The purpose of course evaluations is to allow students the opportunity to evaluate the course and the instructor. As a reflective teacher, I take the 20 years' worth of comments and numerical ratings on traditional, seated course evaluations to heart. When compared to newer evaluations from the online environment, a dichotomy exists. The purpose…

Calls for history teachers to adopt inquiry methods continue to go unabated in educational research and curricular initiatives. In recent years, there has been increased recognition of the important role teacher reflection plays in managing the uncertainty that accompanies such pedagogy in history classrooms. Accordingly, this dissertation was…

With increasing diversity in classrooms, the dispositions of teachers are of primary concern with respect to meeting the needs of all students and in particular, the needs of those on the social fringe. Teacher preparation programs must ensure that graduates possess not only the requisite content and pedagogical knowledge, but also the…

Words and labels used about a person inevitably have an impact, whether intended or unintended. This article discusses the need for intentional and overt, critical reflection and discussion in higher education regarding the language faculty and students use. The authors provide language examples commonly used in courses that could have varied…

Past research has considered the reflective practices of the teacher as an important activity in the learning cycle. Some of it has introduced the term 'reflective teacher', showing that such practice has become increasingly important. This paper discusses literature related to various means of collecting feedback from students, the…

While the United States is becoming increasingly diverse with regard to race, ethnicity, primary language, religion, and culture, many educators feel unprepared to teach students from socioculturally diverse backgrounds. In this case study, I explored the impact of a cultural immersion field experience on preservice music educators' beliefs and…

This reflective narrative explores the voices of two participants in the Early Childhood Professional Mentoring Group (ECPMG), created in response to our graduates' concerns about their lack of support as they entered the field of inclusive early childhood education. Building on their existing relationships with each other, and with us as their…

This case study examined three pre-service teachers' reflection processes during their first teaching practicum. During the six-week practicum, the pre-service teachers reflected on their own as well as their peers' teaching in group mentoring meetings several times a week. Unstructured stimulated recall facilitated pre-service teacher-initiated…

As a non-indigenous science educator, I have embraced the idea of critical reflexive practice in order to be more responsive to the cultures and values of my Pasifika students and to become more inclusive of their indigenous knowledges. In this article I share three ways I have negotiated the incorporation of Pasifika values and knowledge into my…

In classrooms, race-based bias, discrimination, and inequities result in unsafe and unproductive learning environments. Teacher educators are charged with helping preservice teachers develop racial literacy skills. This self-study explores the ways in which two White teacher educators recognize and attempt to manage challenges during field…

This qualitative research study used the Critical Incident Technique to determine specific areas in which novice alternatively certified special education teachers need support. Analyzing these critical incidents provides information for teacher preparation programs to bolster areas that can lead to stress, burnout, and attrition among special…

This study was conducted to propose a framework of professional development tasks (PDTs) that may be used to enhance mathematics coaches' content knowledge and understanding of student work, as well as to help them conceptualize their role in facilitating a professional learning community in school. In this qualitative design experiment,…

How do educators learn to be teacher leaders? In this qualitative survey research study, we explored perceptions of 227 former induction program participants concerning teacher leadership (65% response rate). Methodologically, we conducted qualitative coding of open-ended survey data. Defined teacher leadership, participants often referred to…

Six pre-service teachers participated in a component of narrative inquiry that took place the week before their teacher education program began. The component offered the teachers a variety of multimodal activities, such as body biographies, teaching museums, and paper tearing representations, all making use of repurposed materials, to critically…

In this article, we share a social action process useful in teacher education and derived from a decade of practical experience with social action projects. Influences, theoretical underpinnings, and individual leadership in an early childhood teacher education program are considered alongside practical enactments of social action projects by…