What does it mean for curriculum to be inclusive? This paper builds upon assertions that standardised, pre-determined curriculum marginalises students. This is especially harmful for students labelled with disabilities. I argue for an alternative approach to curriculum that is more fluid and inclusive than the traditional model. Describing this…

Initially, the author began her teacher inquiry project by focusing on the superhero play she had been observing in her classroom and on her concerns about how it might be impacting the classroom community. Through an ongoing process of self-reflection and reading research, she was able to open herself up to interacting and engaging with the…

This article presents a framework for establishing inquiry as a foundation of a teacher education program to help prospective and practicing teachers view inquiry not as a project but as a stance. Cochran-Smith and Lytle (2009) assert that "working from an inquiry stance involves a continual process of making current arrangements problematic,…

Problem-based learning, group work, project work and fieldwork are prescribed learning methods aimed at replacing or complementing traditional lectures in higher education in Norway (Innst. S. nr 337, 2000-2001) [Proposal to the Norwegian Parliament no. 337 (2000-2001)]. This is based on the belief that student activity can enhance learning. The…

Sponsored by the New Zealand Ministry of Education, the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative has sought to develop teachers' research capability and to build knowledge about teaching and learning with the intention of improving outcomes for learners. Fortunate to receive a two-year grant, our research collaboration investigated secondary…

To better inform and improve classroom teaching and learning, now more than ever before, educational researchers need to effectively and efficiently describe essential components of positive learning environments. In this article, we discuss how our research findings about motivation in classrooms have led to a closer examination of emotions. We…

In this qualitative teacher-researcher one-year classroom study, the author focused upon the literacy strategies that four low-achieving writers used while creating and interpreting music video compositions. The students read a variety of musical and video texts as they composed their own music video project. The guiding question of this research…

This text introduces teachers to research methods they can use to examine their own classrooms in order to become more effective teachers. Becoming familiar with classroom-based research methods not only enables teachers to do research in their own classrooms, it also provides a basis for assessing the findings of existing research. McKay…

Shares how a fourth-grade teacher learned to use whole-class "Spelling Meetings" as a focus of her spelling instruction. Describes initiating spelling notebooks, the first spelling meeting, and subsequent ones as both teacher and students found their way, making adjustments and finding new directions, and having students catch themselves using a…

Stemming from a teacher/researcher's experience in a public school where music was "hated" by students, this study investigates how early elementary students understand and appreciate music, and how classroom teachers can help students in this process. The research was conducted in a first and a second grade class in two Boston (Massachusetts)…

School-based outdoor and experiential programs face an increasing demand from outside interests for research-based accountability. This paper suggests that both research and practice are strengthened by researcher-practitioner partnerships and by practitioners conducting their own research. Three modest qualitative research designs are explored as…

Explores the evolution of a photomontage assignment in a college-level course for academically unprepared students by summarizing the original assignment and then describing the latest version after a three-year period. Believes that the current assignment promotes aesthetically rich and meaningful artwork from students and a positive shift in…

Examines the difficulties of engaging students who lack motivation to learn and attend sporadically in an urban high school science class. Contains 17 references. (Author/WRM)

Describes a teacher-researcher's investigation into barriers to student adoption of an alternative referent for learning and its consequential learning strategies in an 11th-grade chemistry class. Suggests that various contextual factors influenced students' willingness to adopt the alternative referent, and that students' beliefs, trust of the…

Two classroom research studies of fourth graders employed group grading to increase cooperation among group members and mathematics test scores of low achievers. Results indicated that group grading was more effective with students who enjoyed working in groups and who accepted the method of assessment than with students who did not like group…