This report outlines the characteristics that appear to make the process of action research effective in improving student outcomes and summarizes some strategies that practitioners believe can be transferred using the process. Part 1 describes the process followed by the successful projects and shares the insights they gained. Characteristics…

The University of California Irvine (UCI) and Beit Berl College (BBC) in Israel developed an action research project with cooperating teachers at their Professional Development Schools. This paper examines perceptions of UCI and BBC cooperating teachers within each culture and across cultures regarding: (1) contributions teachers provide to…

Since 1995, UNESCO and the Averroes Foundation have collaborated to develop early childhood education programs. This report describes Averroes intervention programs currently used in the Netherlands with young at-risk children. Following a Foreword which describes various UNESCO early childhood activities, the report is divided into six parts.…

This report describes a program for improving performance of 54 sixth and seventh grade students with special needs included in a computer applications class. The targeted students exhibited deficiencies in basic computer classroom performance. Probable causes for poor performance were identified through a review of literature and an analysis of…

This brochure, part of a series about good practices in vocational training in the European Union, describes 10 projects that have promoted investment in human resources through training in the tourism sector to promote sustainable, or responsible, tourism. The projects and their countries of origin are as follows: (1) BEEFT, training of mobility…

This research project was conducted to identify the reasons for the low retention rate for adult students enrolled in the prep level of the General Educational Development (GED) programs offered by the Clinton County (Pennsylvania) Development Center for Adults. All adult students who attended class at least once from July 1998 through January…

The instructor of a course focusing on basic academic and job readiness skills for welfare recipients at the Goodwill Employment Help Center in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, conducted an action research project to determine whether developing personal mission statements would increase students' motivation in her course. As new students were accepted…

This paper examines a university professor's roles in and experiences with teacher action research to promote professional development. The first section discusses the importance of linking preservice teacher action research investigation with inservice action research teams in schools. It explains that this approach begins with a structure and…

A second-grade teacher helped her students improve self-confidence and self-esteem by making them active in their assessment. Using cooperative learning, portfolio assessment, surveys, and interviews, she examined whether students could assess their own abilities and improve classwork. Students gained pride in their work and participated more…

To confront racial issues in their classrooms, white student teachers reflected on their identities as white teachers and their understandings of multiculturalism. By confronting their identities and challenging the meaning of being white teachers, they could better pursue teaching practices to alter the way white students are educated about…

A framework for developing teachers' reflective decision making ability is provided along with specific staff development activities that promote teacher reflection. Strategies include conducting personal histories, video/audio self-assessment, journal writing, cognitive coaching, cases, role playing, and problem framing/action research. (SM)

The main objective of this self-study is to reflect and document the development of our own praxis by using teacher research in our teacher education courses. By praxis we mean an ongoing interdependent process in which reflection, including theoretical analysis, enlightens action, and in turn the transformed action changes our understanding of…

A common report from anecdotal writing over many generations of educators is that it is the teacher who usually learns the most during the process of gathering content materials, designing, teaching and evaluating student performance. In this project we address this issue by developing an innovative instructional design in which collaborative…

This article reports on findings from "action research" pilot projects in four Tasmanian primary schools. The projects focused on the provision of professional learning to support the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in teaching and learning. These pilot projects used an approach developed from observations of…

This thesis describes the implementation of a cross-age program to reduce negative classroom behavior and promote community identity among students in elementary and middle schools in Rockford, Illinois. The targeted population consisted of elementary school students with learning disabilities and seventh- and eighth-grade middle school students.…