This book presents, in journal form, the teaching philosophy of Louis Schmier, a university history professor. Through a series of brief essays that were originally published as electronic mail on the Internet, he challenges teachers to reach out to their students. He suggests that unless the teacher values, respects, likes, and accepts himself,…

If teachers have the skills to successfully educate students without disabilities, then they can succeed in teaching students with disabilities who are included in regular education. Preservice level teachers need skills for successful participation in the daily routines of inclusive classrooms before they actually enter the regular classroom.…

This study examined recent literature related to constructivist teacher education, focusing on descriptions of programs and research on program efforts and effects. The study involved literature published from 1990 to the present on constructivist teacher education. This included 20 preservice programs and 15 inservice programs. The studies were…

This study analyzed rural Texas teachers commitment to purposeful change through active participation in a teacher study group, the Reflective Practice Discussion Group (RPDG). The RPDG involved focused, rule-governed discussion that examined how to support teachers engaged in purposeful change. The fundamental professional concern of the project…

This document contains 19 papers presented at a conference on educating adult educators at the University of Exeter, England in July 1998. The following are included: "Themes and Issues in Training the Adult Educator" (Rosesanne Benn); "Training Adult Educators in Poland" (Tadeusz Aleksander); "Educating Teacher…

This paper examines collaborative research by a Brazilian public university and public elementary school, highlighting a thematic program of applied research and teaching that addressed improvement in teaching and learning quality through inservice teacher education. The project was designed to build a knowledge base of teacher learning and…

Discusses a program in which adult education English-as-a-Second-Language teachers worked with mentors to cultivate valuable professional habits. Notes the three characteristics of the program: concentration on the dynamics of classroom instruction; emphasis on practices such as reflective journaling and peer discussion; and a commitment to allow…

This article proposes a Greek elementary teacher education curriculum, which includes a four-semester, four-level practicum component. The overall program objective is preparation of reflective teachers through interweaving theory and practice in the curriculum. International trends in practicums, clinical schools, and use of technology-rich…

Increasing pressure has been placed on teacher education to prepare teachers to educate bilingual/bicultural students using scientifically-based teaching methods. Socio-cultural theory and pedagogy have emerged as a research-based foundation for diversity teacher preparation. Socio-cultural theory rests on the premise that learning is social,…

Providing support focused on real challenges is critical in retaining highly qualified new science teachers, but the field lacks a systematic description of these teachers' needs. The authors of this article examine the areas that science teachers are expected to understand: (1) the content and disciplines of science; (2) learners; (3)…

The goal of this study was to develop theories about how novice teachers connect the process of reflectivity to their classroom management. The study focused on whether novice teachers connect their observations about situations which occur in case studies to their own experiences, whether they reflect before or after their actions, and whether…

This article discusses a university-public school partnership involving 10 school sites, which have become professional development schools (PDSs). These PDSs contribute to a continuum of professional development for educators at all levels: preservice teachers, inservice teachers, public school administrators, and teacher educators. Professional…

This paper describes several practices designed to challenge preservice teachers to question their assumptions regarding multiculturalism and to explore other points of view. The "Culture Walk" at Susquehanna University (Pennsylvania) increases awareness and sensitivity to interpersonal and personal identities. It involves writing and…

This study reports on an effort to improve the teaching and learning of physical science for prospective elementary teachers. As part of the effort, a new constructivist science curriculum model was introduced for field testing at a large midwestern university. The purpose of the study was to build a research base to guide future science teaching…

Emphasizing that language arts and reading are "binding agents" for all kinds of learning and should be integrated throughout the elementary curriculum, the guiding philosophy of this book is that the best teachers are those who continue to learn along with their students. Each chapter in the book ends with a "Teacher as…