Action research theory and practice can help encourage preservice teachers' critical reflection. The paper reviews action research theory, discusses conceptions of reflective teaching, and examines the power of action research to shape preservice teacher reflection. Several reports of how teacher educators have used action research in practice are…

Illustrates how Exploratory Practice (EP), a form of practitioner research, offers a successful and coherent approach to doctoral research and how learner and teacher/researcher understanding can be developed together. EP principles were used to integrate teaching practices and research in an applied setting to aid both the students and the…

Describes the struggle one teacher educator shared with three friends who joined her in studying the teacher and researcher roles of someone becoming a teacher educator. The intense self-study examined tensions, issues, and dilemmas that emerged as these teachers interacted with others in the context of academia. (SM)

A preservice-teacher educator discusses the importance of teachers becoming designers of classroom research and generators of learning theory, and describes her own development as a teacher-researcher. Stages of teacher research are outlined, including posing questions, developing a research plan, collecting and analyzing data, and sharing and…

Describes how one high school implemented schoolwide action research teams as a comprehensive change management strategy to develop teacher leaders, teachers as change agents, and a collaborative reflective culture. The three-year case study showed that work on action research teams did not come naturally or easily, but teachers improved over time…

Action research is defined as systematic classroom-based inquiry to solve teacher-perceived problems. It has been a component of education, particularly professional staff development, for the past century under several names although geography educators in the United States have rarely used it for this, or any other, purpose. This paper reviews…

Based on the experience of two early childhood teachers in a research-based collaborative effort to join a preschool class with a first-second grade class for various learning projects, this book offers a model for an approach to early childhood curriculum. The curriculum integrates art, science, gardening, celebrations, intergenerational program…

This article examines the community of practice model as a framework for integrating educational research and practice. In addition to defining communities of practice and reflective practice, it describes two researcher-teacher partnerships and offers suggestions for transforming traditional methods of conducting research on educational practice.…

Presents a classroom investigation conducted in the framework of Exploratory Practice (EP) and illustrates EP's potential for developing a research culture in a university institution. Illustrates how investigation into group work arose from interest in developing a culture of inquiry and concludes with a note of caution concerning the pace of…

Describes the development of the practices and perspectives of one elementary school teacher as she engaged in teacher-as-researcher methodology in both urban and suburban settings. Documents how the teacher-as-researcher began to explore science inquiry in an elementary setting and how students, parents, and educators became co-learners,…

Discusses reflective practice based on the research orientation of a European network, highlighting the interaction between reflection and partnership which generates reflective practice and discussing: kinds of reflection, theorization, and research devices suitable for reflective practice processes; kinds of teacher-researcher partnerships that…

Examines the dynamic relation between response theory and responding practice, noting how the author commented on the writing of one case-study student. Argues that effective teacher response puts into practice certain accepted principles of response and adapts comments to the larger classroom context, according to the sequence of assignments and…

In this article, I--a White, French-immersion teacher-researcher--engage in a reflective examination of my research and teaching practices involving African American students. My critical reflection of my research examines the instruments used in my comparative study of African American students' experiences in the French-immersion context and the…

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 describes and analyzes the experiences of an inquiry group that was part of a National Science Foundation-funded elementary mathematics teacher enhancement project, the "Mathematics for Tomorrow Project." Inquiry group meetings focused on discussions and interpretations of data that teachers have brought from their classrooms. A…