Promoting Reflective Thinking in Teachers: 50 Action Strategies

Praise for Second Edition:
"This book is very thorough in presenting the purpose and accompanying strategies for instilling reflective practices in educators. I believe the reflective thoughts and questions posed throughout are beneficial for teachers."
-Karen Harvey, Induction Program Coordinator
Santa Clarita Valley Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA)

Praise for First Edition:
"Offers practitioners and preservice teachers the opportunity to individualize their professional development on the use of reflective thinking to best meet their needs."
-Judy Nixon, Teacher Education
Fort Hays State University

Create meaningful, fulfilling, and successful professional development training for your teachers!

This expanded version of the original bestseller integrates the latest research and technology with tried-and-true methods for boosting practitioners′ reflective thinking skills. The tasks and tools provided have been specifically designed for facilitators of pre-service and inservice teacher education, training, and development-giving them a timesaving blueprint on how to shape their adult learners into analytical and critical thinkers.

Attuned to the challenges surrounding teacher training, this easy-to-use guide outlines straightforward activities and concrete assessments that serve as constructive benchmarks for facilitators and teachers alike. It delivers 50 practical strategies for helping educators move through the levels of reflective thinking-from teacher roles, styles, attributes, and observations through such far-reaching concerns as the moral and ethical considerations of teaching.

New to this second edition are strategies to:

• Strengthen electronic portfolios with reflective writing
• Optimize video as a self-assessment tool
• Access relevant resources on the Internet
• Tap into online peer mentoring
• Encourage reflection through learning communities

These field-tested methods will empower teachers with the knowledge, motivation, and self-assurance to become reflective educators, giving them the key to a more meaningful, fulfilling, and successful career, teaching all of our children to succeed.

Germaine L. Taggart is Associate Professor in the College of Education at Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas. She has taught students from kinder­garten through Grade 12 in public schools in Kansas. She received her BS and MS degrees in Elementary Education from Pittsburg State University, her EdS in Educational Administration from Fort Hays State University, and her EdD in Educational Administration from Kansas State University. She teaches mathematics and science methods courses, has helped develop and continues to work with TEAM: Links for Learning (a field-based preservice program), and provides staff development on a consultant basis for school districts in western Kansas. Dr. Taggart is married to R. Bruce Taggart. They have two children, Travis and Kelsey, and one granddaughter, MacKenzie, and they reside in Hays, Kansas.

Alfred P. Wilson is Professor Emeritus of Educational Administration at Kansas State University. He has served as a public school teacher and administrator and as a university faculty member and administrator in the states of Nevada, Utah, Montana, New Mexico, Idaho, and Kansas. He received his doctorate from Utah State University in 1969. He is the author or coauthor of more than 25 books and monographs and 100 articles and research papers. He has been consultant to more than 200 school districts in 42 states, 20 state departments and regional service centers for education, 15 community colleges and universities, and a broad variety of organizations. Dr. Wilson has been an active member and leader in many organizations, including the American Research Association, Phi Delta Kappa, the American Association of School Administrators, and the American Management Association.