In recent years several authors have made a beginning in describing therapeutic conversations from a dialogical perspective. Training and supervision, however, have not yet been addressed from a dialogical perspective. In this article, an experiential training exercise is described that is focused on the basic dialogical skills of the trainee:…

Earthlearningidea was developed, without funding, to publish a new Web-based earth science teaching idea every week during the International Year of Planet Earth (2008); during 2009, publication continued, but at monthly intervals. The activities were mostly practically based and were aimed particularly at teachers and teacher educators in the…

To prepare teacher candidates to become social justice advocates, teacher educators have to critically reflect on their curriculum and teaching strategies to examine whether they are "acting on their beliefs" about diversity and social justice. In this article the author examines teacher candidates' perceptions of how their experiences…

Teacher learning communities are hailed by many as vehicles for reforming and elevating the professional status of teaching. While much research explores teacher community as a venue for measurable gains, our research examines the orientation of practitioner inquiry toward critical debate about effective instruction. Specifically, our study…

Climate change is a complex environmental problem that can be used to examine students' understanding, gained through classroom communication, of climate change and its interactions. The present study examines a series of four science sessions given to a group of primary school student teachers (n?=?20). This includes analysis of the…

This paper offers a comparative reflection on how two nations, the U.S. and Lithuania, are implementing inquiry-based science in elementary classrooms. The qualitative study explored how fourth grade teachers in Southern California and in Lithuania employed effective inquiry-based strategies in their classrooms. A teacher's use of questioning…

We developed an inquiry-based biology laboratory exercise in which undergraduate students designed experiments addressing whether material from the neem tree ("Azadirachta indica") altered bean beetle ("Callosobruchus maculatus") movements and oviposition. Students were introduced to the bean beetle life cycle, experimental…

Inquiry-based and interdisciplinary teaching practices exemplify constructivist approaches to education capable of facilitating authentic student learning; however, their implementation has proven particularly challenging within certain contexts in the United States. This qualitative study considers one such context via an investigation of…

First-year undergraduate physics laboratories are important physics learning environments. However, there is a lack of empirically informed literature regarding how students perceive their overall laboratory learning experiences. Recipe formats persist as the dominant form of instructional design in these sites, and these formats do not adequately…

This narrative inquiry uses pedagogic discourse theory and organization theory to frame pre-service teacher education and in-service professional development initiatives in a school district facing tensions related to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Implications for similar future initiatives are considered.

The learning design studio is a collaborative, blended, project-based framework for training teachers in effective and evidence-based use of educational technology. Arguably, teachers are the primary change agents in any educational system. Several decades of research have produced an extensive body of scientific knowledge of effective ways to use…

This paper reports on a design experiment of web-based curriculum materials explicitly created to help social studies teachers develop their professional teaching knowledge. Web-based social studies curriculum reform efforts, human-centered interface design, and investigations into educative curriculum materials are reviewed, as well as…

Research suggests that professional development that engages teachers in instructional inquiry over an extended time through collaborative professional learning communities (PLCs) is effective in improving instruction and student achievement. Still, most professional development is offered as short-duration workshops that are not effective in…

Over the past decade amidst the development and implementation of new official curriculum texts and associated assessment requirements, there has been considerable international interest in senior physical education. Arnold's three dimensions of movement have been prominent in curriculum developments and academic debates. In the state of Victoria,…

Apps, specialized programs used on mobile computers, can be used in innovative ways to enhance science and literacy learning. With the skilled guidance of their teachers, students can exploit app affordances for learning and acquire disciplinary literacies unique to science. This article showcases apps that help students to access information,…