Teachers Doing Research : Practical Possibilities

Teachers are often reluctant to change their practices in response to each new staff development workshop that appears on the horizon. What then compels a teacher to explore teaching and learning in his or her own classroom and then implement change that affects the life of that classroom? What is the nature of the collaborative process that can engender teacher research leading to subsequent change? How can educational leaders facilitate this process? These are central questions addressed in Teachers Doing Research.

The process and application of developing, implementing, and evaluating teacher action research in collaborative group settings is explored. A practical approach to doing teacher research -- including descriptive analysis of initiating the inquiry, gathering data, analyzing results, and evaluating the project -- is set within the larger context of qualitative research, and draws on the research and literature of teacher as researcher coupled with that on staff development in school and university settings.

In this text:
* chapters providing the conceptual framework and process descriptions are interwoven with nine teacher researchers' narratives of their classroom research in a variety of grade levels and school contexts;
* concrete connections are made to curriculum development approaches and instructional decision making;
* the important role that students may play in classroom inquiry is recognized, with numerous examples given of how young people can be co-researchers to enhance their own learning; and
* "Practical Possibilities" sections provide activities, questions, and writing opportunities designed to contribute to teachers' professional development.