The prevalent use of student ratings in teaching evaluations, particularly the reliability of such data, has been debated for many years. Reports in the literature indicate that there are many factors influencing student perceptions of teaching. Three of these factors were investigated at the University of Western Australia, namely the broad…

This paper reports the development of a progress file, a tool to promote learning, planning and the recording of achievement, for dental therapists in training and professional practice. Progress files are to become obligatory in higher education in the United Kingdom. The aims of the file, its development and the naturalistic approach taken to…

This paper presents an action-research case study that focuses on experiences of collaboration in a problem-based learning (PBL) course in Zoology. Our PBL model was developed as a research activity in partnership with a commercial organisation. Consequently, learning was grounded in genuine situations of practice in which a high degree of…

Choices in science--allocation of research funds, selection of research topics, interaction with research subjects (animals, environment, other humans), etc.--often, if not always, include some ethical considerations. Future scientists need skills to deal with and discuss ethical problems, and for that reason we have developed and evaluated one…

This paper offers the viewpoint that franchised Further Education-based degree courses should be continued and expanded, since these colleges are less likely to intimidate adult (potential) students. A modified American "2 + 2" learning scenario (2 years in FE college followed by 2 years concluding the degree in a university) is discussed.

Evaluated how teacher education promoted active learning from the perspective of Finnish student teachers, teacher educators, classroom teachers, and students. Data from surveys and interviews indicated that schools and teacher education departments were in the midst of a cultural change. While there were many indicators of active learning, there…

Describes the process and outcomes of a collaborative self-study by five Chilean teacher educators interested in improving their supervision of student teachers, examining problems they encountered as first-time writers of a self-study report. Guidelines for scaffolding supervisees' reflectivity are included (e.g., attend to supervisors' and…

Investigated the effects of science lessons, framed as persuasion, on middle school students' knowledge, beliefs, and interest. Students received participated in teacher- or student-led lessons. Their knowledge, beliefs, and interest were compared to those of students in other science classes. There were significant differences between persuasion…

Explored the range of professional development opportunities available to teachers in four secondary schools affiliated with one school-university partnership. Data from observations, structured tasks, surveys, and interviews with participating teachers provided information on the types of opportunities teachers found most valuable and conditions…

Dutch 7th grade teachers were trained to apply either cognitive apprenticeship or direct instruction models in reading comprehension lessons. They received teaching guides with adaptations of their current reading curriculum. Control group teachers used the same curriculum with no teaching guides or training. In both experimental conditions,…

Assessed the effectiveness of a program designed to enhance practicing teachers' beliefs, skills, and strategies regarding parent involvement. Results of an initial test of the program in two U.S. public schools serving predominantly high risk students indicated that participation increased teachers' self-efficacy and enhanced their beliefs about…

Explored the trajectory of an early childhood educator's career commitment and eventual decision to leave teaching. Spanning 7 years, the study employed representation and analysis of metaphors as heuristic tools to illuminate the lived experience of becoming, being, and unbecoming an early childhood educator, highlighting the need to further…

Examines the induction of two middle school science teachers as partners in a job sharing arrangement in lieu of student teaching, describing how they worked together and supported each other's attempts to implement student-centered practices and likening their mutual support to a marriage partnerships. The two teachers mentored each other through…

Identifies research problems that arise in analysis of audio and video records of teachers' collaborative work, presenting a segment of interaction from a work group of teachers engaged in jointly planning a 9th-grade English course and using excerpts to illustrate the system of analysis. The paper concludes with a conceptual scheme for…

Presents a model of teacher professional growth that views professional development as teacher learning. The model includes four analytic domains in which teacher change occurs, indicates potential relationships among change domains, and identifies mechanisms operating to produce these relationships. The article illustrates the model with data…