This qualitative study reports the results of sensemaking when teacher-practitioner inquiry in professional development (PD) is carried out for 120 Vietnamese K-12 and college teachers. The PD was designed to prepare teachers to teach with different newly-approved English language coursebooks using a genre-based systemic functional linguistic…

Scholars have theorized about the growing movement of teacher research, where school-based practitioners engage in systematic examinations of their own work. They have argued that teacher research challenges relationships of knowledge and practice, as teacher-researchers are likely to ask different questions and offer different perspectives…

This reflective article examines the relationship between teachers' engagement in action research and their ability to lead within their schools. As part of "The New Educator's" special issue, "Developing an Inquiry Stance toward Instructional Improvement: Teacher-Leader Action Research," this article demonstrates the…

With increased frequency, teacher education programs require candidates to engage in practice-based research capstones (e.g., Lattimer, 2012; Mule, 2006). Yet, experience provides evidence that newly credentialed teachers regularly disregard the practice of teacher inquiry immediately after graduation, prompting the authors to ask, "how can…

Locally or individually, STEM programs provide additional opportunities to engage K-12 students, including those from marginalized groups, with the support of STEM outreach organizations through the co-construction and implementation of STEM activities during school, out of school, at home, and in the community. Research suggests that…

For many years people have discussed the research-to-practice gap in education. Recently, increased attention has been devoted to creating opportunities for practitioners and researchers to engage in highly collaborative partnerships from design to implementation to dissemination (e.g., Institute for Education Sciences, 2016). In this article, we…

In 2004, McLaughlin, Black-Hawkins and McIntyre published a literature review that explored the ways in which individual teachers, whole schools and groups of networked schools were engaging in practitioner research and enquiry. In the light of significant changes to the education landscape, the empirical research in this article provides an…

Using critical constructivism as the theoretical lens, the teacher educator-researcher used practitioner research to systematically examine the experience of PreK-12 teachers in his district-based teacher research professional development course, while also examining his development as a teacher educator. The results of this study showed that, as…

Within the ever-developing, intersecting, and overlapping contexts of globalization, top-down policy, mandates, and standardization of public and higher education, many conceptualize and position practitioner research as a powerful stance and a tool of social, communal, and educational transformation, a set of methodological processes that…

The Campaign for Learning's Learning to Learn Phase 4 was a research project in which teachers undertook practitioner enquiry to explore innovative pedagogies under the umbrella term of learning to learn. In 2008, to gain greater understanding of what this process meant to the participating teachers the research team at Newcastle University…

Despite the profound impact of action research coaches on teachers' experiences of the inquiry process, little research exists in the field regarding the coach's role. In this exploratory study, two groups of action research coaches--one novice and one experienced--share their experiences of coaching inquiry during the 2009/10 school year. Out of…

This article presents an in-depth case study of a complex community of inquiry. In this community, teachers worked collaboratively to build from situated assessments of students' "learning through reading" to refine and monitor practices designed to enhance student learning in their subject-area classrooms. In this report, we present evidence to…

The nature of science is a prevalent theme across United States national science education standards and frameworks as well as other documents that guide formal and informal science education reform. To support teachers in engaging their students in authentic scientific practices and reformed teaching strategies, research experiences for teachers…

This article explores the role of teacher research as part of a robust program of professional development. Teacher research offers teachers at every stage of development a recursive and reflective means of bridging the gap between current practice and potential professional growth. The purpose of this dual level inquiry was to probe the concept…

A disconnect exists between teaching and research; and it has become easy, if not automatic, for K-12 teachers to be enthusiastic about teaching and less supportive of research. As a student teacher, the first author found herself adopting the stereotype that research is associated with the sciences and is less pertinent to K-12 education. She…