Reflection has long been an aspiration in education, from Aristotles Nicamachean Ethics, through Bacons (1605) Advancement of Learning and later articulated by John Dewey. Schon's reflective practitioner underpins the ethos in the professional training of teachers in the UK. This paper reviews approaches to reflection in learning and argues that…

Writing across the curriculum (WAC) is a way of integrating the teaching of writing into specific academic disciplines. A problem faced in the WAC literature is how to develop a process that integrates the skills of multi-disciplinary teams. In this project, action research was used to develop a team comprising faculty from the applied sciences…

This article discusses the Leading for Equity, Achievement, and Democracy program, which is a partnership administrative credential program of the California State University, East Bay (formerly Hayward), and the Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools, based in Oakland, California. This developmental journey involves a process of introspection,…

The focus of this article is on the learning and teaching processes of six teacher candidates, made possible by the study of a work of art in their internship placement. The interns observed and worked closely with two Lincoln Center Institute (LCI) music Teaching Artists (TAs) and six classroom teachers to provide students in kindergarten through…

We share our self-study research of faculty-building a successful collaborative culture and team teaching experience in a unique Master's program for experienced teachers. As part of self-study and reflective practice, this faculty team shared its collaborative experiences with teachers. This transparency had positive effects on the teachers'…

This field study report recounts an action research project undertaken by an elementary school teacher to reflect on her practice as a teacher. After a review of the literature on using reflection for personal and professional growth, the ethnographic methodology employed in the study is discussed. The teacher action-researcher took 117 pages of…

In addition to student assessment, many educators are now using portfolios to document and evaluate their own growth and development and to showcase the learning taking place in their classroom. This guide, in workbook format, explains why portfolios are essential to educators' professional development, outlines a professional development plan,…

An action research project was conducted to promote critically reflective teaching in a semester-long secondary social studies methods course. To encourage critical reflection, the instructor drew explicit attention to issues of rationale building in social studies, critical thinking, democratic education, and social transformation. Evidence of…

The intent of this paper is to open for consideration the relationship between metacognition and the promotion of conceptual change within the classroom. This goal is achieved through a brief description of present research by the authors, drawing from the existing literature a summary of what is meant by conceptual change learning, defining the…

The 18th and 19th centuries saw a real tension between inductive and deductive methods of reason. Spokesperson for her era through her association with the popular "Godey's Ladies' Book," Sarah Josepha Hale addressed this tension in 1858, citing an article by Thomas Henry Buckle ascribing the method of deduction to women and that of induction to…

Based on a longer report with the same title, this digest summarizes what college faculty can do to improve their teaching. It maintains that faculty need to stop viewing college teaching as "covering the content" and start viewing it as "helping students learn." To help faculty achieve such an instructional transformation,…

This action research project was undertaken to evaluate the difference between the instructional theory as espoused and as practiced by a graduate teaching assistant. The study took place in an elective pharmacy course, involving 3 class sessions and 25 students. The qualitative research methodology consisted of identifying the espoused or ideal…

Problematic issues in developing preservice teachers' capacities for reflection include: distinguishing reflective thinking from reflective action; immediate versus extended time frames for reflection; the complexity of critical reflection and the need to foster it over a considerable period; and the role of problem solving in reflection. An…

Designed for adult educators in various settings who are seeking to improve as teachers, this book describes a process adult educators can use to examine their beliefs about teaching and current teaching behavior in depth. It is intended to guide them through an exploration of who they really are as teachers, and then, through experiential…

A practicum was developed to empower pre-service teachers to become more confident in their attempts to motivate and encourage young children to write. Emphasis was placed on the use of holistic philosophies relating to writing, in contrast to more conventional methodologies. Student participants included junior teacher candidates enrolled in…