Jennifer M. Good

Encouraging reflection in preservice teachers through response journals

Abstract Reflection is an essential quality that needs to be instilled in preservice teachers in order for them to experience success in the classroom (Groce, Henson, & Woods, 1999; Hatton & Smith, 1995; Lin, Gorrell, & Porter, 1999); however, the teaching of reflection and meaning making is sometimes expected by instructors yet left untaught as a skill (Salvatori, 1996). The purpose of this study is to provide a tool for the teaching of reflection among preservice teachers‐the response journal. Response journals can create an artifact of thinking (Pritchard, 1993) that offers a mechanism for reflecting, applying, and questioning. This study chronicles the use of journals in a required undergraduate educational psychology course, offers a template for the incorporation of response journals, and suggests relevant prompts and evaluation methods. In addition, the study provides a summary of preservice teachers’ perceptions of and final responses to the response journals that are compiled throughout the course of instruction.

Creating learning communities to meet teachers' needs in professional development

Abstract Professional development is an essential component of retaining high quality teachers. Current US legislation, as stated in No Child Left Behind, emphasises this premise. Although professional development opportunities have been abundant for decades, a closer look at standards and criteria for effective professional development is essential in order to increase the possibility of programing opportunities that will truly impact teacher behaviors. According to the National Staff Development Council, effective professional development places teachers into learning communities. This can be a challenge to professional development center administrators, who often program single-session workshops for teachers from different school systems as the primary mode of delivery or instruction, minimising the opportunities for collaboration among a cohort. The purpose of this study is to determine instructional preferences of teachers, taking into account teaching experience and grade level, and suggest methods for placing teachers into learning communities by these preferences in order to meet current standards of professional development

Capturing Problem-Solving Skills: The Integration of Electronic Journals With Case Study Instruction

A primary objective of higher education is the opportunity to pro vide students with real-life examples of problems they will en counter in business and industry in order to prepare them successfully for their careers of choice. Ideally, a well-planned and organized course can combine theory and practice. Accord ing to Young-soo, Germann, and Patton (1998), the entire educa tional context must shift in order to prepare students for their futures:

Involving stakeholders in determining professional development center attendance policies

Professional development opportunities are an important aspect of teacher development and should be embraced by both teachers and school leaders in a collaborative effort. Unfortunately, certain professional development events are plagued with high absenteeism rates. At a regional inservice center in the South (USA), high absenteeism was targeted as requiring immediate administrative attention. Thus, the members of the governing board and the director of the center engaged in an action research plan to combat the problem. Over the course of a summer program, the no‐show rate (average number of participants who registered for a workshop yet did not attend) was tracked in 62 independent workshops. Considerations such as time of day, location, workshop topic, and teaching level of teacher were analyzed, yielding nonsignificant results and no discernible patterns. Instead, a pattern of chronic absenteeism for some individuals, in certain school systems, was noted. Using this data, an action plan was devised. Suggestions included increased marketing, communication with individual no‐show offenders, and communication with school leaders from targeted systems.