Notes one of the most prominent debates in composition over the last 10 years concerns abolition of required first-year English. Elaborates three points as they contribute to the author's overall argument that the abolitionist debate is not one that needs to be resolved, but instead is an exchange of ideas from which others in the field can learn…

Examines implementation of the California Formative Assessment and Support System for Teachers (CFASST) within local California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) programs using data from six case studies and highlighting how local BTSA program directors thought about and acted to implement CFASST. The study illustrated the essential…

Demonstrates how a final year student teacher takes up a two-stage methodology for reflective practice generated from the principles of traditional literary theory and cultural studies, particularly poststructuralism. He produced a personal reading of his field experience documented as a picture book, and then a critically alternative (re)reading.…

A model for reflective self-study by nursing faculty includes three phases: assessment (being open to critique, finding collaborative partners, formulating research questions); implementation (understanding validation criteria, choosing data collection and analysis methods, maintaining data integrity); and dissemination (communicating findings,…

Studied the development of students' assessment skills and their skills in writing reflection papers as an effect of assessment training integrated into three mathematics courses. Findings for 110 first-year students at a teacher training college in the Netherlands show the usefulness of involving students in assessment procedures. (SLD)

Discusses how James Gray, founder of the Bay Area Writing Project and later the National Writing Project, began with a simple idea--successful teachers are the best teachers of teachers. Describes how James Gray laid a foundation for what has become a national network with 175 sites across the nation, providing a professional home for thousands of…

Introduces the special issue of the journal, which is devoted to Exploratory practice (EP), a form of practitioner research. All of the articles are concerned with a particular approach to practitioner research in language teaching and learning. EP is explained, focusing on the development of its practices and its principles over the last 10…

Considers how the successful teaching of Shakespeare represents the ultimate challenge for many English teachers, one that measures their ability to enlighten and inspire. Discusses how her colleague approaches teaching Shakespeare to eight graders. Describes how she approaches teaching Henry V to her ninth grade students. (SG)

Discusses how student teaching is supposed to use all the elements of the learning cycle. Considers the realities of student teaching experiences and illustrates models of student teaching. Presents four profiles of student teachers that are drawn from semester-long reflections. Discusses supervisors' reactions to the reflection cycle. Concludes…

Identified pedagogical strategies that helped preservice secondary teachers improve their reflective thinking via journal writing during the first semester of a year-long professional program. Case studies of four preservice teachers found that no single pedagogical strategy was best, and students responded differently to different strategies.…

Asserts that empirical evidence for the effectiveness of reflective teaching is scarce and characterized by conflicting definitions and paradigms. Describes problems inherent in reflective approaches and considers why they have been so widely adopted in teacher education. (Contains 47 references.) (SK)

Conducts a critical review of empirical research focused directly on reflection activities with prospective teachers, and conducts a study in the authors' own literacy methods courses to learn what their students do when asked to reflect on course assignments. Concludes that engaging future teachers in multiple opportunities to critique their own…

One university incorporated preparation of teaching portfolios into preservice teacher education, providing a link between the portfolio assignment and the development of students' abilities to reflect on their teaching. The paper notes students' reactions to the assignment, explaining how teaching portfolios can become the first stage in…

Presents a summary of insights gained by the authors after a semester of collaborative teaching. Emphasizes pedagogical and administrative insights. (Author/ASK)

Argues that one goal of teaching is to help students critically evaluate their own knowledge to see where biases and stereotypes exist. Presents an activity in which students generate stereotypes about older adults. Warns that instructors must prepare extensively to anticipate student responses and find research that addresses anticipated…