Against the backdrop of a pull toward external standards and accountability, this collection of chapters re-grounds us in the importance of bringing the 'self' to the foreground of the discourse of teaching, teacher education and practitioner research. Showcasing the work of an international group of scholars whose research and teaching in higher…

The intent of "Challenges in (Re)designing EdD Programs: Supporting Change with Learning Cases" is to provide faculty, who are seeking to redesign their EdD programs into professional practice doctorate, with case examples that describe common challenges and pitfalls encountered during the redesign process. Each of the cases portrays…

Teachers enrolled in the master of natural science program for high school science teachers at a large research university must complete a year-long action research study. This account, by the program's action research coordinator, describes both process and outcomes of this research experience from the perspectives of the research coordinator and…

In this article we address the question: "What sub-identities of teacher educators emerge from the research literature about teacher educators and what are the implications of the sub-identities for the professional development of teacher educators?" Like other professional identities, the identity of teacher educators is a construction of various…

Online groupwork is becoming an increasingly popular instructional strategy. Although researchers have questioned the benefits of groupwork in online learning environments, little empirical research has examined the challenges it presents. The purpose of this study was to investigate the experience of students involved in online groupwork to find…

Teaching and the student experience are interlocked. This paper takes a personal look at the pleasures and pressures of teaching in contemporary higher education. In doing so it adds to the definition of teachers' work in higher education, surveys some of the creative and positive sides of University teaching and shines a light upon the impact of…

Student teachers' potential to change and reflect on their activities can be positively influenced by the opportunities created in teacher education programs. This paper explores an educative opportunity with the researcher and his practicum advisees by facilitating a continuum of reflective school-based activities through a dialogical…

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…

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to aim to develop a deeper understanding of the teaching qualities of effective lecturers that students desire and to uncover the constructs that underlie these desire expectations and reveal the underlying benefits for which students look. Design/methodology/approach: A semi-standardized qualitative…

This book examines issues and methods for conducting research into the educational resource environment in colleges and universities. That environment is defined as whatever is used to facilitate the learning process, including learning space, support staff, and teaching staff. Chapter 1 is an introduction to the series and lays out the process of…

"The teacher who works for or allows status quo is the traitor. Purposeful change is the new norm in teaching" [Fullan, M., 1993. Change Forces: Probing the Depths of Educational Reform. Falmer, London.]. The University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan (USJP) is the main provider of tertiary education in English in the province of Sindh.…

In this book, two teachers share their experiences as researchers to confront and address the current disagreements about whether empirical research or narrative recounting is a better research model. In the book they seek to transcend these disagreements by endorsing an integrative approach that covers all aspects of practitioner inquiry, joining…

This guide defines action research and provides historical and theoretical contexts for its use. Specific advice is given for the teacher-researchers engaging in action research, and a case study provides an extended example of the action research process. The chapters are: (1) "Understanding Action Research"; (2) "Deciding on an Area of Focus";…

This paper explains how teachers can set up good research problems to study in their classrooms. The purpose of the research is to provide teachers with a tool for reflection, change, learning, and renewal in student-centered classrooms. Teacher-researchers learn to ask critical questions, collect data, document findings, and share results with…

Discussed are accidents that occur in the laboratories of highly trained chemists. Four examples are provided to illustrate potential hazards that are often overlooked in chemistry laboratories, molten inorganic salt baths, the reaction of acetone and hydrogen peroxide, halogenated acetylene compounds, and the reaction of hydrogen peroxide and…