Excelsior invites you to become part of our review board. If you are interested in taking advantage of this significant scholarly opportunity to view research first hand and participate in the evaluation of research, email a two-page vita reflecting your email address, preferred mailing address, position, affiliation, and publishing and research experience and expertise. Send this information in a Word or txt file to Cynthia Lassonde at lassonc@oneonta.edu. Thank you.
Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning is published by the New York Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (NYACTE).

2007 New York Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
Copyright Notice
The New York Association of Colleges for Teacher Education owns the copyright of this publication.
Permission to photocopy is granted for classroom use only. Written permission must be obtained from
NYACTE for other uses. Address permission inquiries to the editor.
Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning is issued bi-annually as a service to members of the New
York Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. The subscription price is included in the association’s annual dues. Extra copies may be purchased for $15 per copy. Send orders along with a complete mailing address and a check made payable to “NYACTE.” Send orders to the editor.
Editor’s address:
Cynthia A. Lassonde
Editor, Excelsior
SUNY College at Oneonta
501 Fitzelle Hall
Oneonta, NY 13820
Cover design by
Eileen Cunningham, Ian Lascell, and Ricmar—The Design and Print Shop
Page layout, design, and printing by
Ricmar—The Design and Print Shop, 101 Edson Street, Amsterdam, New York
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Volume 2, Number 1 Fall/Winter 2007
Message from the Presidents of NYACTE and NYSATE
Robert J. Michael
Jerry Rivera-Wilson
Page vii
Notes from the Editor
Cynthia A. Lassonde
Page viii
Reflective Thinking: The Essence of Professional Development
Margaret Egan
Page 1
Shaping the Pedagogy of an Undergraduate Teacher Education Program With Lesson Study
Ann R. Taylor, Susan E. Breck, Barbara D. O’Donnell, Stephen Marlette, Jennifer Bolander,
Stephanie McAndrews, and Gloria Reading
Page XX
“Between a Rock and a Hard Place”: A Second-Year Teacher’s Experience Writing Report Cards
Jennifer Tuten
Page XX
Learning Anytime and Anywhere With Advanced Distributed Learning: Some Opportunities and Challenges for Educators and Education
J. D. Fletcher, Sigmund Tobias, and Robert A. Wisher
Page XX
Making the Journey Into Teaching: A Different Approach to Student Teaching at the
Secondary Level
James J. Carpenter
Page XX
The New York Comprehensive Center: Supporting Faculty who Prepare Teachers
Susan Villani
Page XX
Book Review of Readers of the Quilt: Essays on Being Black, Female, and Literate
Kjersti VanSlyke-Briggs
Page XX
Book Review of Ph.D. Stories: Conversations with My Sisters
Anita C. Levine
Page XX
Book Review of Pledging Allegiance: The Politics of Patriotism in American Schools
Charles F. Howlett
Page XX
An Analytic Outline of Why Social Justice Matters
Jason Blokhuis
Page XX
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President
Robert J. Michael
SUNY College at New Paltz
Past President
Margaret Egan
College of Mount Saint Vincent
Executive Treasurer
Annjanet Woodburn
Pace University
Vice President/President Elect
Lois Fisch
Utica College
Executive Secretary
Board of Directors
Craig Hill
Nazareth College
Kate DaBoll-Lavoie
Nazareth College
Annette D. Digby
Lehman College, CUNY
Suzanne Weber
SUNY College at Oswego
Journal Editor
Cynthia A. Lassonde
SUNY College at Oneonta
Dominic Belmonte
Golden Apple Foundation
Mary E. Diez
Alverno College
Carol Merz-Frankel
University of Puget Sound
Helene Napolitano
Marymount Manhattan College, Emeritus
Robert J. Nistler
University of St. Thomas
Laura Dorow
Utica College
Joanne Kilgour Dowdy
Kent State University
Lois Fisch
Utica College
Susan Polirstok
Lehman College, CUNY
Sandra Stacki
Hofstra University
Althier M. Lazar
Saint Joseph’s University
Robert J. Starratt
Boston College
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Amy E. Barnhill
SUNY College at Brockport
Brian D. Beitzel
SUNY College at Oneonta
Fred J. Brandt
Lesley University
Kathleen M. Brown
Niagara University
Melissa Jarvis Cedeno
Brighter Choice Charter School
Cynthia C. Choi
Le Moyne College
Carolyn F. Chryst
SUNY College at Oneonta
Joanne M. Curran
SUNY College at Oneonta
Margo DelliCarpini
Lehman College, CUNY
Janet R. DeSimone
Lehman College, CUNY
Annette D. Digby
Lehman College, CUNY
Andrew Dowling
Manhattanville College
Joanne M. Falinski
Pace University
JoAnne Ferrara
Manhattanville College
Barbara Garii
SUNY College at Oswego
4

Margaret Golden
SUNY College at Oneonta
Patrice W. Hallock
Utica College
Annette F. Hauenstein
SUNY Brockport
Charles F. Howlett
Molloy College
Barbara Iannarelli
Niagara University
Roberto Joseph
Hofstra University
Laurence Krute
Manhattanville College
Diane E. Lang
Manhattanville College
Jennifer Lauria
Wagner College
Elaine Lawrence
SUNY College at Oneonta
Anita C. Levine
Kent State University, Stark
Kenneth Lindblom
Stony Brook University
Andrew Livanis
Long Island University, Brooklyn Campus
JoAnn M. Looney
Nyack College
Wen Ma
Le Moyne College
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Jill G. Marshall
SUNY College at Fredonia
Margaret Cain McCarthy
Canisius College
Sonia E. Murrow
Brooklyn College, CUNY
Roy R. Pellicano
St. Joseph’s College, Suffolk Campus
Davenport (Mike) Plumer
New York Institute of Technology, retired
Huntington Learning Works
Linda Pratt
Elmira College
Kathleen Rockwood
Manhattanville College
Anne L. Rothstein
Lehman College, CUNY
Sini Prosper Sanou
SUNY Stony Brook
Susan S. Shenker
Long Island University, C. W. Post Campus
Bruce A. Shields
Daemen College
Raymond Siegrist
SUNY College at Oneonta
Christina Siry
Manhattanville College
Joye Smith
Lehman College, CUNY
Karen Stearns
SUNY Cortland
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Priscilla Suarez
Retired from New York City Public Schools,
Bronx Community College, and Lehman College
Marilyn Tallerico
Binghamton University
Cecelia E. Traugh
Long Island University, Brooklyn Campus
Kjersti VanSlyke-Briggs
SUNY College at Oneonta
Roberta Weiner
Pace University
Stacy A. S. Williams
SUNY, University at Albany
Annjanet Woodburn
Pace University
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Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning provides a forum to explore issues related to teaching and learning at public and independent colleges and universities with programs in teacher preparation.
Excelsior solicits original, thought-provoking manuscripts of various formats, including papers presenting research on issues and practices important to teacher education and in-depth discussions of perspectives on issues and practices that contribute to the preparation and professional development of educators. A third format—Nota
Bene—should contain brief, focused articles; book reviews; or website or technology recommendations.
Deadlines for submission:
June 1 for the fall/winter edition
December 1 for the spring/summer edition
To submit a manuscript to be considered for review

Send an electronic file compatible with Microsoft Word as an e-mail attachment to the editor, Cynthia Lassonde, at lassonc@oneonta.edu
.

Manuscripts must follow APA style as outlined in the most recent edition of the APA style manual.

Research and Perspectives manuscripts should not exceed 25 pages, including references. Nota Bene manuscripts should not exceed 5 pages, including references.
 Include a 100-word abstract for Research and Perspectives manuscripts.

The cover page should consist of the title of the manuscript, a suggested running head, as well as the authors’ names, affiliations, addresses, e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers.

Omit headers and footers except for page numbers.

Omit all identifiers of the authors and affiliations from the manuscript. Be sure computer software does not reveal author’s identity as well.

Secure all permissions to quote copyrighted text or use graphics and/or figures of other non-original material. Include permissions with manuscript.

Data-based manuscripts involving human subjects should be submitted with a statement or verification from the author that an Institutional Review Board certificate or letter approving the research and guaranteeing protection of human subjects has been obtained from the researcher's institution.
Manuscripts will be subject to a blind review by peer reviewers and the editor.
The review process will take approximately three months from time of submission.
All manuscripts will be judged on their scholarship, contribution to the knowledge base, timeliness of topic, creative/thoughtful approach, clarity and cohesiveness, appropriateness to category, and adherence to preparation guidelines. Selections may also be affected by editorial decisions regarding the overall content of a particular edition.
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To come—please save 1 page for this.
Robert J. Michael, President, NYACTE
State University of New York, New Paltz
Jerry Rivera-Wilson, President, NYSATE
University at Albany
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The Charles C. Mackey, Jr. Excellence in Service Leadership Award honors an educator in New York State who has demonstrated personal and professional qualities that exemplify the highest standards of service leadership in teacher education. An excellent servant leader is one who through personal knowledge, wisdom, ethical practice, and courage models effective practice and thus enables others to reach individual, institutional, and communal goals.
The Charles C. Mackey, Jr. Excellence in Service Leadership Award recognizes an individual who represents Teacher Education in his/her respective institution of higher education in New York State. The individual exemplifies service leadership within his/her institutional setting and within the broader New York professional community through engagement, initiative and personal qualities that reflect relevant High Standards for Teacher Education Accountability as defined by the American Association of
Colleges of Teacher Education:
1.
Serve first and foremost as an advocate for P-12 students, especially for promoting the growth and development of all students;
2.
Promote diversity in teacher education faculty, candidates, curriculum, and programs;
3.
Be accountable to prospective teachers for their preparation to meet state licensure expectations
(including knowledge of subject matter and of the students to whom those subjects are taught);
4.
Be informed by the best practice and most current research on teaching and learning theory and practice, including the commitment to active scholarship by teacher education faculty;
5.
Operate in collaboration with professional agencies responsible for quality assurance in the teaching profession.
Past recipients of the award:
Charles C. Mackey, Jr., Doris T. Garner,
James Shuman, Linda Beimer, and Jan McDonald.
kdaboll9@naz.edu
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This issue of Excelsior offers a wide variety of research, reflections, and resources focusing on teacher education. I hope you enjoy reading about the valuable work your colleagues are doing.
In the first section, Reports of Research and Reflection, the journal begins with a piece about reflective thinking by Margaret Egan of the College of Mount Saint Vincent.
This article looks at the processes and challenges of enabling preservice teachers to develop their ability to reflect meaningfully on their teaching performance. Ann Taylor,
Susan Breck, Barbara O’Donnell, Stephen Marlette, Jennifer Bolander, Stephanie
McAndrews, and Gloria Reading’s work on the incorporation of Japanese lesson study in an undergraduate program logically follows Egan’s thoughts about reflection. Taylor and colleagues describe how they used lesson study both for program improvement and
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) reflection. Next,
Jennifer Tuten shares a study of the report-card writing process of an early career urban fourth-grade teacher. Tuten weaves the teacher’s account and reflections upon the reportcard writing process with implications for teacher education.
In Sharing Perspectives, Practices, and Approaches, J. D. Fletcher, Sigmund
Tobias, and Robert A. Wisher tell about advanced distributed learning, an approach they profess to be the inevitable wave of the future. How will this approach affect teacher education? Next, James Carpenter offers a new approach to placing and supervising secondary student teachers that was initiated in response to New York State requirements increasing the number of days needed for student teaching.
The Nota Bene section contains not only interesting book reviews by Kjersti
VanSlyke-Briggs, Anita Levine, Charles Howlett, and Jason Blokhuis but also an outline of the New York Comprehensive Center. The author, Susan Villani, invites readers to visit the Center’s website and to join Teacher Quality Online, an interactive online space for those with a stake in teacher education. You will not want to miss the resources in this section.
As the journal enjoys its growing popularity, as evidenced by the surge in manuscript submissions, subscriptions, and volunteers to review, I invite your feedback.
What would you like to see in upcoming issues? Please forward your ideas and manuscripts for our next issue. The deadline for submission is December 1. Thank you for your support.
Cynthia A. Lassonde
Editor
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Dedication
This issue is dedicated to Dr. Lucy DiPaola, a long-time member of NYACTE and NYSATE. A few of her significant achievements include being a NYACTE past president and board member, receiving the prestigious Neal Appleby Award, and teaching as a full professor and chair of the Education Department at Mount Saint Mary
College in Newburgh, New York. Lucy passed away on January 13, 2007, following a courageous battle with cancer. She will be missed.
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