This case study focuses on one beginning English teacher's work toward eupraxia, i.e., good practice informed by reflection in a setting in which a degree of free choice is available. The study uses a Vygotskian framework for studying concept development that focuses on the settings of human activity and how ambiguous social concepts are developed…

As the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) marks its first century of existence, the Council and its members are rightfully looking back across the years in appreciation of what its members, and its collective members over time, have accomplished. In this article, the author shares his reflections on the role of NCTE in his life. The…

This case study follows a teacher candidate through her semester of student teaching English in a suburban high school in the U.S. Southeast. The study is part of a line of inquiry that investigates the factors that contribute to teachers' development of "concepts" to guide their instruction. In particular, this research focuses on the…

This longitudinal case study follows one high school English teacher's path of concept development over a two-year period encompassing her student teaching and first year of full-time teaching, both at the same rural school in the southeastern United States. The authors use a sociocultural theoretical framework emerging from the work of Vygotsky…

Many teachers are searching for that "silver bullet": the teaching method that always works. Many answers, often contradictory, are offered by educators far and wide, as evidenced by the 768,000 websites identified by a Google search for "best practices teaching." The quest for best practices has led many to seek ways to teach that defy even the…

Based on his reading, research, and experiences as both a classroom teacher and teacher educator, the author accepts Dewey's ultimate recognition that the problem is not simply that teachers are unaware of alternatives to schooling as usual, and that better teacher education is the solution to making schools the sites of more active learning. The…

This paper proposes that activity theory provides a useful framework for studying the conceptual development of teachers, particularly English/language arts teachers. Activity theory shifts attention to the social and cultural factors that mediate development in particular contexts, thus allowing an understanding of how particular preservice and…

This case study investigates the decision making of Joni, a high school English teacher, during her student teaching in an Applied Communications II teaching assignment, comprised of students in the lowest tier of a four-track senior English curriculum. This course served as a "contact zone" for a set of competing interests: Joni's stated beliefs…

This study combines data from three case studies of teachers moving from their university teacher education programs into their first jobs, with data collected through observations and interviews totaling six observation cycles over the 2 years of data collection. The curricula for working class students that the three teachers taught represent a…

The five-paragraph theme, while widely used by writing instructors, has often been criticized for its tendency to focus on a rigid formula rather than a writer's ideas. This study investigates the decision of an early-career teacher, Leigh, to teach her eighth-grade students the five-paragraph model in the context of a state-mandated writing…

This article reports a study of coauthor Laura Wright as she learned to teach secondary school grammar in four settings: university teacher education program, student teaching, her first job, and second job. Data for her university program came from Laura's journals and projects from her course work. Data from student teaching and her first job…

Describes the author's highest hope for the current National Board of Professional Teaching Standards Early Adolescence/English Language Arts certification process. Looks at factors that could undermine the potential benefits that a National Teaching Certificate can have on the profession. Encourages middle school teachers to support the project…

Argues that the IRA/NCTE (International Reading Association/National Council of Teachers of English) standards should provide a starting point for both local and national discussions of what it means to have standards, what effects standards can have, and how to go about developing them. Offers a set of questions that teachers might consider…

This paper discusses the hazards of using standardized assessment in English/language arts. Using standardized tests to measure student competency with language is problematic because of inattention to what counts as appropriate language usage. Standardized tests reify textbook language usage only and do not distinguish between correct and…