Reflective journals have been used widely in teacher education programs to promote reflective thinking (Freidus, 1998; Carter & Francis, 2000; Yost, Senter & Forlenzo-Bailey, 2000). Smyth (1992) advocated that posing a series of questions to be answered in written journals could enhance reflective thinking. It was for this reason that…

As part of a larger project on effective numeracy teaching practice a number of teachers took turns to teach a small group of students in front of their peers who were located on the other side of a one-way window. Observing teachers were asked to comment on what they noticed "in-the-moment" and suggest labels or metaphors that captured the…

Since teachers are the key to educational reform, teacher self-evaluations are critical aspects of change. In an inservice course on teaching reading comprehension through retellings, teachers were asked to examine their practices and reflect on a different method of assessing student comprehension. Focus was on teacher change and fears of change…

"John Dewey and the Art of Teaching: Toward Reflective and Imaginative Practice" is an engaging and accessible introduction to the art of teaching as seen through the eyes of John Dewey. Authors Douglas J. Simpson, Michael J. B. Jackson, and Judy C. Aycock provide a lucid interpretation of the complexities and art of teaching in contemporary…

This lecture, by a professor of English and literature who is a recipient of the AAU (Association of Atlantic Universities) Instructional Leadership Award, states that the lecturer does not have a lot of faith in faculty development as a way of improving university teaching. The lecture also states that the professor is generally skeptical of…

This 19-minute VHS videotape introduces the structured reflection protocol, a tool designed to help teachers learn by working together and by using student work as a beginning point for their learning together. The videotape shows scenes of the structured reflection protocol being used in diverse school settings (elementary, secondary, rural,…

This paper situates dialogue with students about their learning (descriptive feedback) within the larger frame of reflection, examining how teachers involved in inservice teacher education have used descriptive feedback and noting its impact on their teaching and on students' learning. It presents case studies of teachers and describes the role of…

This paper describes how one university professor discovered a gap between her explanation of a class assignment (analyzing a content textbook) and students' comprehension of the assignment. After attending a workshop, she revised all assignments for the content reading course and designed a grading rubric for each assignment. The assignment…

This paper describes the use of reflection journals in a teacher education course with a field experience, analyzing and discussing the results of using these reflective journals. Information comes from Education 75 (ED 75), "The Teacher, the Learner, and the Curriculum," which is offered at a small, Texas, liberal arts institution. The…

The first volume in a series and the foundation on which future volumes will build, this book explains the goals of the "Kids InSight" series, then highlights the threads that will run throughout all the books in the series. The goals of the book are to: encourage teachers to reflect on and reconsider their instruction; change their…

This publication presents a collection of tools that promote instructional coherence. It focuses on the importance of teachers collaborating to develop a deeper understanding of how children learn and exploring relationships between teaching and learning. Coherence leads to improved educational experiences for learners as teachers make their…

This paper suggests that if reflection is a powerful vehicle in assisting the individual in grappling with complex ideas and concepts and it facilitates the assimilation of such ideas into a person's belief system, then reflection should be considered an integral part of teacher education programs. This study investigated whether the reflections…

A 3-year study of 50 health occupations and trade and industrial preservice teachers in an alternative teacher education program included a simulation work exercise and analysis of instructional materials. Informal workplace learning resulted in implicit knowledge in the first year of practice. Critical practice was shown to be an important model…

Three teachers describe classroom experiences with students who are deaf or hard of hearing. These narratives demonstrate the importance of the process of conversational classroom transactions in the development of basic writing, reading, and teaching skills. (DB)

A personal reflection on the author's professional development applies the principles of thematic cycling to identify six cycles from "a beginner's initial questions," through "more teaching, more questions, and more study," to "taking stock of where I am." Forty years of changes in the field of educating students who are deaf or hard of hearing…