Numerous scholars have promoted "practitioner research" or "teacher-research" as a way of facilitating professional development for pre-service and in-service teachers, promoting change and reform in K-12 settings, and giving voice to teachers" personal and professional knowledge. In this article, the authors consider what…

This packet includes reprints of journal articles and other information exploring reflective practice and action research among rural educators. The four sections of the packet cover concepts of reflective practice and action research; examples of reflective practice at both the elementary and secondary levels; issues such as encouraging…

This paper is a preliminary look at a study on research by teachers. Participants were teachers in Melbourne, Australia, involved in the Project for Enhancing Effective Learning (PEEL) who were interested in designing, conducting, and reporting teacher-led research. Section 1 of the paper explores the last 10 years of teacher research as part of…

This study is part of a larger project on teacher research and professional development in the Teacher Enhancement Program (TEP), a master's degree mid-career collaborative program for inservice teachers. Research was initially planned and implemented as a new course which required teachers to do a Systematic Inquiry Project (SIP) in their…

This book is about learning--about one educator's experiences learning to teach, to observe, and to make choices. It is a portrayal of a life in action and of the intertwining of professional work and personal experiences. The educator portrayed in the book has explored many aspects of education, searching for where she might make the most…

Over the past decade there has been a substantive change in the role of practitioners in educational research. Grassroots efforts in action research highlight the importance of educators' own understanding of their practice. This book, which stems from a school-university collaboration, describes the theory and methods for conducting…

From a Catholic school principal's viewpoint, this paper explains why principals' technology leadership is essential and offers pointers on how to provide it. Computers have much to offer for progressive, constructivist teachers desiring to increase students' responsibility for their own learning. A survey of principals in 54 elementary schools in…

To promote research conducted by faculty, Cuyahoga Community College (CCC), in Ohio, developed the Faculty as Researcher Initiative (FRI). The initial goals of the FRI were to recruit 15 to 18 faculty members from CCC's three campuses to form a research group, assist in the development of research ideas and strategies, and develop a system for…

The purpose of this study was to develop methodologies to support experienced teachers in taking on the role of participant researchers and engaging in collaborative inquiry through action research projects about their teaching practices. Although the structures designed were not content-specific, the teachers in the study were using the LOGO…

Educators have recently stressed the importance of teacher/researchers investigating life in the classroom. Collaborative studies conducted between a student teacher and a cooperating teacher can provide a productive relationship from which both can learn a great deal about teaching, learning, and research. The collaborative study discussed in…

An action research study addresses validity and value in teacher education by discussing thematic constructs and making specific normative underpinnings explicit. Concerned with developing teachers' abilities to create democratic classrooms and dispositions toward social justice, this study is a multi-layered, longitudinal inquiry into classroom…

This book presents an inside look at the "white talk" of teacher education students, presenting information from an action research project in which student teachers and faculty explored white racial identity, examined the meaning of whiteness, and confronted the difficulties of thinking critically about race and racism. The book strives to deepen…

Describes a teacher-researcher's investigation into barriers to student adoption of an alternative referent for learning and its consequential learning strategies in an 11th-grade chemistry class. Suggests that various contextual factors influenced students' willingness to adopt the alternative referent, and that students' beliefs, trust of the…

Describes an action-research project conducted by student teachers in Edinburgh designed to explore ways in which children picture what happens inside an electric circuit. The student teachers also explored their own understanding of electricity. (Author/WRM)

This article describes the rationale, development, and first-year implementation of Wisconsin's Preschool Action Research and Development Initiative, a school-university partnership that creates opportunities for researchers and teachers to work collaboratively while examining issues related to early childhood inclusion. Findings on the impact on…