This study reports on how student teachers learn in the workplace. Data from 10 student teachers were collected by means of digital logs and in-depth interviews. By reconstructing data into stories and unravelling these stories, it became clear that the learning process of each student teacher was dominated by one specific theme, such as…

Collaborative inquiry (CI) has emerged as a dominant structure for educators' professional learning in the 21st century. The purpose of this paper is to analyze publicly available documents and policies related to CI in Ontario in order to better understand the documentary scope and spread of this professional learning model in the province. We…

In this paper we report a large-scale study designed to evaluate the impact of masters courses on the professional development of science school teachers and, consequently, on the improvement of the quality of science education. The underlying assumption of this study is that masters teachers are widely recognized as assuming a relevant role to…

The need for reflection is widely written about and positioned as a key aspect of continuing professional development. This paper examines the manner in which practitioners are encouraged to be reflective within the English system and the barriers they face. It questions whether such a complex, reaffirming system can allow for genuine critical…

This booklet synthesises the research on teacher professional learning and development that has been demonstrated to have a positive impact on valued student outcomes. Its findings relate to teachers who have received at least some initial teacher education and who are in the process of deepening their knowledge and refining their skills. The…

Discusses two current monograph publications that provide frameworks for adult learning approaches that stress active, participatory, and reflective learning experiences for early care and education professionals, in an effort to eliminate passive learning by adults. A constructivist teacher-education approach is drawn from both works. (SD)

The action learning set (ALS) is an often-used tool in practice development to facilitate group reflection. As such, its use evolves in the hands of the participants as they become more comfortable with the process and as trust develops amongst group members. This paper aims to discuss the journey of one ALS over a 2-year period. It seeks to…

In this paper we develop a socio-dynamic account for the impact of continuing professional development (CPD) on practice. The model we propose for changing practice challenges the essentially individualised explanation of practical learning offered by a number of writers and researchers in the field of CPD such as Joyce and Showers (1988), Eraut…

This book reviews the literature on reflection, explores the relationship between reflection and learning, and discusses how reflection can be used to improve learning and professional practice. The following are among the topics discussed: (1) common-sense and developmental stage approaches to reflection; (2) the philosophies of Dewey and…

The role that individual learning proficiency, individual personality characteristics, and chance occurrences in the learner's environment play in self-directed professional development was examined through semistructured interviews with a purposeful sample of eight professional men and women of high achievement with no postsecondary schooling in…

Develops a set of educational evaluation criteria for online continuing professional development (CPD) courses using Kolb's experiential learning cycle theory. Evaluates five courses provided by online CPD Web sites, concludes that these online courses neglect parts of the learning cycle, and suggests improvements. (Author/LRW)

Descriptions of major activities for each of the seven Urban Mathematics Collaborative Projects sponsored by the Ford Foundation are contained in this report. These include: (1) Cleveland Collaborative for Mathematics Education; (2) Los Angeles Collaborative: Professional Links with Urban Schools; (3) Philadelphia Urban Mathematics Collaborative;…

This document contains the following 30 papers (most with short abstracts): "The Teacher Transition Response" (Carley); "There Must Be Some Meaning to This: Storytelling as a Research Method" (Group for Collaborative Inquiry); "The Impact of Patient, Social and Political, Practice Environment, and Physician Factors on the Integration of Health…

In order to become "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion" the European Union realizes its people as the most important asset. Moreover, every human becomes a value for the whole society. It makes significant to…

This report summarizes the activities and outcomes of a planning project responsible for delineating and determining priorities of crucial, researchable issues in teacher education. The following considerations were made: (1) What does research and development suggest for the content of preservice, induction, and inservice teacher education? (2)…