The reform documents of the 1990s stressed that science is not practiced by a rigid scientific method, but science texts continue to describe the process as if it were rigid and linear. The purpose of this investigation was twofold: (a) to explore middle school in-service teachers' perceptions of scientific methodology and (b) to explore ways in…

The authors describe and use a psychotherapeutic modality known as sandtray therapy in order to help thirteen veteran teachers in the graduate educational leadership program at Brigham Young University reflect on the biographical, critical, and spiritual dimensions of their sense of calling as educational leaders. The authors first look at…

This article provides a model for the professional development of elementary science teachers. The model focused on integrating different domains of knowledge into science teaching, including the knowledge of the science curriculum, especially scientific inquiry, teacher's knowledge, and students' knowledge. The two case studies in this article…

The National Science Education Standards recognize that inquiry-based instruction holds significant promise for developing scientifically literate students. The Science Teacher Inquiry Rubric (STIR) was developed based upon the National Science Education Standards' essential features of inquiry instruction (NRC, 2000). A pilot study using a…

Keeping a good balance in the classroom and in the library media center is no easy task. It is an on-going process that will continually involve reflective thinking, research, professional reading, networking among other professionals, and collaboration among teachers and fellow library media specialists. In this article, the author discusses what…

The author's teaching experience in France began in 1994 when she was offered a two-year position as "maitre de langues" (language instructor) at the University of Saint Etienne Engineering School. She had moved to France from Berkeley, California, the previous year along with a newborn baby and crates of photocopied archival material…

The use of technology in the educational setting can provide support for professional development early in a teacher's career. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory study was to examine the use of an electronic discussion board in a field-based block of courses as a place where 17 preservice teachers could share experiences and ideas. The…

Examines the philosophy behind development of two team-taught courses in scientific writing: one for first-year students, the second for advanced students preparing for graduate and professional careers in science. Using student self-evaluations, course evaluations, and anecdotal evidence, chronicles some strengths and weaknesses of our ten-year…

What do adolescents find meaningful in their exposure to spiritual education organised by religious or spiritual institutions? A qualitative study of adolescents participating in summer school events organised by the Religious Society of Friends and Sahaj Marg meditation system was carried out and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological…

This paper describes the development of an instrument--The Reflective Supervisor Questionnaire (RSQ). The RSQ maps the domain of research supervisory practice as a facilitative process involving educational tasks and activities. It is designed to assist research supervisors explore, by means of self-reflection and reflection on feedback from…

Well-designed problems are crucial for the success of problem-based learning (PBL). Previous discussions about designing problems for PBL have been rather general and inadequate in guiding educators and practitioners to design effective PBL problems. This paper introduces the 3C3R PBL problem design model as a conceptual framework for…

How does one become an effective teacher? What can be done to stem high attrition rates among beginning teachers? While many teachers are left to "sink or swim" in their first year--learning by trial and error, there remain a number of outstanding examples of collaboration and collegiality in teacher induction programs. Analysis of the…

In this paper,we report the importance five women community college, college, and university presidents place on certain leadership tenets. Interestingly, the advice they offer for other women who aspire to leadership often ties to the perceived importance of certain tenets. We report these data and speculate about implications for future women…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to provide a design and implementation framework for ALAR (action learning action research) programme which aims to address collaborative improvement in the extended manufacturing enterprise. Design/methodology/approach: This article demonstrates the design of a programme in which action learning and action…

This Australian study examined the emergence of collaborative processes when introducing co-teaching a unit of work into classroom practice. Six teams of regular and special educators at three primary schools (students aged 6 to 12 years) volunteered to systematically reflect on their co-teaching activities to design, implement, and evaluate a…