International teaching experiences, even if short-termed, are great opportunities for student teachers to challenge their assumptions and scrutinise their beliefs, to discover different ways of approaching teaching and learning, and to better understand their own education system through a global education lens. They offer student teachers the…

This paper aims to contribute to the growing literature on how prospective foreign language teachers can learn to be successful telecollaborators. We investigate Polish and German TEFL students' perceptions of how they develop the competences, attitudes, and beliefs described by O'Dowd (2015) through experiential learning in a virtual exchange.…

Formal mentoring programs focus on the probationary period of new teachers. Providing teachers with mentoring support during the initial years of teaching requires significant commitment and investment from school districts, mentors, and new teachers. Numerous studies argue the merits of mentoring programs, yet the research has been less clear…

In the past decade, college and university officials have tried to formalize avenues that provide undergraduate students with opportunities to conduct research, either in direct collaboration with a faculty member or as independent research under the supervision of a faculty member. Administrators and faculty have worked to institutionalize these…

Despite the prevalence of professional development in schools and the variability in its implementation, little research has been conducted on how professional development makes its way into the classroom. Even when teachers participate in high-quality professional development, there remains a large and often undocumented variability in how…

Recounts the process by which a college teacher became a teacher, specifically a teacher of writing. The experience of being taught by exceptional teachers created the desire to be such a teacher himself. (SLD)

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which beginning teachers who are career changers hold proactive beliefs about teaching. The beliefs of six career-changers (four males and two females, aged 25 to 45 years) were examined by means of in-depth interviews concerning their academic histories, previous careers, teacher preparation…

Set against an organized school reform backdrop, this inquiry features four challenges I faced as a result of working alongside teachers and principals whose urban schools were awarded major school research grants for a 5-year period. In addition to teasing out the origins of the dilemmas I encountered and showing how they impacted my teaching…

Contains four presentations on teacher professional and personal growth: "The Elephant's Child as Caregiver," (Elizabeth Jones) on the importance of curiosity; and interviews with several teachers--(1) "Teachers and Then Some: Profiles of Three Teachers"; (2) "Becoming Planners: Finding Time and Insight"; and (4) "Backing Away Helpfully: Some…

Argues that teachers' perspectives prompt a particular interpretation of Donald Schon's "reflection-in-action" theory that justifies individualistic, immediate, and limited change strategies in professional development. Maintains that reflective teaching requires an approach that is social and collaborative rather than only individualistic in…

Notes that throughout our educational and teaching experiences, we develop our own scripts, or the body of knowledge we call our own. Traces the script development of one educator, and concludes that becoming a teacher is a lifelong process. (JW)

An exploration was made on how concepts and procedures relating to professional assessment and development can be integrated into preservice teacher education. A proposal for achieving the development goal of enhancement of each person's capacity for self-directed study and professional growth includes: (1) establishing support teams for teacher…

This book digs into the tensions, contradictions, and uncertainties of teaching. The book explores how to "read" teaching, which involves the application to practice and research of "simple if neglected things" like noticing, wondering, reflecting, and holding an impression in the grip of an idea. The first chapter discusses the productive…

This handbook offers insights and discussions on opportunities for professional growth and career expansion available to private school personnel. Overviews are presented on the relationship between the private school and its faculty, and the school's responsibility to encourage individual development in faculty members as well as in students.…

Definitions, purposes, and goals are enumerated to provide a planning framework for the creation of a staff development plan at Metro Tech Community College (MTCC). After introductory material outlines the planning process for staff development and the steps in an informal assessment of staff development needs, an operational definition is…