Applies the principles of development and integration to the maturation of Montessori schools. Suggests that evaluative inquiry be used as the basis for community inquiry and problem solving by Montessori staff so that reflection, questioning, and decision making result in the highest level of Montessori implementation. (KB)

Describes a mentoring process that helped a Norwegian preservice teacher learn to teach elementary multiplication. The mentoring interaction provided the novice with an intensive discussion based on a small sequence of events. Through discussions with her mentor, the student teacher learned to use the language of practice to examine her own…

Steps taken by instructional designers in constructing a case study for use in faculty development are outlined, from the original case study idea to selection of an appropriate classroom incident, writing the case, and planning the teaching process (identifying relevant issues, preparing discussion questions, and organizing discussion). The text…

This study examined the practices of exemplary elementary teachers of second-language learners. Observations of and interviews with eight teachers found five common practices (engaging in reflective practice; embedding instruction in a respectful context; using current instructional strategies; activating students' prior knowledge; and maintaining…

Describes a partnership between Boston College and its local community, outlining the partnership's development from a simple school-university engagement between a principal and a school of education faculty member to a complex set of relationships involving multiple disciplines, professions, funders, projects, participants, institutions, and…

This case study examined changes in a fifth-grade mathematics classroom in Hong Kong when a video-based story involving mathematics problem solving was introduced. Findings suggest that new technologies not compatible with existing practice may lead to intense reflections about which aspects of the individuals, their environment, and the new…

Student teachers' learning about teaching can be substantially enhanced through teacher preparation if a student teacher as researcher stance is adopted. Through this approach, student teachers can develop more meaningful and sustained ways of focusing on their learning about teaching by extending reflection into more systematic inquiries into…

Describes how engaging preservice and inservice teachers in the process of documenting children's learning in preschool and primary classrooms enhances learning, promotes reflective thinking, and encourages professional growth. Explains that documentation provides teachers opportunities to observe children more closely; focus on children's…

The transition from generic mentoring to specific mentoring practices can provide a stronger focus for developing preservice primary teachers (mentees) in subject-specific areas. Constructivist theory and a five-factor model towards specific subject mentoring are proposed as ways to develop mentees' teaching practices. Firstly, constructivist…

This study is based on personal experiences. It adopts an auto ethnographic approach and action research perspective in an attempt to describe and reflect on my experience as a teacher in a University where I have worked for just over a year; the study also examines factors that have helped me in my role as a teacher to effect change in my praxis.…

Throughout the literature, teacher education is often described as being based on a specific tradition, paradigm, or agenda. Examples of these descriptions include: behavioristic, personalistic, inquiry-oriented, social reconstructionist, academic, developmentalist, and social-efficiency. These approaches are closely linked to the "beliefs and…

Teacher retention has been the subject of much study, yet recent estimates of teachers who choose to leave the profession within the first three years to pursue other careers remains at an unacceptably high level of 33.5 percent. These figures are alarming in light of the fact that schools desperately need qualified teachers. Several authors…

Many educators have suggested that teachers hold the authority, and thus the responsibility, for initiating the curricular and instructional changes made within their own classrooms. One implication of this suggestion is that teachers be reflective about their practice. Yet, reflection is a difficult process that requires critical thought,…

This research study examined the role of instructional design knowledge in the development of teaching expertise for university teaching assistants (TAs). ID theoretically supports the development of systematic and meaningful patterns of cognitive organization that characterize teaching expertise. Therefore, it should support TAs in developing…

The author discusses the power of personal narratives to help writers not only improve their writing and understand themselves but also think more critically. Through poetry that grew from her impulse for narrative, the author reveals her growth as a teacher who was simultaneously learning about students' growth and change. (Contains 1 figure.)