Elementary teachers in an interdisciplinary master's program in math, science, and technology conducted action research projects. Analysis of 40 projects involving design technology showed that teachers were transformed by the research experience, improved reflective practice, and moved toward student-centered learning. Students with special needs…

A number of recent professional development projects in Australia have expected teachers to engage in action research as a process for professional learning and educational reform. This study investigated the experiences of ten teachers from one school who spent a year undertaking action research projects as part of the Innovative Links Project.…

The article reports work over one year by three teachers from the Milton Keynes Primary Schools Learning Network. Their collaborative classroom-focused action research investigated the limits and possibilities of pupils' and teachers' learning through self-evaluation. In phase one the teacher researchers used questionnaires, interviews and…

In the spirit of educational reform efforts, this digest examines the concept of teacher-as-researcher, a concept rooted in action research. Action research is designed, conducted, and implemented by teachers themselves to improve teaching in the classroom. The research is often a collaborative activity promoting reflective teaching, critical…

Recent reform documents have identified practitioners' lack of awareness and implementation of exemplary, innovative practices, and major national associations have noted the ongoing gap between research and practice. The literature supports collaborative action research and teacher researchers as methods to expand the base of educational research…

This report describes a project on the implementation of authentic assessment methods in order to show an authentic picture of students progress and abilities. The targeted population consisted of approximately 40 eighth grade students in 2 classes in a suburb of a major midwestern city. The problems with current assessment methods were documented…

This study documents the development of 13 masters degree candidates as they progressed through a course in educational research methods. Eight were inservice teachers and five were preservice teachers who had completed student teaching. Part of an ongoing assessment effort at a small college instituting a new masters in education program, the…

This paper focuses on the work of a teacher whose school-based action research was awarded a Post Graduate Diploma. The paper attempts to show how the excitement of what is learned in a community of teacher researchers is transferred to classroom communities of students. The story is told by the teacher, her deputy principal, a student teacher,…

Useful as a classroom text and self-teaching tool, this book outlines the process of designing and reporting action research projects in schools. The underlying assumption of the book is that research is not a domain that belongs only to academics, but is a powerful approach that can be used by practitioners to contribute to school renewal and…

Many school-based inservice teacher training programs are available to Japanese teachers, including observing classes in other schools, inviting parents to observe and provide feedback, and conducting collaborative research on the teaching-learning process (Jugyou Kenkyu). This article highlights Jugyou Kenkyu, which is based on three steps…

This collection of papers examines the hidden risks that teacher researchers may face in action research. There are 12 papers in three parts. Part 1, "School-Based Researchers," includes: (1) "Drafting Ethical Guidelines for Teacher Research in Schools" (Marian M. Mohr); (2) "'Tuesday Night' Revisited: Learning to Survive" (Leslie Turner Minarik);…

The progress of action research (as an innovation) can be viewed productively from a socio-politico-cultural perspective. Utilizing this perspective, the institutional impact of action research is discussed. (IAH)

Presents observations concerning teachers as researchers organized around such issues as the roots of teacher research, the new interest in the topic, how teacher researchers are viewed by researchers, how they conduct research, what conditions support such research, and the value of such research. (RS)

Because educational research is the province of professors, knowledge available to people working within the schools is undervalued. Collaborative teacher-initiated inquiry capitalizes on teachers' insider knowledge and helps change the professional activities of researchers. For teacher-initiated research to prosper, it is best developed outside…

Discusses three theoretical structures (those of Michael Polanyi, Maxine Greene, and Ann Berthoff) which consider the role of personal interpretation central to ultimate meaning-making. The article proposes them as useful frameworks for teachers who are beginning deliberate classroom research. (IAH)