Examines how writing produced within school-based practitioner research functions in framing and guiding classroom practice and research processes, outlining a model from Saussurian linguistics and from hermeneutical theory. An analogy is drawn with practitioner research, which is characterized as the generation and analysis of a sequence of…

Describes an elementary school teacher's experience with action research in which the teacher sought to help children develop science investigations based on their own questions. (WRM)

This action research investigated the problem of college students' participation in German class, examining how to engage students in focusing on form when grammar and accuracy held no interest for them. The action research showed how collaborative work could inform a teacher's perception of classroom events, leading to definable changes and…

Discusses the relationship between research and the scholarship of teaching, emphasizing creation of pedagogical content knowledge. Examines linkages between the scholarship of teaching and the literature on teacher research and action research, between formal educational research and contextual classroom research, and between the scholarship of…

This action research report describes a program to increase students' reading comprehension and fluency through the use of guided reading. The targeted population consists of second and fourth grade students in a northwest suburban area of a large city located in the Midwest. The problems of low reading comprehension and fluency scores were…

Limited professional focus appears to impair teacher unions' external influence and internal communication. Inquiry and research may be used as a strategy to improve professional focus thereby increasing teacher unions' influence within the profession and helping them effectively address structural change issues. By shifting to the inquiry mode,…

The project described in this report used action research to study the involvement of teachers in the change process at a suburban elementary school. The project used study groups as a professional development strategy that fosters educational reform efforts. All 28 teachers on the school's staff signed up for a group. Teachers appreciated the…

Teacher researchers may be the essential link between the philosophy and training of higher education and the grass roots implementation at the public school level. The Teacher-Researcher (T-R) Institute has the potential of providing a catalyst for role change and a channel for research in action. This paper describes the merits and defaults of…

To address how and why to do research in the classroom as a teacher, this book of essays by teacher researchers prefaces each of its four sections with interviews with Cindy Myers, Ken Jones, Patricia Reed and Betty Bailey respectively. Titles and authors are as follows: "Addressing the Problem of Elsewhereness: A Case for Action Research in…

This book, in its second edition, is intended as a practical guide to conducting action research in schools--it outlines the process of designing and reporting an action research project. Contending that action research can be used as a powerful tool that can contribute to school renewal and instructional improvement, the book defines and presents…

When one high school English teacher became engaged in active research, she reflected on her practice and learned to have faith in her students as learners and in herself as a teacher, and to ground her teaching practice consciously in theory. Her investigation centered on the question of whether teaching literary theory in the high school English…

Chapter titles in this book include the following: "Attitude and Access: Building a New Teaching/Learning Community in TESOL" (Julian Edge); "Here It Is, Rough Though It May Be: Basic Computer for ESL" (Alison Perkins); "An 'It's Not Action Research Yet, but I'm Getting There' Approach to Teaching Writing" (Neil Cowie); "Early Reflections:…

The supportive role of the research supervisor in an action research study is explored. This critical account of a relationship between a research supervisor and a postgraduate research student was prompted by a sense of disquiet and lack of harmony that developed during a year-long action research study. In the role of a teacher-researcher with a…

Review of recent literature on action research finds that action research has certain overall characteristics. It is a scaled down version of quasi-experimental studies, and it is highly quantitative in its nature of inquiry. Of nine recognized research designs (Isaac and Michael), action research is frequently the most statistically demanding…

A research study conducted by a classroom teacher explored the question of to what extent increased parent involvement through increased parent-teacher communication will act as a motivating factor for students in a seventh-grade reading classroom and whether this will relate positively to student success in reading. Parents and children took…