One of the most important tasks in working with teachers is helping them develop their own abilities to create developmentally appropriate curriculum for young children. This paper reflects on, from two perspectives, the ongoing process of teachers developing an understanding of how children learn and how that process affects curriculum…

An effective teacher must continue to learn, problem-solve, and respond to the evolving needs of his or her students. Ideally a culture of inquiry, reflection, and self-evaluation should develop. Voluntary inquiry-based reflection identifies problems and issues within a school and allows teachers and administrators to develop professional study…

Decision-making in Reading Recovery requires skills of observation and reflective analysis that many teachers have not had to learn in order to be good classroom teachers. This is because Reading Recovery sets the teacher a very complex task which involves the construction of a curriculum for each individual child--a curriculum that is…

This book is a discussion of teaching as learning--rooted in the author's personal history as a teacher and learner, and offered as one story among many to help other teachers ask questions about their own practice. The book is not intended to be a manual or a step-by-step guide for use in the classroom. Instead, it emphasizes the triumphs that…

At a suburban Indiana elementary school, the Project Approach serves as the basis of the curriculum in all Kindergarten classrooms. The four classes of 5- and 6-year-old children at this school chose to study llamas. This article discusses how the project evolved, describes the three phases of the project, and provides teachers' reflections on the…

This booklet provides information about the basic principles of portfolio development, outlining three types of portfolios and offering examples and reflections. The three types of portfolios are process, product, and showcase. Each is compiled for a different reason, though they all: have a specific purpose, are developed for a specific audience,…

This paper briefly reviews the evidence on the use of the reflective journal as a learning and professional development tool for teachers and school administrators. It argues that a new trend tends to permeate the teaching profession: reflecting on what teaching really means. It also contends that a reflective educator is aware that taking time…

This paper focuses on pre-service teacher education and elaborates on the critical importance of three attributes to the development of professional science teachers: (1) science teachers must be reflective practitioners of their profession; (2) all instructional practice and decisions of science teachers must be backed by a research-based…

This study explored classroom teachers' roles as reflective decision makers, surveying 260 K-12 teachers about professional development, teaching strategies, textbooks, testing and measurement, and mechanisms they used to distinguish between successful and unsuccessful teaching methods. Results indicate that nearly all of the teachers think about…

Explains the development of the Teaching Matrix, a model designed to encourage clinician-teachers to reflect on their teaching before, during, and after each teaching session. The model focuses on who and what is being taught, how the material is being taught, student comprehension, and self-assessment. (MDM)

This article identifies questions and strategies to help teachers become more self-aware regarding their interactions with students with behavioral and emotional disorders. Strategies address: (1) identifying and defusing emotional triggers; (2) shifting focus; (3) reducing burnout and nurturing teacher mental health; (4) assessing ability to use…

Notes one of the most prominent debates in composition over the last 10 years concerns abolition of required first-year English. Elaborates three points as they contribute to the author's overall argument that the abolitionist debate is not one that needs to be resolved, but instead is an exchange of ideas from which others in the field can learn…

Examines implementation of the California Formative Assessment and Support System for Teachers (CFASST) within local California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) programs using data from six case studies and highlighting how local BTSA program directors thought about and acted to implement CFASST. The study illustrated the essential…

Demonstrates how a final year student teacher takes up a two-stage methodology for reflective practice generated from the principles of traditional literary theory and cultural studies, particularly poststructuralism. He produced a personal reading of his field experience documented as a picture book, and then a critically alternative (re)reading.…

A model for reflective self-study by nursing faculty includes three phases: assessment (being open to critique, finding collaborative partners, formulating research questions); implementation (understanding validation criteria, choosing data collection and analysis methods, maintaining data integrity); and dissemination (communicating findings,…