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'…

Preservice teachers' constructions of meaning within a multicultural education course are explored in this study. The study considers whether prior expectations have an impact on service learning, what meanings preservice teachers make from service learning, and whether reflection has an influence on meaning making. This interpretive case study…

This paper focuses on the utilization of reflective teaching and thinking as a tool to engage teachers in the process of observing, examining, analyzing, and evaluating their philosophy of teaching and learning and their effectiveness as teachers. Research has indicated that reflection encourages teachers to assess critically "What am I…

Describes a case study with four teachers from a secondary agricultural school using an action research model to examine their teaching practice and materials with the intent of developing an environmental dimension to their teaching. Presents the research and development process, the main outcomes, and implications for environmental education.…

Suggests that it is important for writing teachers to focus on specific students within specific contexts and to try to reclaim the term "student centered." Proposes a new formulation of critical pedagogy that calls for an examination and location of the teachers' positions. Reflects on teaching the course "Writing and Reading about…

States that, for one instructor, professional inquiry in a graduate education program has led to a critical examination of day-to-day practice in the classroom, especially regarding the writing process in the grade 7-9 writing workshop he formerly taught. (PA)

This study investigated elementary and secondary physical educators' reflection within the teaching and learning environment and the role of reflection in their professional development. Data from observations, interviews, vignettes, and journals indicated that teaching context and concrete experiences were most often responsible for stimulating…

Presents a polylogue that represents the dilemmas, practicalities, tensions, and rewards encountered by four graduate students and two faculty members through participation in a seminar in qualitative methods and practice, a course that involved student-researchers in reading, reflection, and five weeks of fieldwork. Includes "prologues" for each…