This article explores the development of a generative, research-based approach to mentoring initial teacher training students in a Training School/university partnership. Drawing on data from mentors, trainees and pupils it describes two phases of development, both of which use video recordings of participants' classroom practice to stimulate…

Family and consumer sciences (FCS) professionals can have a positive impact on the human condition of individuals and families living in poverty. However, to fully understand the issues of poverty, professionals need exposure to the issues and concentrated time to examine poverty through research, issue analysis, and reflection. This article…

In order to effectively meet the needs of families, this paper argues that there is a need for people working in the arena of family support to incorporate theory and research into their practice and to engage in a process of reflective practice. An inter-disciplinary cyclical model of training for experienced family support practitioners is…

How many technology teachers reflect on their teaching each and every day? How many technology teachers ask themselves the hard questions surrounding student learning and their own teaching? How many technology teachers ask their students for feedback on a daily basis? In this article, the author shares her personal story about reflective…

This paper reports on a study of the frequency and level(s) of teachers' reflection and the thoroughness of their recall of their own and their students' specific classroom behaviors. The sample consisted of 3 groups of elementary school teachers: 4 novice student teachers, 5 teachers with 1 to 6.5 years experience, and 3 teachers with from 10 to…

The essay explores the common threads that wove through John Dewey's "Art as Experience" and "Logic: The Theory of Inquiry" (published 1934 and 1938 respectively). Both works were parts of a system of ideas, not isolated books as some critics suggest. In order to show that there is a common basis for Dewey's two books,…

Addressing teacher educators, this paper describes the importance of story as a reflective teaching tool, and provides brief annotations of 11 children's picture books (published between 1989 and 1998) which have reading as a critical story element. The children's picture books listed in this paper can be used to assist teachers in analyzing their…

Reading, writing, and reflecting can be used as tools during teachers' professional development opportunities. Various forums and activities that support an evolving view of professional development tend to encourage active participation and decision-making, reflective practice, and constructing knowledge based on discussions and readings. Book…

Numeracy can be defined as having the competence and disposition to use mathematics to meet the general demands of life at home, in paid work, and for participation in community and civic life (Willis 1992). An important aspect of developing the capacity to use mathematics in everyday life is, for students at school, to use mathematics to meet the…

Teaching can be understood as acting and deciding in a complex system. On that problem oriented mathematics instruction (POMI) can be characterized as very high complex particularly regarding to mathematical-cognitive aspects. To cope with resulting demands in the long run, the teacher has to be sensitive for this complexity. But what does this…

In this book 100 dynamic educators share some words that are important to them and what those words mean for teaching--here are the ideas that can start a teacher's day or stimulate new ideas for class activities. According to the book, each educator was asked to select a term that reflected an important idea for teaching; the terms appear in…

This paper suggests that self-evaluation should be a significant component of teachers' daily work, presenting a model of systematic self-evaluation to help teachers generate classroom solutions through self-study (thus leading them to more complex forms of classroom inquiry). After a historical and theoretical perspective, the paper proposes a…

This study documented variations in program designs and implementation strategies, linking them to beginning teachers' professional growth, particularly reflective practices. Data were collected in six sites during 1999-00 as part of an evaluation of the implementation of the California Formative Assessment and Support System for Teachers, which…

This small book presents a collection of wisdom-based guidelines for teachers who are working in inclusive settings and is based on the authors' many years of experience as educators. The brief aphorisms are grouped under the following principles: (1) Effective Teachers Have Positive Expectations for Success; (2) Effective Teachers are Good…

Helping teachers move toward more developmentally appropriate practice in classrooms for young children is a major goal of the early childhood educational profession. However, little is known about factors likely to result in more developmentally appropriate practice (DAP). This study examined the relationship between preschool teachers'…