This descriptive narrative presents a university/school partnership that led to an inquiry-based approach to language arts instruction, resulting in increased opportunities for reflective teaching and learning, students' environmental awareness projects, the integration of science, and the individualization of instruction at the middle school…

Many students with reading difficulties have a specific learning disability called dyslexia, which is neurobiological in origin and characterized by problems with spelling, decoding, and accurate/fluent word identification, negatively impacting vocabulary growth and comprehension. Consequently, the role of the insightful teacher is critical in…

This paper advances the thesis that high level thinking in classrooms happens when students become conscious of experience and knowledge realities and decide to pursue them flexibly and creatively. The specific research focuses on the author's conviction that effective stimulators of student reflection will accommodate knowledge encounters that…

The prevailing concern for teacher and student accountability in education and increasing problems with student discipline have led some schools to adopt a single model of classroom discipline. For example, in one district in Florida, Lee Canter's model of assertive discipline, a behavioristic approach to classroom management, was mandated for use…

The Impromptu Teaching Model was designed by the University of Central Arkansas for use by preservice teachers in laboratory teaching experiences. Two teaching exercises, microteaching and reflective teaching, form the basis for impromptu teaching. Microteaching provides teachers with the opportunity to master various technical skills of the…

In an attempt to determine whether knowledge of teachers' conceptual systems can be used to predict teaching styles in handling information and applying sanctions, the teaching styles of 136 home economics student teachers from three midwestern universities were measured by coding tape-recorded lessons according to Joyce's system, and two…

This book speaks to all those teachers who teach the "gen ed" literature course that their students must take to complete a general education or core curriculum requirement. These students--the 95 percent who are not English majors--are the students educators hope will become active and reflective members of a reading public. Given this goal,…

Four kindergarten classes in an Ohio elementary school chose to study apples as a group project. Documenting the kindergartners' first experience with project work, this article discusses how the project evolved, and describes the three phases of the projectdiscussions of prior knowledge, fieldwork and visits from experts, and the culminating…

One of the most important tasks in working with teachers is helping them develop their own abilities to create developmentally appropriate curriculum for young children. This paper reflects on, from two perspectives, the ongoing process of teachers developing an understanding of how children learn and how that process affects curriculum…

An effective teacher must continue to learn, problem-solve, and respond to the evolving needs of his or her students. Ideally a culture of inquiry, reflection, and self-evaluation should develop. Voluntary inquiry-based reflection identifies problems and issues within a school and allows teachers and administrators to develop professional study…

Decision-making in Reading Recovery requires skills of observation and reflective analysis that many teachers have not had to learn in order to be good classroom teachers. This is because Reading Recovery sets the teacher a very complex task which involves the construction of a curriculum for each individual child--a curriculum that is…

This book is a discussion of teaching as learning--rooted in the author's personal history as a teacher and learner, and offered as one story among many to help other teachers ask questions about their own practice. The book is not intended to be a manual or a step-by-step guide for use in the classroom. Instead, it emphasizes the triumphs that…

At a suburban Indiana elementary school, the Project Approach serves as the basis of the curriculum in all Kindergarten classrooms. The four classes of 5- and 6-year-old children at this school chose to study llamas. This article discusses how the project evolved, describes the three phases of the project, and provides teachers' reflections on the…

This booklet provides information about the basic principles of portfolio development, outlining three types of portfolios and offering examples and reflections. The three types of portfolios are process, product, and showcase. Each is compiled for a different reason, though they all: have a specific purpose, are developed for a specific audience,…

This paper briefly reviews the evidence on the use of the reflective journal as a learning and professional development tool for teachers and school administrators. It argues that a new trend tends to permeate the teaching profession: reflecting on what teaching really means. It also contends that a reflective educator is aware that taking time…