This article re-examines the initial training of physical education teachers with the purpose of pinning down its professional significance. The author maintains that we have lost, in part, its meaning, and, in an attempt to recover it, offers two initial strategies: to revisit two basic concepts--education in general and physical education in…

A group of middle school science teachers and a university researcher recount some of their experiences as they individually and collectively worked toward improving their everyday assessment practices to better support student learning.

One could focus on many different aspects of improving the quality of mathematics teaching. For a better understanding of children's mathematical learning processes or teaching and learning in general, reflection on and analysis of concrete classroom situations are of major importance. On the basis of experiences gained in a collaborative research…

The article includes part of a research study on experimental work in teaching science (Santos, 2002): a teacher with ten years in the profession received teacher training. It goes on to describe the training programme, which lasted six months and is included in the practice-oriented training paradigm (Kennedy, 1987), along with a reflective…

Writing is a powerful social tool that offers students opportunities to chisel their identities as they position themselves and others on issues and beliefs (Dyson, 1992). This article presents the story of how Mark, a fifth-grade student who resisted writing in certain classroom contexts, used positional writing practices to shape his identities.…

This paper reports on a study of the frequency and level(s) of teachers' reflection and the thoroughness of their recall of their own and their students' specific classroom behaviors. The sample consisted of 3 groups of elementary school teachers: 4 novice student teachers, 5 teachers with 1 to 6.5 years experience, and 3 teachers with from 10 to…

The essay explores the common threads that wove through John Dewey's "Art as Experience" and "Logic: The Theory of Inquiry" (published 1934 and 1938 respectively). Both works were parts of a system of ideas, not isolated books as some critics suggest. In order to show that there is a common basis for Dewey's two books,…

Addressing teacher educators, this paper describes the importance of story as a reflective teaching tool, and provides brief annotations of 11 children's picture books (published between 1989 and 1998) which have reading as a critical story element. The children's picture books listed in this paper can be used to assist teachers in analyzing their…

Reading, writing, and reflecting can be used as tools during teachers' professional development opportunities. Various forums and activities that support an evolving view of professional development tend to encourage active participation and decision-making, reflective practice, and constructing knowledge based on discussions and readings. Book…

Numeracy can be defined as having the competence and disposition to use mathematics to meet the general demands of life at home, in paid work, and for participation in community and civic life (Willis 1992). An important aspect of developing the capacity to use mathematics in everyday life is, for students at school, to use mathematics to meet the…

Teaching can be understood as acting and deciding in a complex system. On that problem oriented mathematics instruction (POMI) can be characterized as very high complex particularly regarding to mathematical-cognitive aspects. To cope with resulting demands in the long run, the teacher has to be sensitive for this complexity. But what does this…

In this book 100 dynamic educators share some words that are important to them and what those words mean for teaching--here are the ideas that can start a teacher's day or stimulate new ideas for class activities. According to the book, each educator was asked to select a term that reflected an important idea for teaching; the terms appear in…

This paper suggests that self-evaluation should be a significant component of teachers' daily work, presenting a model of systematic self-evaluation to help teachers generate classroom solutions through self-study (thus leading them to more complex forms of classroom inquiry). After a historical and theoretical perspective, the paper proposes a…

This study documented variations in program designs and implementation strategies, linking them to beginning teachers' professional growth, particularly reflective practices. Data were collected in six sites during 1999-00 as part of an evaluation of the implementation of the California Formative Assessment and Support System for Teachers, which…

This small book presents a collection of wisdom-based guidelines for teachers who are working in inclusive settings and is based on the authors' many years of experience as educators. The brief aphorisms are grouped under the following principles: (1) Effective Teachers Have Positive Expectations for Success; (2) Effective Teachers are Good…