This paper explores the concept of reflection and reflective practice in teacher education. Teaching is a complex achievement that brings together a number of conceptual, practical, and physical resources in an individual's professional practice. Achievement in teaching is an amalgam of at least four different discourses--science, craft, art, and…

The resource constraints and increasing demands mandated by state and federal programs have made it difficult for rural and small schools to provide a developmentally appropriate education for all their students, but especially for middle level students, many of whom have been identified as "at risk." This paper focuses on recent research in the…

This monograph addresses the role of gifted education in total school improvement by describing three service delivery components (the Total Talent Portfolio, Curriculum Modification Techniques, and Enrichment Learning and Teaching) and several organizational components of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM). The report describes how the SEM can…

This paper presents a social reconstructionist model of supervision. The model connects schools and society, and considers the vital role teachers, students, staff, and others play in developing, designing, and implementing reforms in school and society. The model is based on the philosophy of social reconstructionism, which views schools as…

In child care centers, parental involvement as well as staff sensitivity toward children and parents are essential for managing cultural diversity in a way that is beneficial for both migrant and indigenous families. Defining and improving the quality of center education from a multicultural perspective require discussions between staff and…

This paper is a critique of problem-based learning and focuses on, first, the concept of life as problem-governed and professional practice as problem-solving; and, second, the utility of problem-based learning as a pedagogical approach in pre-professional training. The paper suggests that a problem-based approach to professional education is…

This paper provides theoretical background and methodology for a focus group study of influences on first-time Latino community college students. The first chapter identifies the need for research on Latino students, citing high attrition rates and focusing on three critical dynamics: making the transition to college, making connections on campus…

This unit of study for junior-high level high-ability language arts students explores five themes in 19th century American history through literature of the times: romanticism, transcendentalism, abolitionism, industrialism, and feminism. Each of the five "isms" has its own "literature box" that contains appropriate documents…

This book presents a conceptual model that supports a comprehensive program for professional development and evaluation. "The Professional Educator Development Model" is a framework that includes both a reconceptualization of teachers' roles and renewed consideration of how teachers' beliefs and desired student outcomes influence teacher…

This paper describes a multidimensional staff development program implemented by the Ames (Iowa) Community Schools, involving 11 schools, 350 teachers, and 5,000 students. Three governance options in staff development were established: the Individual Growth Fund which supported teachers in defraying the costs of individually selected staff…

The Global Thinking Project at Georgia State University and the Department of Middle Secondary Education and Instructional Technology sponsored a Symposium on Global Thinking Research, in November, 1993. The following 11 papers were presented at the symposium: (1) "Teaching Students to Think Globally" (Jack Hassard); (2)…

This report addresses various dimensions of a major policy issue in teacher education--the need to help all teachers acquire the attitudes, knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to work effectively with a diverse student population. The differences are related to social class, ethnicity, culture, and language. The problem of educating…

This paper emphasizes the significance of cultural diversity in American schools and its implications for the teaching and learning processes. Also highlighted is the importance of the realization that diversity is what makes the United States unique. The paper discusses the cultural dynamics of clashes and conflicts as well as of cooperation and…

This packet contains selected papers from a conference on writing centers: "Inner-City Writing Centers in St. Louis Public Schools" (Carmen Charleston); "Non-traditional Students in the Writing Lab" (Marilyn Cozad); "Cooperation between the Writing Center and Student Support Services" (Coralyn Dahl and Rita Worrall);…

Designed to provide a concise description of traditional instructional techniques, as well as more recent technology-based techniques, this 11-part guidebook includes the following sections: (1) "The Value of Planning"; (2) "Aids to Effective Instruction," reviewing the reasons for employing learning objectives, Bloom's taxonomy of objectives for…