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Welcome to an exciting new issue of Thinking Classroom / Peremena. I'm delighted to share what, for me, is very happy news: beginning with this issue, two new editors have joined the team. Natalia Kaloshina from Ukraine will oversee the Russian version (Peremena), and I, from Canada, will do the same for the English. Our challenge will be to maintain and build on the high standards set and achieved by the previous editors - fortunately, Wendy Saul, Olga Varshaver, and Daiva Penkauskiene will remain closely connected to the journal, to assist and inspire. As you will see as you dip into the pages of this issue, the commitment to providing a richly stimulating forum of exchange for educators from around the world remains unchanged: There is so much that we can learn from each other.
Teaching can be surprisingly isolating... and sometimes insulating. This sense of isolation is often compounded for those trying to make changes to their practice, to "the way things are done here." No matter who or where we are, our visions of change need affirmation, constructive scrutiny, and ongoing support if they're to survive and thrive in practice. No matter where or what we teach, we can always benefit from the challenge of fresh ideas and new approaches. This is one role this journal seeks to play: to offer affirmation, practical advice, research evidence, strategies, and collegial input to those seeking ways to make their teaching more participatory and critically framed. One goal taken very seriously is to make our readers aware that they are not alone that they are in the company of colleagues.
A while ago I read an article by Donald Graves, the respected American teacher/researcher of writing, which struck a chord with me that keeps sounding. He was curious about what made it possible for some teachers to sustain their professional energies and enthusiasm for teaching and to continue to grow as teachers - despite the incessant demands and pressures - while others seemed to have lost their satisfaction and efficacy in the role. Identifying teachers in the former group, he asked them the reason. Turns out, collegial support was key. Having even just one like-minded, trusted colleague with whom they could speak frankly about their teaching aspirations, struggles, successes, and questions made all the difference - made it possible to reflect, refresh, and refuel. This didn't have to be someone teaching at the same school, at the same level, or even the same subject. What seemed essential was being able to connect with others who could understand, value, and helpfully critique the vision for teaching that their colleague was striving to make reality in his/her classroom. I once saw a bumper sticker that proclaimed, Teaching is too hard to do alone! It is. And too important.
Working as a volunteer trainer with teachers in Macedonia and Armenia connected me, at a time when I needed it, with colleagues as deeply committed to active pedagogy as I was. Those experiences energized me, put all my beliefs about teaching to the test, and pushed me to clarify and reaffirm what I was trying to achieve as a teacher. It was the richest professional development I'd ever encountered. Through Thinking Classroom, I feel I remain in touch with teachers who care about the things I care about. Such connections, whether with colleagues across the hall or across the globe, matter and make all the difference. There is so much we can learn from each other, so much we have to share.
One of the best ways to support the learning of students is to support the learning of their teachers. Recognizing this, four of the articles in this issue focus on professional development. Three report on the use of powerfully instructive strategies to deepen analysis and reflection: Ivason-Jansson and Gu, from Sweden and Tuska, from the USA, examine the impact of the collegial unpacking of classroom observations; while Pesci, from Italy, describes an innovative application of metaphoric and theatrical techniques to help teachers reveal their feelings and attitudes towards mathematics. In a disarmingly honest piece that invites readers to join the discussion, Zair-Bek and his colleagues, from Russia, reflect on the many challenges facing those of us who purport to teach adults. Thankfully, as well as highlighting the dilemmas, they offer seasoned advice for avoiding or surviving some of the inevitable pitfalls.
One of the other major goals of this journal is to provide our readers with a rich array of strategies and resources relevant to, and readily adaptable across, a range of contexts. In this issue, Lisenco, from Moldova, describes a process for including students in the development of rubrics to track classroom debate; Courtney and her colleagues, from the United States, discuss results from their ongoing research on comprehension strategy instruction; and Brozo describes the use of web quests to focus and facilitate student access to primary documents via the internet. Each of these articles demonstrates the power of a concrete example, particularly when that example is illuminated with insights gained through reflection on implementation.
Our hope is that as you read through these pages you will find many ideas that will enrich your work with your students, and that you will want to share with colleagues. My hope, as new editor, is that you will be inspired to write about your experiences and research in an article for this journal. We want to hear from you... and we're confident you will want to tell others about all this journal offers. One of the new areas we are developing is our website - we are exploring easy-access interactive platforms to make dialogue more immediate, responsive, and participatory. As well, we're planning to alert our subscribers to interesting resources and websites by featuring and rotating links on our site. So please encourage anyone who might be interested to visit the website and to join us as a subscriber (http://www.ct-net.net/rwct_tcp). They'll find themselves in wonderful company - among friends.
Alison Preece
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Teaching is too hard to do alone