"Placing Students at the Heart of Creative Learning" shows teachers of key stages 2 and 3 how to introduce creativity into what is often seen as a prescriptive and stifling curriculum, and addresses the tensions that can exist between the requirement to follow the curriculum and the desire to employ innovative pedagogies. It offers…

"Teachers Teaching Teachers" ("T3") focuses on coaches' roles in the professional development of teachers. Each issue also explores the challenges and rewards that teacher leaders encounter. This issue includes: (1) Learning Cycle Spins Individuals into a Team (Valerie von Frank); (2) NSDC Tool: The Professional Teaching and Learning Cycle; (3)…

The purpose of this study was to explore the professional learning process that teachers reported enhanced their use of technology in their classrooms. The framework for this qualitative, theory-building study was guided by research from the field of adult learning. Data were obtained from interviews of six teachers who worked in an urban science…

Although practitioners, policy-makers, and academics call for reform in teacher education, there is ambiguity surrounding the identity transformation of graduate students who "become" teacher educators. This self-study uses narratives, based on intricate personal and collaborative reflection, to explore how the assumption of new role identities is…

This paper explores the process of learning to become a social justice teacher, drawing in particular on Bakhtin's notions of dialogue in order to theorize pre-service teachers' identity negotiations. Interpretations of learning and identity are based on the content of pre-service teachers' narratives about community-based learning. Supported by…

This paper summarizes the findings from a K-6 professional development program that emphasized scientific inquiry and nature of science within the theme of scientific modeling. During the 2-week summer workshop and follow up school year workshops, the instruction modeled a 5-E learning cycle approach. Pre and posttesting measured teachers' views…

Synthesizing cutting-edge research from multiple disciplines, this book explores how young children acquire knowledge in the "real world" and describes practical applications for early childhood classrooms. The breadth and depth of a child's knowledge base are important predictors of later literacy development and academic achievement. Leading…

Increments in educational budgets have been devoted to professional development for teachers to help them accommodate their practices to the realities of their classrooms. Previous research has suggested that despite this significant investment, there has been little, if any, positive change. This begs the question of what else might be done to…

This paper discusses brain-based learning and its relation to classroom instruction. A rapidly growing quantity of research currently exists regarding how the brain perceives, processes, and ultimately learns new information. In order to maximize their teaching efficacy, educators should have a basic understanding of key memory functions in the…

The Israeli high school biology curriculum comprises the Biomind program, in which students are engaged in an open inquiry learning process. The dynamic features of open inquiry often pose challenges to teachers in implementing the Biomind program. The current qualitative research shows that facilitating students in a dynamic open inquiry process…

Four fourth-grade teachers are bent over a conference table, chins in palms, concentrating on one student's assessment paper. This paper is one of many on the table, organized into several ragged piles. The teachers are discussing nuances of the student's work, trying to reach agreement on the quality of the response. The goal of this careful…

This book examines the issues involved in creating reflective learning environments and raises questions that will help guide individuals' development as facilitators of learning. Section 1 looks at reflection as the core of learning. Section 2 describes the three stages in the reflective process: creating, observation, and analysis of the…

This case study of an international teaching assistant's experience with college teaching focuses on the process of becoming an effective instructor in the undergraduate classroom. A developmental model that emphasizes clarifying the student's individual linguistic, cultural, social, and professional goals is suggested, and implications for…

This book presents a framework for discussing the action of teachers in public elementary schools as the 21st century approaches. An educator with almost 30 years of teaching experience speaks from the perspective of teacher and parent. He tells tales about his family and his life as a teacher; he shares his social and moral philosophy and what he…

This book addresses the revision of the curriculum to meet the needs of the 21st century. After a foreword by Peter M. Senge and prefaces by the editors, the following chapters are included: (1) Process as Content in Education of Exceptional Children (Reuven Feuerstein, Rafi Feuerstein, and Yaron Schur); (2) Generative Topics for Process…