Noting that poor social and emotional skills can interfere with academic growth of elementary school students, this action research project examined the impact of an intervention to improve students' emotional and social skills. Participating in the study were students from one fifth-grade public school class, one fifth-grade class in a private…

By evaluating her use and delivery of praise, an elementary teacher discovered that its quality, not quantity, had the most impact on students. Teachers can increase the positive effects of praise by praising sparingly but carefully, directing it to students who respond well to it, and ensuring contingency, specificity, and credibility. (Author/SM)

A case study of a Chinese teacher educator illustrates one method of researching the development and expression of teachers' personal practical knowledge by collecting fieldnotes, interviews, conversations, journals, autobiographies, stories, personal artifacts, oral histories, letters, and chronicles. Analyzing this information involves…

At the British Open University (a distance education institution), rural tutors working in remote areas of Scotland felt that professional isolation interfered with self-assessment and professional development. Describes action research into student and tutor perceptions of teaching and learning that provides a basis for reflective teaching and…

A British university-initiated action research project emphasized development and evaluation of strategies for enhancing eighth graders' self-regulated learning. Case studies indicated the project had limited success in impacting teaching strategies and curriculum development, and the National Curriculum did nothing to increase the likelihood of…

A sixth-grade social studies teacher examined how to give her students more autonomy. By teaching them how to function in cooperative learning environments, the teacher noticed significant improvements in student-teacher interaction, a lessening of disciplinary problems, and a strengthening of individual student leadership. (Author/SM)

When the Australian government's Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation terminated at the end of 2000, a people's foundation took up the work. A knowledge of Australian Aboriginal history would foster the respect necessary for reconciliation. Research can help by implementing emerging canons in which Aboriginal perspectives provide the framework…

Describes an action research project designed to rethink student teaching practicums by infusing critical inquiry, team teaching, curriculum change, and changing roles. The project combined student teacher preparation with inservice opportunities for cooperating teachers. The paper reflects on the important professional impact the collaboration…

Describes a mentoring project involving a university teacher educator and three elementary teachers. Examines what they learned about the power of focused observation, writing, and practice-centered talk to promote teacher learning. Journal excerpts show the project's progress and reflect concerns participants had as they determined how to work…

This article discusses an action research project that investigated how a 10-year-old boy with learning disabilities, whose first language was Korean, was supported. His individualized instruction involved labeling items in the room, reading sentences that included priority sight words, practicing with consonant blends and vocabulary words, games,…

An alternative method for social problem solving is proposed involving increased collaboration between university researchers and school personnel. Academicians can assume the role of external change agents in addressing such educational equity issues as student dropouts. Collaboration should include a humanitarian basis, a problem focus, and a…

A conversation between graduate students and their teacher educator highlights the centrality of political belief and action in action research. Action research creates more democratic classrooms and institutions and enhances individuals' teaching. The paper discusses the meaning of action research in educators' lives and its potential…

Utilizes a case study, the Action Ecology Project, to exemplify some curriculum development issues pertinent to environmental education. Describes an action research evaluation process involving teachers that resolves conceptual evaluation and adoption problems of environmental education curriculum. (31 references) (MCO)

Discusses results of an action research study of second-grade students' group work which indicated that, when students were not given sample solutions for problems, they were more likely to use higher order thinking, take ownership of strategies, discuss solutions longer, and be more accepting of other views. (MKR)

Reports on the relationship between the seating patterns of students and their observed attitudes toward class activities in an English-as-a-Second-Language class. Discusses issues of physical territoriality, psycholinguistic territoriality, and active participation by students. (CFR)