The author conducted a year-long study of his own fifth-grade classroom as a teacher-researcher. The intent was to create a theme study classroom, organizing curriculum around the problems, needs, and interests of students through interdisciplinary investigations of themes. Using action research, implementation processes and constraints were…

The nine reports included in this monograph are: (1) "Phonemic Awareness/Multisensory Instruction: An Intervention for Kindergarten Children at Risk in Pre-Reading" (Marcia Anselmo and Patricia Kulp); (2) "The Effects of Reading Aloud vs. Sustained Silent Reading on Student Comprehension" (Karen Border and Mark Ranski); (3)…

An adult educator at an all-male maximum-security correctional center in Virginia conducted a research project to learn her students' attitudes toward the computers that had recently been introduced in their classroom. She used the following data collection tools and activities: a nine-question survey that was administered to the students in all…

Proposes restructuring preservice teacher education programs to include the preparation of teacher researchers. Teacher educators redesigned two existing programs to include research methodology instruction. The paper presents methods of inquiry and strategies used to teach about research, offering examples of student work and evidence to support…

This paper reports research from four studies of how teachers come to learn professional knowledge based on theoretical frameworks of the developmental theories of Piaget (cognitive development), Kohlberg (moral development), Loevinger (ego development), and Hunt (conceptual development). Studies proceed on the assumption that a perspective of…

The papers in this collection were presented at an international symposium on improving the management of urban research, particularly through city-university collaboration. An introductory framework paper summarizes the range of research services available to local government, the types of urban research activity, and the problems of urban…

This research project was conducted to identify the reasons for the low retention rate for adult students enrolled in the prep level of the General Educational Development (GED) programs offered by the Clinton County (Pennsylvania) Development Center for Adults. All adult students who attended class at least once from July 1998 through January…

The instructor of a course focusing on basic academic and job readiness skills for welfare recipients at the Goodwill Employment Help Center in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, conducted an action research project to determine whether developing personal mission statements would increase students' motivation in her course. As new students were accepted…

This paper examines a university professor's roles in and experiences with teacher action research to promote professional development. The first section discusses the importance of linking preservice teacher action research investigation with inservice action research teams in schools. It explains that this approach begins with a structure and…

The main objective of this self-study is to reflect and document the development of our own praxis by using teacher research in our teacher education courses. By praxis we mean an ongoing interdependent process in which reflection, including theoretical analysis, enlightens action, and in turn the transformed action changes our understanding of…

This book shows how teacher research and reform can positively change both teachers and students, making them better readers, writers, and learners. Two elementary schools in Georgia, serving students in a poor area that lacks educational resources, are the focus of the Kings Bridge Road Research Team, a group composed of public school teachers,…

This paper presents the results of the work of nine teacher researchers who took an in-depth look at instructional practices and beliefs about oral language and its assessment. There are three sets of research questions: (1) How do teachers and students believe oral instruction should be handled in the classroom and to what extent do the beliefs…

Seven elementary school personnel and eight university personnel participated in a school-university partnership based on narrative knowing. Using a teacher-as-researcher model to focus on the instruction of students labeled as language and learning disabled, the educators engaged in group-building activities and research collaboration. Case…

The National Science Education Standards encourage teachers to approach their teaching in a spirit of inquiry--assessing, reflecting on, and learning from their own practice. In this article, the authors draw from their own experiences as science teacher-researchers and present practical guidelines for science teachers who want to learn more about…

This study examined student and instructor reflection upon a 2-year teacher education seminar designed to provide experiential and theoretical grounding in democratic pedagogy. Through conversation-as-research, instructors interpreted group dynamics in their conversations during breaks, lunch hours, and evenings throughout the seminar. The central…