The nature of science (NOS) has become a central goal of science education in many countries. This study refers to a "developmental work research" program, in which four fifth-grade elementary in-service teachers participated. It aimed to improve their understandings of NOS and their abilities to teach it effectively to their students.…

This qualitative study examined how and why research experiences for teachers (RETs) influenced middle and high school science teachers' beliefs, attitudes, and values about teaching science as inquiry. Changes teachers reported after participating in the RET ranged from modifying a few lessons (belief change) to a comprehensive revision of what…

Through participatory action research with a university researcher, middle school science educators engaged in capacity building training to learn techniques for aesthetically teaching science through drawing as way of effecting meaning-making with and for their struggling readers. As a result, teachers deepened their pedagogical content knowledge…

The characteristics of the middle level philosophy as described in This We Believe closely parallel the collaborative research process. The journey of one research team is described in relationship to these characteristics. The collaborative process includes strengths such as professional relationships, professional development, courageous…

This study is a teacher initiated action research. The purpose is to improve student learning in math using physical activity breaks during classroom lessons. The study was conducted by tracking the results of ten 5th grade students for a period of one week. Using anecdotal notes, students showed improvement on attentiveness during class…

The work of Jacques Rancière has become rather popular of late, with a series of high-profile advocates. In this article, we reflect on an elementary classroom and an experiment with pedagogy inspired by Rancière's (1991) text, The "Ignorant Schoolmaster." The authors discuss the text, outline a 20-lesson response that emerged from the…

This article explores a research partnership between a university-based researcher and a middle school science teacher. Our partnership began with project-based inquiry and continued with unstructured thought-partner spaces: meetings with no agenda where we wrestled with problems of practice. Framed as incubation periods, these meetings allowed us…

The central focus of this multilayered educational action research project was three-fold: (1) to provide opportunities for public school student leadership activities grounded in participatory and youth participatory action research; (2) to support a group of teacher-researchers in practicing and innovating in participatory action research…

This article describes five middle school students' experiences as they moved with mobile devices to produce digital narratives in a twelve-week digital media enrichment course designed and led by the authors. In the course, iPod Touches were often the exclusive tool for media composition. The authors, as teacher-researchers, designed the…

Following the argument that an explicit focus on teacher thinking is an important outcome for professional development (Capps, Crawford, & Costas, 2012; Desimone, 2009), the research presented here examines the impact of one form of professional development, Research Experiences for Teachers (RETs), has in shaping teachers' beliefs and…

Teacher research (practitioner inquiry) is an effective form of professional development for middle level teachers. Through teacher research, classroom teachers develop the skills needed to demonstrate mastery of the performance standards for middle level master teacher candidates. Using well-established research methods, middle level educators…

The objective of this study was to determine how different is the competence of between Junior High School Economic-Social Studies teachers in Indonesia, especially Java and outside of Java. The subjects of this study were teachers who participated in Curriculum 2013 dissemination activities carried out by the Directorate of Elementary and…

The decline of young peoples' interest in science & technology education in western counties is causing concern worldwide. To help change this situation teachers need to take a leadership role in designing innovative approaches for engaging students with science curriculum in schools. Here I report on an action research study to examine…

This article reports on the outcomes of an intervention in a Swedish school in which the author, a teacher-researcher, sought to develop students' (14-15 years old) ethical reasoning in science through the use of peer discussions about socio-scientific issues. Prior to the student discussions various prompts were used to highlight different…

The literature seems limited in what is known about conceptual processes that underlie evolution of students with learning disabilities (SLD) conceptions of fractions. This exploratory study examines how a foundational scheme of unit fractions (1/n) may evolve through the mathematical activity of two fifth grade girls. We analyze data segments…