This study describes an approach for enhancing reading strategies through the use of technology for improving reading comprehension and vocabulary. The targeted population consisted of middle school students in a growing low to middle class community, located in central Illinois. The problem of declining reading scores was evidenced in data…

A program was designed and implemented to improve vocabulary knowledge and attitudes toward reading by focusing on direct vocabulary instruction. The targeted population consisted of 23 fourth grade students in a middle-class suburb north of Chicago. The community is very multicultural, so many of the students speak English as a second language.…

This report describes a program for developing literacy skills in order to reduce the number of at-risk students in the identified primary classrooms. The targeted population consisted of students in kindergarten, second, and fourth grades. The kindergarten and second grade classrooms were located in a middle to high socioeconomic area within an…

Describes an action research project which began by asking how English teachers could improve the writing of their African American students, and gradually came to ask how the teachers' own cultural assumptions might be blocking their teaching relationships. Identifies and discusses eight principles of their approach, and discusses changes in…

Recent research has recommended increased use of the target language; the use of cognitive, metacognitive, and prosocial strategies; and cooperative learning to help achieve oral proficiency and communication within the classroom. This paper describes a 21-day research action project involving 2 Spanish 2 honors classes and several cooperative…

This paper describes a program for using higher order thinking skills to improve reading comprehension. The targeted population consists of seventh- and eighth-grade junior high school students in a stable middle class community, located in a southwestern suburb of Chicago. Reading comprehension difficulties were documented through data obtained…

An action research project designed and evaluated the effectiveness of an instructional strategy to improve the writing of all secondary students (particularly African-American males) in the Webster Groves, Missouri school district. The first year was devoted to an intensive study of African American culture and literature. A list of six…

This report describes a plan for motivating students to read in order to allow them to enjoy and appreciate literature and to provide the practice necessary to become effective readers. The targeted population consisted of first and fourth grade students in a middle class community, located in the Middle West. The problems of minimal time engaged…

This report describes instructional strategies to improve the revising and editing skills of sixth grade students during the writing process. The literature review suggested improved instruction and evaluation through a writing workshop approach as a possible solution to the problem of poor revision skills. Within this structure, research also…

Despite the imperatives of policy and rhetoric about their integration in formal education, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are often used as an "add-on" in many classrooms and in many lesson plans. Nevertheless, many teachers find that interesting and well-planned tasks, projects, and resources provide a key to…

This book addresses the practical management of higher education teaching and learning as it is related to any subject. The volume stresses principles of the reflective practitioner model--open-mindedness, responsibility, and wholeheartedness. Chapter 1 introduces the book and its concept of teaching as a management process. Chapter 2 focuses on…

This report describes a program for improving reading abilities and attitudes for "at-risk" students. The targeted population consists of second and fourth grade classes in a low-income community. The problem of low parental involvement, lack of books in the home, low motivation, and lack of consistency among reading programs and teachers…

Describes a collaborative action research project at the University of Glasgow (Scotland) which utilized class debates in an international management class to develop students' ability to assess their own and each other's learning. Evaluation suggests the debates enabled students to develop a critical view of the topics and acquire…

In recent years, a discourse is emerging in education that emphasises the study of the impact of in-service teacher education on student outcomes (more often than not student outcomes are seen in the form of test scores of academic achievement). Implicit in this discourse is the view that the impact of in-service teacher education is directly…

As a part of the teacher licensure program at the graduate level at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), the M.Ed. Licensure candidate is required to complete an action research project during a 3-semester-hour course that coincides with the 9-semester-hour student teaching experience. This course, Education 590 Culminating…