How do districts know if the resources they have allocated to support professional learning in their school district are actually improving the quality of teaching and impacting student performance? In an increasingly challenging financial environment, this is important to know. In this article, a Chicago-area district facing a budget deficit…

Through learning communities, schools can change to strengthen educator practice and improve student learning outcomes. So can districts. For 20 years, the authors have helped states, districts, and schools in the United States and Canada implement Whole-Faculty Study Groups, a design for learning communities. During the 2010-11 school year, they…

Three teacher educators worked at a US community college with two adult education staff on a grant-supported project bridging high school dropouts from adult education to employment. The teacher educators' apparently simple task of facilitating grant participants' engagement with action research became confusingly challenging. The consultants…

A grant project was designed to facilitate the transition of students from a community college adult education program into a community college credit-degree program in manufacturing. Key features of the program included a focus on identifying policy implications; bridging the separation between the adult education segment of the community college…

Saint Xavier University in Chicago, Illinois offers a Master of Arts in Teaching and Leadership (MATL) degree program for certified teachers in the state of Illinois. This professional development program is provided through a partnership with Pearson Achievement Solutions. The program employs an action research model to guide teachers in…

While doing action research, a library media teacher became the liaison between an Illinois elementary school and a homeless shelter. She developed a resource guide for local teachers that inspired a statewide publication effort. Now she works on a statewide committee to educate school systems about homeless children's rights. (12 references) (MLH)

This report describes a program for improving reading comprehension in seventh graders by focusing on higher order thinking and metacognitive skills. The targeted population was in a growing, middle class community located in northern Illinois. The problem of below grade level reading comprehension was documented by Illinois Goals Assessment…

Two elementary teachers teamed up to help colleagues develop classroom strategies to use with children suffering from attention deficit disorders. From a pilot test conducted with other volunteer teachers, they developed a systematic process featuring teacher-request consultation forms, strategy searches, action plans, implementation, and followup…

This report describes a plan for utilizing critical thinking in the art education setting to improve students' decision-making and problem-solving abilities. The targeted population consists of sixth-grade students in a growing middle class, rural based community located in northern Illinois. The problem of weak critical thinking skills was…

To alleviate the problem of non-engaged readers in first grade classrooms, a program was developed to motivate and support children's love of reading. The targeted population consisted of three first grade classrooms located in three diverse communities in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. The problem was documented through data revealing…

A small group of teachers at one Illinois high school is helping to effect and promote change. Through the Action Research Laboratory (ARL), teams of teachers conduct collaborative action research to improve classroom practices. Data from the first two years of the ARL indicate that teachers are eager to participate in, and have thrived in, their…

A first-grade teacher investigated the use of daily poetry readings to help students develop certain characteristics of skilled readers, including fluency and comprehension. Students in a class receiving poetry-reading instruction had higher comprehension scores and reading levels than students in a control class receiving basal-reader…

A high school geometry teacher studied the alternative assessment literature, developed and tried alternative assessments such as portfolios in the classroom, evaluated students' and parents' satisfaction levels with these methods, and got feedback from those involved. While students initially had mixed reactions, over 90% of parents supported…

In 1986, the University of Illinois initiated the Consortium for Educational Change to facilitate discussions about local reform initiatives among districts and university faculty. A high school dean of students' assessment of his district's CEC Partnership Council disclosed communication and trust problems and unanimous support for goals and…

A masters degree action research project implemented a program for higher order thinking skills through the use of journaling art history, elements, criticism, materials in the production of art. The targeted population consisted of 19 middle school students (grade 8) in a suburban area in northern Illinois. The problem of filling the need for…