Connecting teachers' perspectives with their practice is an enduring challenge shaping what and how we understand teaching. Researchers tend to bifurcate teachers' work between their private and their public lives. These "worlds" bring particular meanings that are rendered through the analyses of visual documentations of teaching and…

Research on educators' professional learning communities (PLCs) suggest that while they often help teachers to make sense of student performance data, they tend to spend relatively little time studying what teachers actually do in the classroom. Evidence suggests that, given modest amounts of guidance and support, PLCs can collect useful data on…

Intended to guide scholars who are new to qualitative research, this methods brief focuses mostly on what reviewers look for in manuscripts submitted for publication. The author acknowledges that reviewers' preferences likely reflect their theoretical perspectives, research-oriented coursework, mentors, and research and writing experiences. The…

While developmental discourses have been heavily critiqued in relation to education systems, less attention has been paid to how these impact the data collection process in classroom research. This article utilises Foucault's concept of regime of truth to highlight the pervasiveness of developmental discourses when conducting research in primary…

This article investigates research approaches used in traditional classroom-based interaction studies for identifying a suitable research method for studies in three-dimensional virtual learning environments (3DVLEs). As opportunities for language learning and teaching in virtual worlds emerge, so too do new research questions. An understanding of…

Action research is a systematic approach to investigation that enables people to find effective solutions to problems they confront in their everyday lives. A significant feature is that action research lays claim to the professional development in education. Action research as any systematic inquiry conducted by teachers, administrators, and…

Much is being said in education about the value of adopting data-based or analytics approaches to instructional improvement. One important group of stakeholders in this effort is the faculty. "In many cases, the key constituency group is faculty, whose powerful voice and genuine participation often determine the success or failure of…

Inherent in classroom research are the inevitable, and often unanticipated, challenges experienced by researchers. This article moves beyond the main issues highlighted in the literature and identifies some of the problems the authors encountered when conducting two common methodological procedures, classroom observations and stimulated recall…

This article presents the argument that combining visual methods with other qualitative research methods enhances the inherent strengths of each methodology and allows new understandings to emerge. These would otherwise remain hidden if only one method were used in isolation. In a qualitative inquiry of an elementary teacher's constructivist…

It is well documented that general classroom teachers have not been adequately prepared to address the unique needs of the English language learners (ELLs) that many are now teaching for the first time (Cartiera, 2006; Giambo & Szecsi, 2005; Short & Echevarria, 2004). With ELLs' presence growing in U. S. public schools (e.g., August, 2006;…

The idea of using mathematical research in the classroom to collect real data has been spoken about within education for many years. The question is, why should teachers bother with real data from their students' worlds and how do they actually put it into practice in the classroom? When using the mathematical research strategy for collecting,…

The analysis of classroom observation data is seen as increasingly important in research on the impact of high-stakes language tests or new foreign-language programmes on students, teachers and other stakeholders. Video-recordings of language teaching and learning in classrooms impacted by such tests or programmes can provide revealing data,…

It is important to be able to describe instructional practices accurately in order to support research on "what works" in education and professional development as a basis for efforts to improve practice. This report describes a project to develop procedures for characterizing classroom practices in mathematics and science on the …

Due in part to conflicting opinions and research results, the practice of sustained silent reading (SSR) in schools has been questioned. After a frustrating experience with SSR, the author of this article began a data-driven decision-making process to gain new insights on how to structure silent reading in a classroom, including a comparison…