The assumption behind the use of peer feedback in disciplinary courses in teachers' colleges is that it can help pre-service teachers to learn, to develop reflective skills, and to train professional skills pertaining to assessment situations or to peer collaboration. In fact, as the authors show in a review of the literature on the topic, there…

The paper develops the concept of language awareness (LA) by considering the material-social-discursive nexus of the communicative situation that affords professional practice. It also presents a mixed-methods study that provides a deeper and multi-layered understanding of LA in action and sets out a methodological framework for similar research…

Short-term or "one shot" professional development experiences are sometimes deemed less effective because they lack mechanisms for deep and ongoing engagement. Using the music conference as an example, I outline a simple framework on how music teachers might nevertheless use short-term professional development experiences as an impetus…

We investigate upper-division student difficulties with direct integration in multiple contexts involving the calculation of a potential from a continuous distribution (e.g., mass, charge, or current). Integration is a tool that has been historically studied at several different points in the curriculum including introductory and upper-division…

The study explores the extent to which transformative learning occurs using quantitative and qualitative methods in a human geography course (N = 35) and explores student affect in relation to the learning environment. We used the eight-scale Transformative Learning Environments Survey (TLES) instrument for the quantitative analysis and an aligned…

Focused reflection is teacher directed professional learning that uses ongoing formative assessment aligned with research-based instructional practices and standards. It allows teachers to operate as researchers and hold themselves accountable for what they are teaching and what students are learning. This article provides a table that outlines…

This study examines students' reflections on how concepts covered in a marketing course are applied to the broader liberal arts curriculum. The objective was to demonstrate when given a chance with an Interdisciplinary Reflection Assignment, students can articulate interdisciplinary relevance. The study collected sample data from six classes over…

Instructors consistently complain about students not reading or using feedback. To address this issue, the authors designed an in-class feedback exercise. The authors found that when students recognize the importance of feedback on writing assignments, they look forward to getting, reading, and using such feedback, and instructor efficacy…

This inquiry explored preservice teachers (PSTs) developing learner and professional identities while participating in a university course that explicitly incorporates the use of technology into teaching. The paper posits that it is important for initial teacher education to explicitly engage with the role of technology in these developing…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between students' patterns of reflective thinking and their performance in solving design problems. Reflective thinking is a critical element in the process of solving ill-defined design problems. Many educators are dedicated to finding ways to promote students' reflection. Yet few…

Quality in feedback processes rests on students' engagement with them. A crucial question is therefore why students do not always engage. Scholars have defined engagement as a social practice, pointing to the influence of context but without explaining its nature. The purpose of this article is to argue that existing approaches without a theory of…

The initial research undertaken was an attempt to understand what it is like for young children to be in the world. The study was a search to reclaim a sense of place for the teacher/researcher and the children, and to capture young children's profound wondering. This article is a reflective look back at that study and attempts through methods of…

English teachers select texts for the edifying qualities they possess: a good poem, novel or film can act both as a window looking out over different lives and as a powerful mirror for reflection. When teachers reflect on their professional practice, however, they generally look to education theory, to research or to action learning strategies.…

This qualitative study was undertaken to explore what undergraduate students reflect on during their learning to practice social work in the field. Reflection is essential in the social work field practicum where students learn the practice of social work by doing. Seventeen BSW students' final field practicum learning papers are analyzed. Four…

The advent of a democratically-elected government in South Africa in 1994 disrupted the erstwhile synchrony between the schooling system, teacher education system, curriculum and pedagogy. Yet many South African teachers continue to express their teacher identities much like they did prior to 1994. The explanations posited for why this is the case…