Observations of 780 third-grade classrooms described classroom activities, child-teacher interactions, and dimensions of the global classroom environment, which were examined in relation to structural aspects of the classroom and child behavior. 1 child per classroom was targeted for observation in relation to classroom quality and teacher and…

This study investigated teachers' perceptions and practices concerning musical improvisation in the English primary classroom. A questionnaire survey was carried out with participants drawn from primary teachers--both generalists and specialists--working in various regions of England. The findings demonstrate a positive view of teachers'…

In each of three consecutive years, 16 teachers were admitted to a program in which they participated in a study group to reform their teaching practices in mathematics. The 48 (total) elementary school teachers in this program were selected to ensure diversity of setting--urban and suburban, as well as public and parochial. Teachers routinely met…

Over the past decade, numerous shifts in education policy have been proposed and implemented in the attempt to improve educational opportunities for the diverse American population. Some of these changes have been initiated by the federal government's No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB, 2001) via its mix of standards, accountability, and punitive…

Drawing upon empirical research, the article explores the ways in which a cohort of novice teachers learned and developed over a 2-year period. It examines the interplay of personal and contextual influences on teachers' development over time and on the (trans)formation of their professional identities. A combination of methods for data collection…

The author of this article recounts his experience of teaching English literature at Plymouth High School. The course description was simple and straightforward--Semester 1: historical survey of English literature up to Wordsworth; Semester 2: historical survey from Wordsworth to the present. Evaluation will include tests, essays, and a research…

The conditions that promote best practice in the mentoring of beginning teachers in secondary schools are explored in this paper in relation to the experiential model of learning put forward by Kolb [(1984). "Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development." New York: Prentice-Hall]. The underpinning processes of this…

The following study evaluated the knowledge, experience and attitudes, that faculty at a private four-year institution have towards students with disabilities. The 208 participants responded to a survey questionnaire. The findings of the study indicated that many of the faculty had little or no contact with this particular student population. Many…

Examinations greatly influence course structures and student study strategies. A course for students in the civil and environmental engineering programme at Lulea University of Technology was reconstructed with the aim of increasing levels of understanding. A simple written test was designed to assess low levels of understanding (definitions,…

Computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing, computer-aided analysis, reverse engineering and rapid prototyping are tools that play an important key role within product design. These are areas of technical knowledge that must be part of engineering and industrial design courses' curricula. This paper describes our teaching experience of…

The author began her career in education as a drama teacher. Although she loved what she was doing, she felt she needed some new challenges. One summer she decided to enroll at the University of California at Berkeley to take a very intense course in film-making. On her return to Hawai'i, she discovered that if she took classes at the University…

The author suggests that the connection between teachers' early memories and the way they conceptualize their work is likely to be enormously important in the long run. Anne Lindbergh is one of the author's literary heroes. For years the author has been enchanted by Anne's ability to describe commonplace events in the most profound ways. In a way,…

The term service-learning does not simply imply that one provides a service for a particular target group; the service participants must also strive to learn how to augment and reform their own knowledge base. Brown (2005) has redefined service-learning for teacher candidates and asserts that service-learning must include a five-point outcome…

The purpose of the study was to provide empirical evidence on the level of stress among lecturers in Nigerian universities. On the whole eight universities were used for the study. A sample of 228 (123 male and 105 female) lecturers was selected according to the variables of age, sex, marital status, experience, domicile, areas of specialization,…

During the past decade, the arts have been increasingly included in professional development programs for general education teachers in the United States. Little is known, however, about teachers' attitudes toward the arts in education or the applications of arts processes in their teaching practice. In this mixed-methods study, data collected…