four cases of journeys of discovery and renewal, and the unexpected learning that results from exploring our practice with others. The authors are three classroom teachers--Steve, Stephanie and Bennyce--all of whom took part in a year-long action research sequence and the two professors--Helen and Mary--who co-taught these…

Anyone who works with new teachers must let them know that they should not have to make a choice between bringing up test scores or promoting lifelong learning. Mentor teachers must show beginning teachers how to be "passionate teachers," which the author defines as living a life as a reflective educator, making it a priority to build positive…

Popular and world music play an important role in Dutch music education. This article examines two case studies that illustrate authentic music learning environments in which these types of music are prominently used. The first case follows a student during her training at the Rotterdam Academy for Music Education, in which her own musical and…

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…

Teachers from an urban public high school and from a preK-12 private school in one metropolitan area discussed selections from John Dewey's works on education, art, and experience, in small study groups between 1996 and 1998. I facilitated these study groups as a joint inquiry with teachers about connections between Dewey's aesthetics and thinking…

In a time of high demand for qualified nurses, mass education has become the norm. This is a necessary constraint within which we have to learn to function. However, the need to educate large numbers of nurses may lead to a one-sided unimaginative reliance on the traditional lecture method, creating a learning environment that inadvertently limits…

This paper examines the potential for teacher education institutions to implement a "reflection in and on action" strategy in their training programs. A central argument is that the academic context of teacher education and the "reflection" approach can support a professionalism of teachers. However, a necessary precondition is…

This proceedings reports on a 2-day conference which was the culminating event of a study on ways in which to better integrate the liberal arts with teacher preparation. The papers in this volume represent a cross-section of the growing body of knowledge surrounding portfolios and teacher education. The strongest conclusions drawn from the…

This study focused on the student teacher's process of becoming a teacher with emphasis on reflective development during training; the kind of development that occurred in student teachers when the reflection ability was consciously promoted; the existence of any differences in reflective ability between the different year courses (1-3) and…