With the goal of supporting students' writing and content area learning using play as a pedagogical model, teachers' action research projects involved kindergarten and grade 1 students collaborating to create texts for a range of purposes. The authors analyzed the project activities for their starting points or motivators, student and teacher…

This article outlines ways in which video can further our understanding of how different modes of communication and meaning-making shape learning and learners in the early years. It focuses on a dramatic play and writing episode videoed during a three-year action research study investigating children's use of different semiotic modes in the…

In this study we described an action research project enacted by a veteran Kindergarten teacher (Sarah) in the context of a professional development program. Over the course of a year, Sarah collaborated with other teachers in a small group to investigate how to use "Science Talks" to promote student learning in Kindergarten classrooms. A…

Students entering school from economically disadvantaged homes may have difficulty developing early literacy skills, leading to subsequent reading difficulties and poor academic performance. It is not sufficient for at-risk children to make progress; their achievement has to be accelerated, given that their middle-class peers are also making…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine dilemmas encountered by kindergarten head teachers with the further aim of developing their capability to recognise and resolve "leadership dilemmas". Design/methodology/approach: Action research was used to conduct a three-phase study involving 16 kindergarten head teachers and six system…

Over a period of a year, formal and informal interactions among members of the community around a four-year-old girl with special education needs were focused through participatory action research (PAR). The team included parents, kindergarten teachers, an education support worker, speech-language therapist, early intervention teacher and…

This project describes a 12-week program developed to improve student spelling of high frequency words for transfer in written work across the curriculum. The targeted population consists of kindergarten, first, and third graders in two public elementary schools in a community located in central Illinois. Following an extensive literature review,…

Culture plays a vital role in second language learning. This paper presents an action research study that investigates the role of culture in a Chinese language program in a kindergarten classroom. Three topics have been explored: (a) culture as the core in the development of a thematic unit on Chinese festivals, (b) a culturally responsive…

This report summarizes Year One and Year Two study findings and describes findings from Year Three of the assessment of school readiness with a strategic sample of children entering kindergarten in fall 2004. It is the intent of the Minnesota School Readiness Studies to use results to inform school administrators and teachers; parents; early…