Describes an educational construct called Professional Development School (PDS) whereby a college of education works with one or two public schools in training preservice teachers. Explains the responsibilities of each partner in the relationship and how a school can become a PDS. (TJQ)

Summarizes eight recent ERIC documents and seven journal articles on mixed-age grouping. Includes discussions of teaching in the multiage classroom, Kentucky's Primary Program, developmentally appropriate practices in the primary grades, thematic instruction, attitudes toward mixed-age grouping, and questions and answers about mixed-age grouping.…

The typical education professor has fewer than 5 years of K-12 teaching experience; those who haven't taught in public schools for 20 years undermine prospective teachers' attitudes about teaching and have little understanding about teachers' professional problems. It is hoped the character of teacher education may be altered by the massive…

Undergraduate teacher education students participated in the Foxfire instructional approach by developing field trip packages for elementary students visiting a farm and a garden/greenhouse. Describes problems with group dynamics among students and efforts to resolve problems. (KS)

Uses data from a state-sponsored career ladder program to examine the interrelationships between work redesign, work rewards, values, and job satisfaction. Shows that participation in work redesign is associated with job satisfaction among more experienced teachers, but not among their less experienced counterparts. Extrinsic rewards (higher…

Reviews six professional books in three categories: three books written by teachers and other educators writing about their experiences in whole language classrooms, two instructional idea books written to help teachers implement specific areas of curriculum (biographies and poetry), and one book on current research. Reviews books and audiotapes…

A middle school teacher reflects on her year-long experience of applying the Foxfire approach to a language arts class, on student successes and disappointments, and on the difficulties of carrying out meaningful research on this process. Student comments are included. (SV)

Examines how four preservice writing teachers arrived at the theories that shaped their composition classroom pedagogies. Finds that writing instruction can and will overcome some of the difficulties wrought by the theory/practice dichotomy. (RS)

Staff developers can foster teacher growth using varied approaches to teacher reflection, and developers must consider level of pedagogical functioning and psychological orientation when designing approaches to reflection for enhancing professional growth. The article suggests that providing appropriate reflective experiences at one stage helps…

Cochise Jackson, a Black teacher with inner-city origins, shares two "war stories" to illustrate disillusioning student responses to some innovative critical thinking exercises. According to Cochise, the me-generation, whether rich or poor, wants mainly to be entertained. Suburban kids are as damaged by segregation and quick fixes as…

Outdoor education offers opportunities for learning in physical education and ecology that transfer to daily life. Brief impressions profile the author's perceptions and experiences during a high school canoe trip with 11 teenagers. (KS)

Suggests that effective teaching requires understanding of what students know and what they are ready to learn. Claims that the biggest problem faced by the author in coming out of a teacher education program was his belief that he was "done"--what he was missing was many of the frameworks and tools needed to construct his teaching. (RS)

Provides an overview of how oral history has enriched 20th-century U.S. educational history. Focuses on teachers' lives, classroom experiences, and the intersection of teachers' lives and work. Relies on a synthetic approach and taps urban, small town, and rural experiences through a comprehensive oral history review. (DSK)

Exploration of the social and economic context of further education in England shows increased collegiality and a culture of continuous improvement have transformed teaching and learning. These changes take place within a modernizing strategy focused on value-added education and economic competitiveness. (SK)

Part I describes a nursing student's experience learning to think in clinical practice, illustrating the need for a variety of approaches to critical thinking. Part II shows how nursing teachers and students are challenging conventional approaches and creating more responsive pedagogies. (SK)