Many teachers are creating learning environments where students' uses of reading and writing are inseparable and relevant to their daily lives. These teachers are supported by recent trends in language arts research, professionalizing trends in today's political climate, education programs modeling language unification, and enlightened educational…

Like wildflowers blooming in the cracks of city sidewalks, reflective practice celebrates the organic over the artificial. Inquiry-oriented teaching, rejecting logical-positivist methods, engages teachers in a cycle of thought and action based on professional experience. Teachers subjected to quality control pressures reduce their teaching to the…

Describes a Saint Louis elementary school's successful application of Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences theory. What began as a discussion of the nature of intelligence has resulted in a revised curriculum, varied instructional techniques, alternative assessment (using a combination of portfolios, progress reports, profiles, demonstrations…

The new teacher education programs envision professional teachers as continuous learners rather than "finished" products. Teachers must understand subject matter deeply and flexibly so they can help students create useful cognitive maps, relate ideas, and address misconceptions. Teachers need opportunities for year-long apprenticeships,…

Thinking Mathematics is an American Federation of Teachers program that united teachers and researchers in face-to-face dialogue aimed at translating mathematics research into professional development material for teachers. Teachers played an increasingly prominent role, evolving into the primary decision makers about content, style, and the…

To enculturate the young and help them reason successfully, teachers need appropriate pedagogical and school renewal skills. An interview-based survey disclosed chronic prestige deprivation in the teacher education enterprise, lack of program coherence, theory-practice separation, and stifling bureaucratic regulations. Three promising…

Rather than focusing on "proven" practices, Washington State University and the faculties of more than 50 schools have collaborated on Project LEARN (League of Educational Action Researchers in the Northwest) to enhance teachers' professional lives. Teams of teachers actively pursue the answers to their own teaching and learning…

In the American Federation of Teachers' Thinking Mathematics collaboration, teachers have become equal partners with researchers to create staff development aimed at mathematics instruction. Researchers and 5 visiting practitioners have cooperated to create mathematics foundations materials conceptualized in 10 guiding principles for mathematics…

To gain appreciation for each others' perspectives, a Mississippi language arts consultant and a third-grade teacher from Iowa traded jobs for a year. As a consultant, the teacher found that classroom teachers were more interested in whole-language instruction practicalities than in theory. As a teacher, the consultant learned that classroom…

The Colorado State University Professional Development School Partnership involves more than preparing preservice teachers to enter classrooms. The partnership aims to engage all teachers in inquiry into educational practices, professional- development activities, and exemplary instructional practices. Preservice, novice, and veteran teachers…

An elementary education professor working in an urban professional development school in New Jersey explains how she helps student teachers apply learned concepts to school settings. PDSs provide ongoing exposure to practices and insights of educators experienced with working with children from diverse populations. The New Jersey PDS breaks down…

In Australia, Gardner's multiple-intelligences theory has strongly influenced primary, preschool, and special education. A survey of 30 schools revealed that teachers use two basic approaches: teaching to, and teaching through, multiple intelligences. The first approach might develop children's music skills via playing an instrument. The second…

Still hard at work, the Holmes Group is forming networks across the nation, framing a common discourse, and pursuing a new vision of teaching through school-university collaboration and professional development. (Author/TE)