This study examined the work of six mentor teachers participating in an elementary-level Professional Development School (PDS). Over 18 months, the researcher collected qualitative data using a descriptive case study method. Data collection included journal entries written by mentors and interns, field notes, interviews, e-mail, meeting minutes,…

A researcher and four elementary teachers conducted collaborative action research to explore, implement, and document practitioner initiated change. The article highlights the political nature of action research linked with reform, noting that peers and principals can silence teachers' voices. Collaborative action research groups may provide…

Discusses teaching responsibilities and related activities of school library media specialists; considers the role of teachers and media specialists as researchers; discusses testing, reasons for testing, and alternatives to testing, including portfolio evaluation; mentions the integration of mathematics into the curriculum, including library…

Argues that many recent collaborative research projects conducted by classroom teachers and teacher educators have focused too narrowly on educational practice, which is subject to the vagaries of the current political and social climate. Identifies strategies for broader focused research that concentrates on the teacher's life and work. (MDM)

This paper looks at why there are so few teacher researchers and how such professionals can be encouraged, in the light of the reform movement in both general and special education which demands that teachers take on new roles including that of researcher. Institutions of higher education are urged to show their respect for research by teaching…

Considerations unique to classroom research and problem-solving where the teacher is English-dominant and many students speak English as a Second Language are examined, and advice is offered to teachers. The discussion reflects the specific concerns of a group of graduate students in teacher education. An approach is outlined, in a conversational…

A case study was conducted in which a teacher followed the progress of a first grade boy over the course of a semester, collecting samples of his written work and observing his interaction with peers. The teacher came to understand how the boy expressed his uniqueness in his writing, and how important it is for all students to be allowed to use…

School reform in the 1990s has been focused on school-based restructuring, with local efforts shown to be more successful than earlier central or remote control approaches. Success has followed changes in teachers' classroom behavior, in the structure of the school, and its school culture. The local school restructuring approach is illustrated…

There are students whom teachers always seem to remember, primarily because they provide special insight into teaching and learning. These students, most of whom usually have learning difficulties in school, teach important lessons to teachers about determination, survival, and about becoming readers and writers. One such student is Kimberly,…

Presents the problem of teachers who are unwilling to examine critically their teaching practices, evaluate their efficacy, and make changes where necessary in the face of criticism, and suggests that part of the problem lies in the way teacher educators model teaching styles. (JC)

This article offers an insight into the professional development and learning of an experienced teacher and middle manager in a secondary school stimulated by engaging in an innovative, mixed-mode Master's-level course at the Institute of Education, University of London. At its core is the personal narrative of the teacher as a learner based on a…

The overarching aim of this research in the proposal was the following: In a number of early childhood centres and early years school classrooms that have already begun to explore in this area, to investigate effective pedagogy designed to develop five learning competencies over time. This project was developed in response to curriculum reform in…

Determining the appropriate amount and type of teacher and student input is a complex curriculum and instructional challenge for writing teachers. This paper describes a teacher-researcher's experiences while teaching a fifth-grade class and studying a developing writer's workshop approach to writing instruction. She investigated: (1) how students…

One of a series of six portraits of high school literature classrooms, this paper gives a detailed, evocative characterization of how one "master teacher" introduced, undertook, and guided the study of literature, focusing in particular on how the teacher interacted with students in the context of discussion of a literary work in class.…

The annotated bibliography consists of reviews, of three to seven paragraphs each, of nine books focusing on classroom research and the teacher's role in conducting and publishing it. Eight of the books relate specifically to research on English-as-a-Second-Language teaching and learning. Each review provides basic bibliographic information,…