This article argues for the need of a new, pragmatic response to claims of indoctrination in public school classrooms across the United States. While attempts at defining indoctrination and moral arguments for and against certain pedagogical practices may be worthwhile, the article maintains that claims of indoctrination, whether substantive or…

The literature supports transformative models of professional learning and development (PLD) such as professional learning communities (PLCs). However, there is a research gap relating to PLCs for inclusive practice. This paper draws on findings from a qualitative study with 10 teachers in an urban primary school in the Republic of Ireland, who…

With an alchemical verve, educators have been shaping the very direction of students' lives since time immemorial. With millions of teachers currently serving in the Tk-12 sector and millions more serving in higher education spaces, the need for quality educator development is essential. For Tk-12 educators, while there are teacher preparation…

If you have ever found yourself asking, "Why don't students see the relevance in what I am teaching them?", you are not alone. I recently discovered that I had become out-of-touch with what college students find relevant. My purpose in writing this commentary is twofold: (1) to reflect on and improve my own practice, and (2) to encourage…

How do we account for the close personal bonds and deeply caring relationships forged by educators with learners in many adult educational encounters? The literature is relatively silent on the emotional and relational basis to adult educator work. This is a serious silence, given the stressful nature of adult education in developing contexts such…

My departure from traditional methods of teaching and assessment (i.e., lecture and close-ended exams) was prompted years ago by a "gut feeling" that has morphed into an explicit examination of my teaching practice and students' reactions to it. The scholarly approach and empirical evidence in "Teachers and Learning"…

Teachers crave yet rarely receive qualitative performance feedback. Though student feedback has been studied, we know little about what kinds of feedback are useful to teachers for improving practice. This study begins to address the need in research on the nature of feedback teachers receive from classroom observations as well as on how teachers…

In the context of rapidly changing classroom environments, it is crucial that teachers be able to make appropriate decisions. Those teachers who reflect on their practice, particularly while they are teaching (what Schon terms reflection-in-action), are best able to do so. It is the intent of this article to investigate the role of teacher…

One seventh-grade English language arts teacher engaged in teacher research in order to become a more understanding, responsive, and confident instructor. Systematic inquiry into her own practice revealed a conflict between what students perceived as their literacy needs and desires (discrete reading skills) with what she perceived to be important…

Initially, the author began her teacher inquiry project by focusing on the superhero play she had been observing in her classroom and on her concerns about how it might be impacting the classroom community. Through an ongoing process of self-reflection and reading research, she was able to open herself up to interacting and engaging with the…

This paper describes and discusses an action research collaboration between a multi-disciplinary team of practice educators, a practice development nurse and a university lecturer in order to explore, evaluate and improve a dementia care training package developed for a range of staff providing care for people with dementia. Whilst it is…

How do college professors prepare for class? Teachers often approach the lesson planning process differently. Some, though quite different in their methods, come out with remarkably similar results. Two highly effective teachers engaged each other in peer-reflection as they explored their own methods of lesson preparation. As they conferred with…

Effective professional development is a key component in improving teachers' practices in the educational setting. Although there is current literature related to professional development, there is limited information on teachers' perceptions of reflective practices as forms of professional development. The purposes of the study were to identify…

This paper provides an account of professional learning in action through documenting the experiences of three upper primary teachers as they engaged in reflection-on-action with the assistance of an academic mentor. Video-stimulated recall was used as a mechanism to encourage productive reflective practice, using video footage of each teacher's…

This dissertation was an in-depth investigation of successful online teaching in the context of higher education. It is presented in nontraditional dissertation format as approved by the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Iowa State University. This dissertation includes three publishable journal articles that would represent Chapter 2, 3…