Self-Study of Teaching Practices Primer

Self-Study of Teaching Practices is an excellent introduction to the field of self-study research and practice. This student- and teacher-friendly primer provides a comprehensive review and synthesis of the self-study literature, complete with guidelines and examples of cutting-edge self-study methods. It addresses four central areas of self-study of teaching practices: purposes, foundations, nature, and guidelines for practice. School-based and university-based teachers interested in rethinking and reframing their instructional methods will benefit from reading this book and assigning it in the classroom. This primer, which includes glossaries and references, is an invaluable resource for undergraduate and graduate education students searching for guidelines to develop and improve their teaching practice.

The Authors: Anastasia P. Samaras is Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Education at George Mason University. She received her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Maryland. Her research and teaching practice in the self-study of Vygotskian applications in teacher education has involved program development at several universities and appointments with federal agencies, the U.S. Department of State, and Head Start. In addition to numerous journal articles and chapters, she is author of Self-Study for Teacher Educators: Crafting a Pedagogy for Educational Change (Peter Lang, 2002), co-editor of the Proceedings of The Fourth International Conference on Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices (2002), and co-editor of Making a Difference in Teacher Education through Self-Study (2006). Anne R. Freese is a member of the Department of Curriculum Studies at the University of Hawaii where she teaches graduate courses on teacher action research, qualitative research methods, and curriculum theory. She received the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2000 and the University of Hawaii Board of Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching in 2006. In addition to numerous articles, her recent publications include Making a Difference in Teacher Education through Self-Study (co-editor, 2006), a chapter in The Missing Links in Teacher Education Design (Gary Hoban, ed., 2005), and a chapter (with C. Beck and C. Kosnik) in The International Handbook of Self-Study of Teaching and Teacher Education Practices (2004).