Background/Context: Discussion in classrooms has been cited as an activity integral to active participation in a democracy. Much research into classroom practice reveals that recitation, not discussion, is the most common form of classroom discourse. How teachers conceive of discussion, what they actually do when they attempt discussion with…

In this article, three theoretical perspectives are used to extend Bulterman-Bos's (2008) argument regarding a clinical approach to education research. First, three intellectual virtues identified by Aristotle--"episteme," "techne," and "phronesis"--are related to the requirements of the "pure" education researcher, the skilled practitioner, and…

In this article, we employ multiple lenses to examine a state-funded teacher research institute designed to meld ethnographic and teacher research with anthropological and sociological studies of childhood. Planned as support for the work of teachers in reservation schools, the institute's classes, book talks, methods exercises, and subsequent…

Although the value of teacher research to both the teachers and to the education community has been extensively reported in recent literature, it is only practiced by small pockets of teachers across the country. Viewing the problem through a social organizational lens suggests that the lack of widespread involvement in teacher research may be due…

To provide an accurate reading of students' and schools' rates of progress, and to provide cues for instruction, assessment at every level should be connected to explicit learning goals and standards. To show how this requirement can be fulfilled, and how research-based assessment can effectively support learning and instruction, this article…

This is a summary of 300 plus studies from Marzano Research Laboratory (MRL) on instructional strategies. This report synthesizes a series of action research projects conducted between the fall of 2004 and the spring of 2009. The data used for analysis can be found in MRL's Action Research Meta-Analysis Database. Appended are: (1) Instructions for…

In this article the authors tell the story of their separate but related journeys toward "coming of age in methodology," journeys that brought them, as non-indigenous women, into relationships with indigenous peoples, who challenged them to unlearn their taken-for-granted notions about research. The first study highlights the pervasive…

Marie Evans Schmidt and Elizabeth Vandewater review research on links between various types of electronic media and the cognitive skills of school-aged children and adolescents. One central finding of studies to date, they say, is that the content delivered by electronic media is far more influential than the media themselves. Most studies, they…

Recent studies do not find consistent relationships between teacher degree, major, and certification, and PK outcomes (Early, D. M., Bryant, D. M., Pianta, R. C., Clifford, R. M., Burchinal, M. R., Ritchie, S., et al. (2006). Are teachers' education, major, and credentials related to classroom quality and children's academic gains in…

A science teacher and her mentor reflect on their participation in the Learning Research Cycle, a professional learning model that bridges research and practice in both university and public school contexts. Teachers do scientific research in scientists' laboratories, then bridge their scientific experiences with the design of new classroom…

The purpose of this study was to explore how critical pedagogy, culturally relevant curriculum, and student centered instruction impacted student engagement in reading for struggling high school readers, including first- and second-generation immigrants. The researcher/practitioner (r/p) chose to highlight Latinas in the study to understand the…

Educational researchers are accustomed to institutional review board (IRB) requirements (e.g., protecting participants) with students often identified as the only "vulnerable population" for IRB purposes. However, as practitioner research has gained more prominence, the vulnerability of teacher-researchers themselves has begun to…

Several authors (e.g., Mcniff & Whitehead, 2006; Wallace, 1998) defend the idea that teachers' own involvement in research has the potential to encourage professional growth. Journal writing, teacher logs, written narratives and stimulated recall are some examples of methods that have been used by researchers to encourage and support teachers'…

Securing data on students' academic achievement is typically one of the most important and costly aspects of conducting education experiments. As state assessment programs have become practically universal and more uniform in terms of grades and subjects tested, the relative appeal of using state tests as a source of study outcome measures has…

A primary goal of the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools (CYFS) is to create, nurture, and develop an environment that builds capacity for a strong relationship between researchers and community partners for the conduct of high-quality research that translates into effective community-based practices. The…