The project described in this digest was designed with the belief that teacher professional growth can best be fostered through sustained collaborative inquiry between teachers and researchers. It set out to incorporate what is known about quality professional development with the special features necessary for meeting the needs of English…

An elementary music teacher worked to interest minority and female students in computers by combining the music subject matter, in which they excelled, with computer technology. The article chronicles the teacher's action research project in which she instilled confidence in female and minority students when using computers. (SM)

Presents the case study of an online conference for students of English in a teacher education course. Argues electronic conferencing reveals the inadequacy of the concept of "reflective practitioner" to describe and analyze the complex process of teacher development. Demonstrates the social character of learning, highlighting the place…

Preservice training partnerships between schools and universities can appear to be driven by the demands of external accountability. A Neo-Vygotskian model that incorporates understandings of teaching and learning is offered as a framework for preservice training partnerships. Data from a teaching school-university partnership program illustrate…

A study of five mentors in a K-5 professional development school investigated how mentors talk about their theories of how novices learn to teach, use different sources of knowledge to help novices learn to teach, and model and encourage critical reflection about critical issues in teacher education. (IAH)

This study investigated the reflective insights preservice secondary teachers constructed about their curriculum and instructional practices during one course and related field experiences, analyzing lesson plans, reflective papers, videotaped lessons, and interviews. Teachers felt responsible for creating environments that facilitated student…

Describes the aims of an evolving teaching resources database, TeleTeach, which is part of a computer-based teacher support network called TeleNex. The article discusses how TeleTeach's unique features may contribute toward building an electronic community of reflective teachers, suggesting that teaching materials are potentially complementary to…

This article examines the community of practice model as a framework for integrating educational research and practice. In addition to defining communities of practice and reflective practice, it describes two researcher-teacher partnerships and offers suggestions for transforming traditional methods of conducting research on educational practice.…

A teacher reflects on experiences teaching an online master's in ESOL program, offering insights about how the mode made her teach in less traditional ways, deal with more probing questions, and reconceptualize the roles of formal and informal text. (Author/VWL)

Assessed whether integrating classroom management and a Wednesday field experience would increase preservice teachers' knowledge and ability to connect theory with practice. Preservice elementary teachers wrote weekly reflections on topics they observed while in their assigned classrooms. The experience empowered most of them by helping them…

Discusses two types of research conducted in intensive English programs (IEPs): (1) assigned research, which examines program-wide issues and is often assigned to faculty members by program administrators; and (2) action research, which is research conducted by classroom teachers for the purpose of improving the learning environment. (nine…

Five strategies for teaching medical students in the ambulatory care setting are described: wave scheduling; orienting learners to patients; having learners do case presentations in the examination room; using the "one-minute preceptor"; and reflecting on teaching to develop effective teaching scripts. The techniques are based on…

The major characteristics of expert physical education teachers include thorough planning, focus on individual student performance, heightened perceptual abilities, automaticity of behavior, creative feedback responses, command of subject matter, and use of reflective practices. Suggestions for developing teaching expertise in all of the areas are…

Examined the usefulness of formal teacher preparation for those with prior teaching experience, investigating the experiences of Stanford Teacher Education Program graduates. Five themes emerged as central to their learning (e.g., greater awareness of students in their classes who were struggling academically and how to help them, broader and more…

Presents a classroom investigation conducted in the framework of Exploratory Practice (EP) and illustrates EP's potential for developing a research culture in a university institution. Illustrates how investigation into group work arose from interest in developing a culture of inquiry and concludes with a note of caution concerning the pace of…