Effective Instructional Strategies: From Theory to Practice
SAGE Journal Articles
Access to full-text SAGE journal articles that have been carefully selected to support and expand on the concepts presented in each chapter. Journal articles can act as an ideal resource to help support your assignments and studies.
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Article 1: Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). Teacher Education and the American Future. Journal of Teacher Education, 61(1-2), 35-47.
Abstract: For teacher education, this is perhaps the best of times and the worst of times. It may be the best of times because so much hard work has been done by many teacher educators over the past two decades to develop more successful program models and because voters have just elected a president of the United States who has a strong commitment to the improvement of teaching. It may be the worst of times because there are so many forces in the environment that conspire to undermine these efforts. In this article, the author discusses the U.S. context for teacher education, the power of teacher preparation for transforming teaching and learning, and the current challenges for this enterprise in the United States.
Article 2: Grant, C.A., & Gillette, M. (2006). A Candid Talk to Teacher Educators about Effectively Preparing Teachers Who Can Teach Everyone's Children. Journal of Teacher Education, 57 (3), 292-299.
Abstract: This article focuses on characteristics necessary to be an effective teacher for all children, regardless of their academic ability, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, family structure, sexual orientation, and ability to speak English. The article gives attention to the issues of equity and social justice as it addresses the knowledge and skill base of effective teachers.
Article 3: Hiebert, J., Morris, A. K., Berk, D., & Jansen, A. (2007). Preparing Teachers to Learn from Teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 58 (1), 47 - 61.
Abstract: The authors propose a framework for teacher preparation programs that aims to help prospective teachers learn how to teach from studying teaching. The framework is motivated by their interest in defining a set of competencies that provide a deliberate, systematic path to becoming an effective teacher over time. The framework is composed of four skills, rooted in the daily activity of teaching, that when deployed deliberately and systematically, constitute a process of creating and testing hypotheses about cause-effect relationships between teaching and learning during classroom lessons. In spite of the challenges of acquiring these skills, the authors argue that the framework outlines a more realistic and more promising set of beginning teacher competencies than those of traditional programs designed to produce graduates with expert teaching strategies.
Article 4: Talbert-Johnson, C. (2006). Preparing Highly Qualified Teacher Candidates for Urban Schools: The Importance of Dispositions. Education and Urban Society, 39 (1), 147 - 160.
Abstract: Teacher education programs are at a critical link for the preparation of teachers who possess an ethical stance regarding the knowledge, skills, and dispositions required to intervene effectively with all students. Therefore, teacher education is taking center stage in the discussion relevant to teacher quality and its effectiveness on the achievement of diverse students in urban settings. Learning climates and expectations must be created where self-reflection and critical cultural consciousness are part of the routine, normative demands of teacher education if systemic change is to occur. The author contends that it is essential that candidates possess more than pedagogical knowledge but also the essential dispositions to affirm and embrace all students. Therefore, agendas should be espoused that promote educational equity for all students, while ensuring that indeed no child is left behind.
Article 5: Good, T.L., McCaslin, M., Tsang, H.Y., Zhang, J., Wiley, C.R.H., Rabidue Bozack, A., & Hester, W. (2006). How Well Do 1st-Year Teachers Teach: Does Type of Preparation Make a Difference? Journal of Teacher Education, 57, 410 - 430.
Abstract: The authors present a program of research on the teaching practices of 1st-year teachers that has evolved within a partnership between and among a university and area school districts. The research links observed 1st-year teaching practices with school level (elementary, middle, high school) and type of teacher preparation (traditional bachelor's degree or nontraditional master's degree or postbaccalaureate certification). This study was conducted during 3 consecutive years, and results suggest that 1st-year teachers, as a group, performed adequately. School-level analyses reveal higher quality classroom management practices at the elementary level. Type of preparation analyses reveal higher quality management practices among teachers who attended traditional programs. The potential interaction between school level and type of preparation was not definitive but suggests further research is needed on the match between type of preparation and school level as expressed in quality of teaching practices.
Article 6: Harris, K., & Graham, S. (1994). Constructivism: Principles, paradigms, and integration. The Journal of Special Education, Fall 1994; vol. 28, 3:pp. 233-247.
Abstract: The purpose of this special issue of The Journal of Special Education is to bring together thoughtful considerations of the strengths, potential limitations, and issues represented by the constructivist approach for students with disabilities and those at risk for school failure. In this article, we present major principles of constructivism for teaching and learning. Three idealized constructivist paradigms--endogenous constructivism, exogenous constructivism, and dialectical constructivism--are described. Finally, major issues related to constructivism are explored, including the possibility of integrative stances.
Article 7: Hutchings, P., & Taylor Huber, M. (2008). Placing theory in the scholarship of teaching and learning. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 7. 229-244.
Abstract: As the scholarship of teaching and learning matures as a field, the place of theory has garnered growing attention. Educational research and the learning sciences can certainly contribute, but professors who view their classrooms as sites for inquiry draw from a wide range and variety of theoretical foundations. With their diverse efforts in view, we ask: Which (and whose) theories are most relevant? What is the role of theory in different (disciplinary and other) contexts? How can scholarship of teaching and learning both build on and contribute to theory that improves classroom practice and student learning? Our argument is that theoretical pluralism can help keep the scholarship of teaching and learning movement vital and open.