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.…

Draws from a self-analysis of teaching practices by an award-winning professor to present a personal philosophy of teaching and impressions of the student experience. Discusses ideas about the package of material that should be delivered to students, how that package should be delivered, and some special tools to aid delivery. (EV)

Multimedia cases are perceived as bridging the gap between theory and practice in teacher education. Examines how multimedia cases can stimulate reflective thought among preservice teachers. Employs Gestalt psychology as a theoretical lens to examine how seven preservice teachers work with a multimedia case. Concludes that there is still much to…

Describes the process that two professors used to help their graduate students begin to study their respective practices through ethnographic teacher-research. Notes that the systematic and intentional inquiry of teacher-research provided a relevant context for investigation of teaching and learning about literacy. Describes their processes of…

To improve lecturing, teachers should target students' thinking and learning, asking such questions as What do they need to unlearn? What is commonly misunderstood? What is difficult to grasp? Teachers should be skilled in timing and reading nonverbal cues that indicate whether they are connecting with students. (SK)

Notes that by sharing her ideas and her reflective notebook with her students, the author was able to model for her students. Uses three different learning experiences to promote a reflective stance in her writer's workshop: sharing and discussing quality literature; sharing students' writing in a writer's circle; and holding writing conferences…

Describes some dramatic changes in the author's reading instruction, an example of how reflection leads to action in a reflective learning community. Uses her observations to reflect on the reading processes of her young readers and the materials being used to support them as developing readers. (SG)

Presents the reflections of two of the many people who had been active in the Catskill Whole Language Council to reflect on the annual Catskill Retrospection and Contemplation Preconference, which preceded the annual Whole Language Conference. Notes the successful formula included singing engaging songs together, welcoming remarks, and inspiring…