Describes instructional methods to make mathematics relevant to middle level students without inducing math anxiety. Discusses methods to prevent negative math experiences at the middle level, including discussing negative attitudes through math autobiographies, math self-talk, and journals; reducing anxiety through cooperative-learning…

This paper analyzes the teaching practice of one of the authors and articulates the role of such reflexive analysis in the practice of professors of teacher education. The study extends the recommendation that teachers reflect on their practice to include the relationship between personal educational experiences of teacher educators and their…

In this language arts unit, high-ability students in grades 4 through 6 study the concept of change by reading autobiographies of writers from various cultures and by looking at change in selected lives. Selected stories from "Junior Great Books" were chosen for their probing of issues of identity. Other literature selections are drawn…

This book describes the experience of a young and inexperienced teacher during 1926 in rural Marengo County, Alabama. Susie Powers Tompkins accepted her first teaching assignment to earn money to continue college after her freshman year at Alabama College. However, for Tompkins the rewards of teaching went far beyond just earning money. She found…

This paper describes a graduate course using biographical materials for teachers to work through their understandings of reading and writing as personal, valuable processes. The course consists of three parts; each session begins with the reading of a children's picture book that deals with reading and writing; next, the class reads the…

First published in 1976, this autobiography contains Forrest Carter's--Little Tree's--remembrances of life with his Eastern Cherokee Hill country grandparents in the 1930s. There are 21 chapters, recounting humorous and serious episodes from a 5-year period and dealing with the themes of growing up, Indian life and values, family relationships,…

The guide contains detailed suggestions for teaching 10 books about Indians to older students who read easily and are ready to be introduced to serious literature. The books are When the Legends Die; Laughing Boy; Dancehall of the Dead; The Man Who Killed The Deer; Rolling Thunder; House Made of Dawn; Yes Is Better Than No; The Man To Send Rain…

This book contains the six Patten Lectures presented by Tyler at Indiana University in 1974-75. In the lectures, he examines education in the United States and identifies some of the continuing problems, some of the reforms, and some of the needs and possibilities that lie ahead for education. The volume represents an eyewitness history of U.S.…

Using King and Kitchener's model of reflective judgment as a framework, I inquired and examined critical reflective thinking skills of myself and my pre-service and in-service teachers in the process of developing a multicultural autobiographical curriculum in 4 years. I explored, in a narrative inquiry mode, my historical cross-cultural self and…

This booklet offers a brief history of teacher lore, examines its theoretical bases, and summarizes its professional value, discussing how preservice teachers, inservice teachers, and others can use teacher lore for professional development. Teacher lore, or teacher narrative, includes fiction and nonfiction, oral storytelling, print, film,…

Describes a study which examined personal teaching metaphors developed by secondary teachers in a graduate course for improving understanding of relationships between teaching theory and practice and factors like school context, subject matter domain, personal history, and teaching experience. Case studies found several themes confirming prior…

Maintains that autobiography, as a form of qualitative research methodology, has the ability to incorporate a deep sense of the intricate relationships of the meaning and process of artistic practice and its embeddedness in cultural influences, personal experiences, and aspirations. Provides specific examples of how to use autobiographical…

By evoking the concept of memory pictures, the author recalls her early years as a teacher. Rather than calling herself a beginning teacher, she characterizes herself as a fledgling teacher to capture the insecurity associated with the first years of teaching. This experience is narrated through five memory pictures: (1) the new school's many…

This compilation presents materials associated with the 5-week summer session of the Samford University Writing Project, 1994. The compilation begins with curriculum vitae of staff, teacher consultants, and guest speakers. The compilation also presents lists of group and committee members. Summaries of 14 presentations (on such topics as…

The life story of Esther Burnett Horne records the memories and experiences of a Native woman born in 1909, who was both pupil and teacher in Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding schools. An introduction by Sally McBeth examines methodological and cultural concerns of collecting and co-authoring a life history. In Chapter 1, Essie begins with oral…