There are some important ambiguities in discussions about the implications of "evidence-based practice", both for educational research and for the work of teachers. In this paper we explore several of these through examining the Evidence-based Practice in Science Education (EPSE) study--part of the Teaching and Learning Research…

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…

Considers ways in which oppositional and authoritative relations between teachers and students might be challenged. Examines the emancipatory intent of Freire's philosophy of education and explores its practice for transformative learning. (SK)

Definitions are central to both the practice and the power of leadership. This deceptively simple supposition was the basis for an elective doctoral leadership seminar at Illinois State University designed and taught by Lyman in Fall 2005, and replicated by Gardner in Spring 2007. The authors featured the same texts and stimulated students'…

Critical dialogue skills are a beneficial tool for reflective educational practice. Pre-service teachers can learn to examine underlying biases and assumptions that influence many important aspects of educational practice. Critical dialogue skills are thus of particular importance for work with diverse students and their families. This paper…

When teachers view their mission as one to "save" children, the possibility then exists that they might not "save" them all. In fact, it is not uncommon that a teacher utters the words, "I can't save them all." The mission, however, of the teacher is not to "save." Rather, the mission of a teacher is to…

The stories we tell ourselves about nature and human/nature relationships influence which nature experiences we seek out and our interpretations of such experiences. In turn, these experiences reinforce or disrupt our stories. Since nature experiences are interpreted in multiple ways, environmental educators should move away from the linear model…

Research using Freire's critical pedagogy and critical educational gerontology revealed that a Maltese University of the Third Age uses traditional one-way models of educational practice that fail to engage learners in transformative learning. Overemphasis on adult participation neglects the question of the purpose of learning. (Contains 72…

Including reflective practice in tertiary learning design is one way of working towards making effective learning possible for students. This article considers how elements of reflective practice in teaching delivery and assessment have been successful in satisfying principles of effective teaching in the context of the study of law at first year…

In 1998 the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching initiated a comprehensive study of professional education in the United States. By focusing on the interactions of teachers and students in the classroom and other formal and informal educational settings, the foundation hoped to discover how clergy, lawyers, engineers, doctors, and…

This article proposes the Teacher Observation Programme for in-service teacher trainees. The program is reflective, collaborative, and builds confidence. It enables teachers to grow in their ability to self-evaluate. Trainees who have made decisions about their own observation, who have created and used their own observational tools, and who have…

For the purpose of reflective analysis, this article, which employs narrative inquiry as a research methodology, combines two "crossing the boundaries" dilemmas I experienced over the course of a decade. While the dilemmas relate to different issues that emerged in my career (standardized testing as a K-12 teacher and the formal…

The amount of resources being poured by Western universities, companies, and governments into creating educational content to be exported (via the Internet) to other cultures is astounding. Those assigned to accomplish this task are left with the great challenge of meeting the needs of learners who come from cultures that are foreign to them, and…

This article explores Scharmer's account of generative dialogue, which followed from Bohmian dialogue in the 1980s and Isaacs' research with the MIT Dialogue Project in the early 1990s. It presents the author's view that generative dialogue offers a useful theoretical framework and effective means for facilitating transformative learning processes…

In this article we propose a model for collaboration in education. We begin by examining the roots of collaboration in consultation, collegiality, and cooperation. We then delineate the features of collaboration as phenomenon and process, offering the view that through talk, action, and reflection among individuals a community of learners emerges.…