This article describes a qualitative study into student teachers' learning processes through changes in their interactive cognitions. First, theoretical propositions about the relation between learning to teach, professional development, and practical knowledge are defined. Next, the procedure to grasp interactive cognitions as part of practical…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an animated agent that provides instructional scaffolding strategies via a story mnemonic or cuing question with feedback versus instructional scaffolding strategies alone on student achievement of different educational objectives in multimedia learning. Specifically, the study investigated…

This paper provides an idea of how to improve computer-assisted instruction effectiveness by incorporating teachers' images and voices into computers. Efforts to increase students' motivations by improving computer-assisted instruction feedback systems through the use of arcade-style video games and animation have proven to be ineffective and…

Two studies examined seven teachers' acceptance of a strategies-based approach to reading instruction during their first year of using the intervention. Interviews and observations revealed that the intervention, a long-term transactional strategies instruction program called SAIL (Students Achieving Independent Learning), was fully acceptable to…

Those in composition studies know, experientially, that teaching informs their lives and results in knowledge, but they also know that English Studies culture(s) continue to valorize expert knowledge over community knowledge, empirical and scholarly research over alternate methods of constructing inquiry, and theory over practice. Although…

This study compares the attitudes of "somewhat" religious teachers toward teaching about religion in the public schools with the attitudes of very religious teachers. The sample consisted of public school teachers enrolled in elementary and secondary education courses at two Texas universities during the summer of 1995. Data were…

This study examines the characteristics, concerns, and practices of elementary teachers who are members of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). The paper describes the process of data gathering through a review of the literature and a mailing of questionnaires to members of NCSS who identified themselves as elementary-focused in…

This study examines how teachers evaluate student performance in five inner-city high schools that serve disadvantaged student populations. The study is based on in-depth interviews with 78 teachers. Each teacher responded to a series of questions about the practices employed to assess the academic performance of their students. Analyses of…

The tendency to read for errors is an occupational hazard for writing teachers, but there is something profoundly wrong in measuring progress by measuring the reduction of errors. To begin breaking this habit, teachers must first recognize the fundamental hypocrisy in making correction markings that are at odds with the intended message (i.e.,…

According to the cognitive development theory of Lev Vygotsky, learning is formed, and thinking is transformed as a result of participation in purposeful activity with others. Through joint activity, social problem solving is learned and eventually internalized into intrapsychological processes. This paper describes an experimental teacher…

The "Web of Life," adapted from the green version of the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), has gained a virtual monopoly in Australian upper secondary school biology classrooms since its introduction in 1967. A recent increase in the diversity of student interests, academic abilities, attitudes, and vocational aspirations has…

This study describes and assesses the influence of experience and self-confidence on teachers' reactions to problematic situations. Participants in the study were 303 expert and 136 student teachers. Data were obtained by using the questionnaires, "Situations" and "Sense of Efficacy." As expected, student teachers and expert teachers with a high…

An informal research study was done of faculty men's perspectives concerning the Graduate Core Program in the Graduate School of Professional Studies at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. The purpose of the investigation was to determine how teaching gender-related studies affected the male faculty; what they learned about gender issues…

A report is given on findings of research studies on how teachers respond to attempts to implement educational innovations. In many cases, teachers believe their future in relation to the innovation is determined not by them, but by some superordinate. Other teacher responses may be the conviction that the change will soon fade away as other fads…

An overview is presented of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model, which describes the major factors influencing the decisions and actions of individuals in the innovation adoption process. The two critical indicators hypothesized by the model, Level of Use of the Innovation, and Stages of Concern About the Innovation, are discussed. The seven stages…