Reflective practice serves as a powerful pedagogical strategy for teachers--especially those in low-resource, rural areas. This qualitative case study looked at secondary education pre-service teachers in their first education course. Analysis of focus observation essays data indicated that pre-service teachers were incorporating reflective…

Illustrates techniques for the development of thinking skills, using the processes of observation, recall, information processing, and concluding. (SK)

Offers ways to teach students to understand and appreciate stories not just for their plots but for their stylistic features. Suggests that teachers demonstrate alternatives by rewriting passages in ways different from those chosen by the author, and asking students to describe the differences. Includes classroom examples. (PRA)

Presents empirical evidence for imitative problem solving and the interpretation theory, based on a study of Scottish secondary school students. Discusses analogical problem solving; the interpretation theory notation; and predicted sources of difficulty in mapping and adapting the practice problem to solve a variant. (Contains 42 references.)…

Ten specific activities aimed at studying soil in a vacant lot are presented along with a discussion of necessary/useful equipment and an expemplary lesson plan. (JC)

A field trip to a local bank is a practical way to make economics more relevant to students. For journal availability see SO 504 303. (DE)

"Shadowing" is the metaphor used by a junior high school for the career awareness program the article describes, in which students spend a day observing individuals in various occupations. (AJ)

Examines results of a study using the inquiry method in composition instruction. Findings suggest that writing tasks that engage students in specifiable inquiry strategies should be an important part of every writing curriculum. (RAE)

Education majors need an updated field experience aimed at studying adolescents from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Visiting a local shopping mall on a Friday night to observe teens in their natural habitat is entertaining and enlightening. By surveying kids, college students can find out what teens value and examine their own…

To reach unmotivated vocational students, the author suggests locating credible role models from recent graduates and developing a "graduate of the week" bulletin board display or notebook for materials about the graduates and their jobs. (MF)

This study investigated whether providing preservice teachers with opportunities to discuss common observations would have an impact on their observations and reflections. Twelve preservice secondary mathematics teachers in the early stages of their teacher education program were divided into 3 treatment groups based on their orientation towards…

Examines the effect of three different modes of task orientation on observational attainment in practical chemistry. Results include the overall performance on the chemistry observation test and an analysis of the influence of the complexity of observational tasks on observational attainment. (Author/GS)

Virtually every level of compulsory education features a Career Day program as part of a school's career guidance efforts. This paper proposes that Career Day programs can be improved to meet the career explorations and school-to-work needs of today's students. It advocates that the content of such programs be broadened so as to include more of…

School personnel participated in Career Guidance Institutes funded by the National Alliance of Business. They visited area businesses to learn about job qualifications and working conditions, and also held in-school seminars. Evaluations showed the benefits of observational learning in producing attitudes required for teaching guidance. (JAC)

Recent literature indicates that supervision at the secondary level in physical education has had little significant impact on the overall experience of a student teacher. Two factors contributing to these results have been the type of setting and the nontraining of the cooperating teacher. Recent studies have also shown through objective data…