This article conceptualises and presents the authors' framework for critical reflection-on-action. 'He Anga Huritao' (translated as a 'framework for reflection') was developed as part of the dialogic discourse intended to transform how New Zealand beginning teachers reflect on their practice. The framework makes reference to concepts of teacher…

Teachers are increasingly being called upon to teach in ways that develop 21st century learning skills in their students. Various frameworks for 21st century learning have been proposed and while they differ, all agree on four components for development--creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking. Both individually and…

Recent science education reform has led to an increased emphasis on engaging students in inquiry and science practices rather than having them simply memorize scientific facts. However, many teachers of elementary science may themselves have had more traditional science learning experiences, and may therefore be unsure about inquiry-based teaching…

What kinds of knowledge, skills, and dispositions are needed in order to prepare social studies teachers for twenty-first century learners? Answering this question is the core pursuit of the latest revision of the "National Standards for the Preparation of Social Studies Teachers." For several decades, the National Council for the Social…

Engagement in practitioner inquiry by classroom teachers is a promising mechanism for teacher professional learning. While much has been learned about the positive role inquiry can play in traditional professional development efforts, we know less about the impact of inquiry in a rapidly advancing technological age that includes the proliferation…

Most people think of a teacher leader as someone who takes on additional roles outside the classroom. But in this article, Michelle Collay argues that all effective teaching requires leadership. Using examples from classroom teachers with whom she has worked, Collay describes four dimensions of powerful classroom-based leadership: (1) teaching…

As advocates of engaging students in historical inquiry and of the use of primary sources to aid in this inquiry, we support the claims of numerous student benefits, such as learning to detect bias, appreciating the interpretive nature of historical thinking, and the drawing of conclusions based on judgments about evidence (Fehn & Koeppen,…

We describe an inquiry-based course in physics and chemistry for preservice K-8 teachers developed at California State University Fullerton. The course is one of three developed primarily to enhance the science content understanding of prospective teachers. The course incorporates a number of innovative instructional strategies and is somewhat…

Learning to teach never ends. In fact, learning to teach is no longer thought of as a one-time process of "teacher training" where student teachers are equipped with theory and methods and then sent out to "practice" teaching. Likewise, continued education for experienced teaching is no longer thought of as a process of periodic "staff…

Many recent studies on teacher learning are grounded in the works of Rosenholtz (1989), Ball and Cohen (1999), and Putnam and Borko (2000). Their research, collectively, suggests that teacher learning occurs in at least two realms: the individual and the interpersonal. In the individual realm, teachers gain knowledge about content and pedagogy,…

This paper introduces a model for using informal science education venues as contexts within which to teach the nature of science. The model was initially developed to enable university education students to teach science in elementary schools so as to be consistent with "National Science Education Standards" (NSES) (1996) and "A Framework for…

Many educational researchers across the United States have found that inquiry-based learning (IBL) supports the development of deep, meaningful content knowledge. However, integrating IBL into classroom practice has been challenging, in part because of contrasting conceptualizations and practices across educational fields. In this article, we (a)…

Arising from a longitudinal study examining the influence of school reform on teachers' knowledge communities and communities of knowing, this narrative inquiry traces the development of a workshop approach to reading and writing, principally through the introduction of a staff developer, to the school's professional knowledge landscape and to the…

The author of this paper posits that inquiry-based learning (IBL) enacted via a modified Moore method (MMM) is a content-driven pedagogy; as such it is content-centred not instructor-centred or student-centred. The MMM is a philosophy of education where student must master material by doing; not simply discussing, reading, or seeing it and that…

One way to help preservice teachers to articulate and advocate their teaching stance is by developing their knowledge, skills, and confidence in their ability to carefully, didactically, and strategically plan for instruction. The Integrative Research Project (IRP) is a planning process that enables the preservice teacher to incorporate not only…