Responds to an article that examined 10 dichotomies in teacher education (SP 527 128), suggesting that too much time and energy are spent debating false dichotomies and addressing two specific dichotomies (preservice versus inservice and campus versus school site). Recommends that professional educators pool their energy and collaborate (rather…

Six "silver bullets" that could raise student achievement are (1) set national standards;(2) make sure all students can read; (3) improve the quality of teaching; (4) demand from vendors better textbooks and teaching materials; (5) encourage charter schools; and (6) collaborate, coordinate, and redefine resources. (MLF)

A Quaker who rejects the imposition of religion in public education advocates ways to explore the spiritual dimension of teaching, learning, and living. Spiritual questions are embedded in every discipline. Spiritual mentoring helps students find questions worth asking. Teachers may gather to discuss the deepest questions of their teaching lives.…

Discusses the socialization of beginning teachers, examining the relationship between beginning teachers and mentors; presenting a case study of one teacher who had an unsatisfactory mentoring relationship with her mentor during her first year of teaching; discussing expectations for the mentor-protege relationship of teacher educators and their…

Collaboration is a complex issue that is crucial in education and teacher education. This paper examines factors important in collaboration (interactive exchange of resources, decision making, problem solving, conflict management, interpersonal communication, cultural influences, and systemic influences) and discusses benefits of and barriers to…

Examined three aspects of teacher identity (representation, preparation, and dedication) as barriers to collaboration. Oral histories of retired teachers revealed how teacher interpretations of professional identity had underlying assumptions and normative beliefs shaped by biography. When assumptions and beliefs were not acknowledged by…

To counter low test scores, a rising dropout rate, and teacher apathy, a small group of teachers at Hollywood (California) High School developed a career academy, an interdisciplinary school-within-a-school stressing small classes and business speakers. The program recruited interested students and promoted a career theme with good employment…

Investigated how a program that established cohort groups in which students moved together through their educational experiences affected student teachers. Student surveys and focus groups indicated that at first, students were concerned about their own welfare. As they progressed through the program, they better understood their place in the…

This article presents BASE (Big ideas, Analyzing areas of difficulty, creating Strategies and supports, and Evaluating the process), a unit-planning process that teachers have used successfully with ninth-grade nontracked math classes to help secondary students with disabilities and students who are at-risk to be successful in a "reform" math…

Discusses educational research conducted by British school teachers in collaboration with university school of education faculty, noting how the occupational culture of each group differs and the likelihood for differences to be magnified and tensions to arise. The paper explains how educational research is viewed from each group's occupational…

This article presents an overview of the concepts of collaboration and inclusive schooling within the context of change in public education. It defines the concepts, reviews current legislation and recent research on the effectiveness of collaboration, and discusses major barriers to and facilitators of effective collaboration. Recommendations for…

Traces the resolution of knowledge conflicts by the staff of a London (England) primary school who were committed to collaboration. Teachers either appropriated the headteachers' knowledge or left the school. There was no evidence of joint construction of shared knowledge or evidence of teachers' knowledge being accommodated. (SM)

Based on 5 years' experience, the Project Challenge coordinator for the Pittsford (New York) Central School District explains how to implement differentiated instruction. Teachers should find a buddy, align objectives, find out what students know, plan flexible grouping, encourage student responsibility, and provide choices. (MLH)

Discusses what is known about cooperative performance incentive (CPI) plans, which are award programs that offer teachers and other school staff pay bonuses for achievement of specific schoolwide educational objectives. The paper describes and compares existing CPI models worldwide, analyzes their impact on student learning and school practices,…

Describes two different experiments at De Anza College which illustrate coordinated teaching, a concept in which a group of faculty volunteer to work together for better instruction within the context of an existing program, maintaining their usual approaches to teaching a course, but allowing for collegial effort, some common work, and…