As the process of evidence-based practice (EBP) gains a foothold in the curricula of schools of social work and the various helping professions, instructors have been encountering a unique set of challenges. On one hand, educators must develop new curricula to convey material that is often complex and is, even in its most advanced state, still in…

It is not a question of whether conflict within a school will occur, but rather when it will manifest and by whom. Often times, conflict occurring between key stakeholders such as teachers, parents, and students is looked upon as tainting school culture or sabotaging change strategies. However, conflict may also serve as a catalyst for larger…

This volume brings together the expert and timely writings of educational practitioners and researchers struggling to reform their classrooms to reach and teach diverse student populations. The contributors describe the importance of bringing one's own identity, culture, and history to discussions with disenfranchised communities. This book brings…

The link between development and learning is explicit in Mezirow's theory of transformational learning. Indeed, numerous studies have documented that growth and development are outcomes of transformational learning. What has not been questioned, and what is argued in this Forum article, is that it appears one must already be at a mature level of…

Two perspectives are used to reflect on the learning design of a postgraduate online course--that of the designer/facilitator and that of the learner. While the course focus is on online pedagogical approaches, the main aim is to connect learners with each other and with the facilitator so that together they may investigate, trial, challenge and…

At a time when traditional teacher education is coming under fire, "Transforming Teacher Education" presents a powerful vision of what teacher education could and should be. "Transforming Teacher Education" offers an intimate, reflective account of the development of the renowned Team One teacher education program at Michigan…

This paper explores the metaphor of the "teacher as stranger" as a guide for curriculum inquiry. It describes investigations conducted by educators in an introductory curriculum studies course and illustrates the themes revealed in students' lived-curriculum journals. In particular, it examines several journals to document how…

Much of the rhetoric about contemporary higher education suggests that colleges and universities need to embrace change due to advances in knowledge, technology, transportation, and more--advances that have dramatically shifted the way one functions in the modern world. But what manner of change for learning itself do the public narratives…

The importance of multiculturalism in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina can be illustrated through a comparative view of the 1967 controversial, seminal, and Academy Award winning film, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner". In the film, a multicultural cast starred in a groundbreaking tale of interracial marriage--then still illegal in some United…

Nine teacher educators in their first three years as tenure-track professors in an education faculty established a self-study group in 2006-2007. These professors met once a month to link their teaching and service to scholarship through the self-study of teacher education practices. In addition, members met in pairs or small groups to develop…

Explores how evaluation leads to transformative learning in organizations and addresses the increased use of evaluation processes and findings and evaluators' roles and practices. Also describes the theories underlying constructivist and transformative learning. (SLD)

Discusses transformative assessment, which considers evidence of student activity or engagement, as an alternative to outcomes-based assessment. Explains the interrelationship of goals, practice, activities, and outcomes in a Venn diagram; considers the new view of students as customers; and describes assessments at Washington State University.…

When asked by a student in a seminar recently if he could remember a perfect day teaching elementary school, the author writes memories of one he distinctly remembers because he gained new insight into teaching on that particular day. After returning to work following the devastating loss of a younger 19 year-old brother in a car crash, he resumed…

Each January, a meeting of the National School Reform Faculty (NSRF) enables educators to hone skills and deepen conversations they have experienced in coaches' seminars sponsored by NSRF Critical Friends Groups (CFGs). In this article, the author details that they use highly structured protocols to examine examples of their students' work and…

This is an essay about the transformative power of interpretive epistemologies for those who come into the social sciences seeking meaning in the messiness of human experience. It is about how an epistemological exercise gave the author symbolic tools to become sentient of his father's subjective oppressive force in his life--with the man living…