There is increasing interest in how academic development of various kinds influences university teaching and student learning. To date the focus has been on formal, expert-led opportunities to learn how to teach. Our institution has developed a less formal, participant-led forum for teaching staff that was initially established to share ideas on…

It began with a trip to the cinema to see Cameron Diaz in her new comedy, "Bad Teacher." It was a bad choice. Not a great flick, but as a parody of bad employees, in terms of things that can get one fired--drugs, alcohol , cheating, foul language, inappropriate sexual behavior--Diaz slams pedal to the metal. She nips out of airline booze bottles…

Yes, it's true that today's students have tons of distractions that take their attention away from the hard work of learning. That's why it's more important than ever to establish a teaching relationship with students that makes academic learning relevant to their lives. Here's a book that explains how to do that by changing teaching practices…

Purpose: To develop a comprehensive model of professional characteristics of an educator that will prepare them for high standards of professional achievements, as all professions demand standardization and formulation of guidelines in today's competitive environment. Design/methodology/approach: Literature on essentials of an educator was sourced…

Suggests that good teaching is not the successful execution of a teacher-directed plan but the collective weaving of personal knowledge and understanding teachers create with students in literacy experiences. (MG)

The Michigan Education Association recommends a task-force approach as one of the solutions to increasing the acquisition of additional skills for all elementary teachers in education and communication skills. An inservice model was developed to be used primarily with inner-city elementary pupils, but the basic design is applicable for use with…

Lowman responds to questions concerning his book, "Mastering the Techniques of Teaching," and his views on student-teacher relations, his model for effective college instruction, specific techniques for motivating students, student and teacher responsibility for learning, and the applicability of his model for developmental education. (DMM)

Asserts that it is infeasible for teachers to use diverse styles of teaching and successfully educate their students. States that the arguments for diverse styles are very appealing, but it is impossible for teachers to implement all four models or the three approaches to teaching whether in alternation or in combination. (CMK)

This article presents the dialogue from a roundtable discussion on the principles of science education in today's school held by "Pedagogika" in March 2004. Participants were as follows: from the Russian Academy of Education: V.P. Borisenkov, doctor of pedagogical sciences, professor, vice president of the Russian Academy of Education,…

Chapters in this collection on college faculty motivation and teaching effectiveness include: "The Meaning of Human Motivation" (Charles J. Walker and Cynthia Symons); "Wanting to Be a Good Teacher: What Have We Learned To Date?" (Wilbert J. McKeachie); "Beyond Male Theory: A Feminist Perspective on Teaching…