The hectic pace and rigid structures in many of today's schools make it difficult for educators to take time to reflect and learn. Experience is not enough. Reflection on experience is the pathway to improvement. Reflection provides a means for examining beliefs, assumptions, and practices. It can also result in the discovery of incongruities…

Describes and discusses the term "reflective practice," discussing John Dewey's and Donald Schon's statements on the term and levels or stages of reflective practice as understood by M. Van Mannen and by P. King and K. Kitchener. Discusses a teacher's reflective practices. (SR)

Examined the beliefs about knowing and learning among six toddler caregivers as well as their conceptions of good caregiving. Found that two caregivers held relativistic epistemological beliefs and four held multiplistic and mixed epistemological beliefs. The latter group lacked the same degree of reflectivity as the former group. Caregivers with…

Argues that schools will largely fail in their efforts to improve the moral and emotional growth of students if they do not attend to the moral and ethical development of teachers, especially urban teachers, who suffer from depression and disillusionment, the two primary causes of which are isolation and stress induced by problem students.…

Focus groups with beginning teachers examined their perceptions of their own development as reflective practitioners while participating in the California Formative Assessment and Support System for Teachers (CFASST). While teachers often expressed their proclivity to be reflective educators, CFASST's systematic structure and support allowed them…

Discusses some recent trends in teacher certification and professional development and the impact they have had on literacy instruction in schools. Argues for a multifaceted approach to meet the demand for high-quality teachers. Discusses alternative pathways to licensure. (SG)

An integrative approach views professional development for adult educators as learner centered and transformative; it should address motivation and technology. A new vision of professional development reconceptualizes the process to include understanding of contexts, active learning, reflection, and dialogue. (SK)

Describes how a teacher educator uses a Web-based discussion board to promote reflection, encourage engagement, and develop collegiality in preservice teachers. Investigates the effects that a discussion board (forum) created on a website would have on the discourse and reflection of preservice teachers. Considers how the discussion board would be…

Examines strategies for becoming a reflective teacher at the middle school level. Includes discussion of research on espoused theories of teaching, journal writing, cognitive coaching with peers, and action research projects. Encourages middle school educators working in teams to make the effort to become active reflective practitioners. (KB)

Discusses the importance of professional preparation and training of early childhood educators and the role of the National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development. Suggests that reflection, self-evaluation, and self-direction are critical to the process of professional development. Provides an instrument designed for…

Examines effects of teacher knowledge about learning on school effectiveness, based on experiences of 32 secondary teachers engaged in a reflectively oriented professional-development program. Involvement in a systematic exploration of the learning process, with teachers explicating their knowledge about learning, directly affects display of…

The contrast between reflective practice and technicism may be caricatured as a contrast between sensitive, authentic aestheticism and crude scientism. The paper argues that this is misleading, and reflective practice easily serves as a vehicle for self-disclosure which actually coheres with the technicist bias of many teacher education courses.…

Presents three case studies illustrating moral dilemmas for teacher educators. Describes a process and framework for deliberating about such dilemmas. (SK)

The practice of reflection can facilitate self-understanding and enhance counselor performance by creating new opportunities for learning. Counselor educators can facilitate reflective thinking in students through the practices of Socratic questioning, journal writing, interpersonal Process Recall, and reflecting teams. The pedagogical methods are…

This study examined issues in supporting middle school teachers to become more learner centered when implementing computer-based, workplace simulations in their classrooms. Focuses on a participant observation study of two teachers to develop and evolve a framework for professional development that included reflective skills and proximal goals.…