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)

Highlights critical moments in classrooms that demonstrate the powerful teacher-student relationship that is imperative to effective teaching and learning. Suggests that a learning group would be an effective way to structure a graduate class for teachers. Contends that observing children is an important learning technique for teachers. (PM)

Traces the history of reflection in teacher education, focusing on its emergence through the influences of Descartes, Dewey, Schon, and feminism. Uses the critical lenses of Foucaultian genealogy and the sociology of scientific knowledge to investigate how the complicated meanings of reflection play out in complex ways through research practice.…

Describes the author's incorporation of compassion into her teaching as an English teacher. Describes herself as an interminable idealist who is driven by the idea that her English students will learn to love words for the brilliance of articulation they offer. (SG)

Presents one teacher's reflections on the interaction of the terrorist attacks with her personal and pedagogical value systems. Challenges teachers to reassess their priorities in light of historical events that have forced their way into the classroom. Considers the role of time and place in the practice of teaching. (SG)

Describes how a teacher's journey of documenting everyday literacy events on the streets in her community changes her understanding of what it means to bring the outside world and local literacies into her classroom. Concludes that educators must place value on who students are and where they come from. Suggests that educators and students must…

Notes that the best teaching, like the best poetry, can often be found in reflection, lingering in the margin, in the periphery, in any place you would not expect to find it. Describes the author's personal experience with poetry in teaching her high school class. Suggests that poetry acts as a natural, personal, imperfect force for truth and…

Attempts to understand and relate only a part of the theory of Northrop Frye in "Anatomy of Criticism" and its implications for critical reading. Suggests that if theory is used as a practical basis for literature education then educators must not abuse the privilege and simply use the theory without reflection. (SG)