In this study, I explored the impact of collaboration and capacity building during the design and implementation of a teacher-developed middle grades Language Arts Literacy curriculum. Participants included ten teachers and a literacy coach. We developed skill-based thematic units incorporating identified strategies designed to increase student…

Westside Middle School, located in Omaha, Nebraska, serves 950 seventh- and eighth-grade students. Over the last few years, the school's teachers and administrators have evaluated its technology status and needs. As part of this process, the staff members engaged in many activities, including developing a building-level technology plan, organizing…

Recent changes in the field of school counseling have called for professional school counselors to provide evidence of the effect their work has on the academic success of their students. This article presents the findings of a multi faceted action research intervention designed to help students at risk for retention. Findings indicate that…

This article reports on the experiences and perceptions of K-12 teachers as they engaged in a participatory action research (PAR) project, "Science Across the Curriculum." Although the experiences and professional learning of two of the project participants are highlighted, the challenges that all participants experienced as they conceptualized…

Cyberbullying is a global problem with a wide range of incidents reported in many countries. This form of bullying may be defined as harassment using technology such as social websites (MySpace/Facebook), email, chat rooms, mobile phone texting and cameras, picture messages (including sexting), IM (instant messages), or blogs. Cyberbullying…

Background/Context: Significant research has been done on the cognitive and academic outcomes of older-younger and peer-peer student relationships. Whether in a one-on-one setting or a setting in which responsibility for teaching is shared among members of a collaborative group, well-planned, well-organized, and well-executed student-student…

When the author asked her eighth-grade students to list some reading strategies, they were well prepared to answer her. But when she asked them how they knew they did not understand what they were reading--in other words, how they knew they need to use these reading strategies--they were unable to produce an explanation. She launched an action…

The purpose of this action research project report was to reduce bullying in middle school students through the use of student-leaders. Twenty-eight 8th graders, two counselors, and 24 teachers participated for a total of 54 participants. The study was conducted between September 11, 2007, and December 20, 2007. This project focused on four types…

Teachers use action research in order to improve their teaching and student learning. This action research will analyze students' algebraic reasoning in finding values of variables in systems of equations pictorially and algebraically. This research will look at students solving linear systems of equations without knowing the algebraic algorithms.…

This action research project sets out to identify which component of multi-text instruction is most effective in increasing the reading comprehension level of middle school students with learning disabilities. The research is going to be conducted over a two-week time period during the Spring 2009 with three male middle school students with…

When the author was teaching in an elementary foreign language exposure (FLEX) program several years ago, she completed a research project that documented student learning gained from student dialogue journals. The action research initiative taught her the value of being reflective about her teaching practices. Her thesis research requirements…

This article reports on findings from a school-based action research project with aboriginal adolescent students attending an alternative school in Canada. As a Freirean response to these marginalized students' school failures, the researcher engaged students in a critical multiliteracies approach to language and literacy learning. Based on…

The purpose of this action research project was to increase homework completion through the use of motivating strategies. There were approximately 75 students, 100 parents, and three teacher researchers involved in this study. The three intervention strategies used were 15 minutes of class time, extrinsic rewards, and assignment notebook checks.…

In Sweden the compulsory school curriculum prescribes that education should promote learning in different subjects while simultaneously assisting students to develop into citizens of good character. To achieve these goals students need to cultivate such character strengths as respect and responsibility, so that they can create positive…

This Action Research Project is meant to investigate the effects of incorporating research-based instructional strategies into instruction and their subsequent effect on student achievement in the area of problem-solving. The two specific strategies utilized are the integration of manipulatives and increased social interaction on a regular basis.…