This article reports on a systematic review of the Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices research literature published between 1990 and 2012. Self-study research refers to teacher educators researching their practice with the purpose of improving it, making explicit and validating their professional expertise and, at the same time,…

We investigated secondary science and mathematics teachers engaged in a two-and-a-half-year professional development effort focused on equity. We examined how teachers conducting research on their own instructional practices--a central learning strategy of the professional development project--informed and/or constrained their views related to…

Background: In many educational settings, professional development (PD) for in-service teachers assumes particular significance in the wake of curricula reform. This is so that teachers are enabled to become familiar with new competencies that are aligned with new learning standards, and also that teachers may be supported in actively reflecting…

Using critical constructivism as the theoretical lens, the teacher educator-researcher used practitioner research to systematically examine the experience of PreK-12 teachers in his district-based teacher research professional development course, while also examining his development as a teacher educator. The results of this study showed that, as…

There is much literature to indicate that, in the field of teacher leadership, teachers can enact a reflective practice role as they operate as action researchers in their classrooms and schools. However, novice teachers are seldom considered as leaders or researchers, particularly in the South African schooling context. We report on a qualitative…

Publications by teachers reporting results or case studies of school-based teacher inquiry activities benchmark their professional development by indicating they have a "stance of inquiry". Such papers also disseminate valuable knowledge to the education community for sharing. Essay or case writing has always been a part of school-based…

In this article, the author compares the practices, philosophy, and history of action research, also known as participatory action research, to the purposes and practices of dance education. The comparison yields connections in four categories, enhancing self-reflective teaching and curriculum design, taking responsibility for teaching outcomes,…

In the quest for a better reflexive research practice and to respond to the challenge of expanding on an education research repertoire, the authors consider "situational analysis," proposed as a post-modern approach to grounded theory using maps. Originally situating their research projects within a social constructivist theoretical…

This illustrative paper provides an introduction to using mixed qualitative methods of photo-elicitation, face to face interviews and semiotic analysis to uncover pre-service students' beliefs about young children. The researchers share their experience on conducting a study using photo-elicitation and engaging pre-service teachers in a discussion…

In this article, we explore how we live among students and teachers as a/r/tographers and how we become creatively immersed in the wholeness of the classroom experience as a result. This is in contrast to our initial intentions of using ethnographic techniques and qualitative methods. As we began our project, it became apparent that another lens…

This study explored the relationship between professional development and improving teaching practices in the classroom. It tested the assumption that, when teachers become empowered through their selection of the forms of their professional development, deeper learning and reflection can become a natural part of their daily practices. In this…

As two teacher educators teaching two sections of a master's action research capstone course, we analyze (1) course content and pedagogy, (2) evolving beliefs about research, and (3) transformations in question posing as students assume the role of researchers. Our theoretical frame draws on teacher research, social justice advocacy, and the…

This description of a teaching self-study focuses on a graduate research course for classroom teachers in which two issues central to improving teaching practice were addressed. First, it details the process of examining course design and curriculum in search of the most effective strategies for training classroom teachers to do research. Second,…

Only about half of new teachers report that they feel prepared to teach reading when they enter the profession. This research study focused on six elementary teacher candidates enrolled in a reading methods course combined with a reading practicum. The teacher candidates participated in an ongoing collaborative community discussion group…

In Eleanor Duckworth's class "T-440: Teaching and Learning" at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, students sometimes wonder how Duckworth's model of teaching and learning works in elementary classroom settings. In this article the author, a graduate of "T-440" and a 6th grade teacher at the Smith College Laboratory School, chronicles her…