In this era of hyper-accountability, teachers are under ever-increasing pressure to demonstrate their worth--often using evidence that is far removed from what seems to be in the best interests of the students. Terms such as "value-added," "evidence-based," and "data-driven" dominate discussions about teaching…

One of the most challenging aspects of the teaching profession, at all levels, is to identify and illuminate assumptions--one's students' and one's own. This article describes how three members of the Hudson Valley Writing Project (HVWP) at the State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz worked closely with the National Writing Project's…

Don Zancanella challenges us to step away from the everyday tasks of teaching English to reimagine the larger idea, asking, "What should high school English be?" Eight teachers, researchers, and writers briefly answer this question, offering their versions of what high school English could be.

Kelly Sassi and Ebony Elizabeth Thomas describe their struggles and eventual success with students in constructing a "counternarrative to colormuteness and colorblindness"--the self-imposed student segregation and silencing of voice. Because of discussions during a Native American unit and student participation in a classroom intervention…

"Authenticity," "intrinsic motivation," "confidence," and "student choice." More than just jargon, these ideas are essential for student achievement. Facing the pressures of mandated standards and assessments, teachers often replace activities that allow for student choice and multiple outcomes with…

Details a program designed to encourage research projects aimed at promoting "higher literacy" carried out by middle and high school teachers of one Colorado school district. Argues for the value of individual and collaborative action-research projects by teachers. Describes the experience of the program. (HB)

Describes how one teacher observed her students and tried to draw educational conclusions about their behavior. Gives particular attention to the reading habits of students and the ways one teacher tried to foster reading among students. Advocates teacher research as a way of raising awareness among teachers. (HB)

Describes the way one English teacher used teacher research in her classroom to study writing, literature, her students, and herself. Explains her activities and some of her findings. Advocates teacher research as a natural activity that teachers, either consciously or unconsciously, engage in every day of their professional lives. (HB)

Describes how a university professor collaborated with a ninth-grade English teacher in a research project aimed at studying the collaborative writing processes of the students. Analyzes the various collaborative writing processes of the students, including audience awareness, planning, and revising. (HB)

Describes the activities of nine English teachers who spent one school year observing and analyzing what went on in their classrooms. Defines the concept of teacher research. Provides comments on teacher research by those actively participating in it. Affirms the value and results of teacher research. (HB)

Describes what the author (a former high school English teacher) learned about teaching spelling to secondary students through a collaborative research project with a group of elementary school teachers. Analyzes four kinds of classroom-based data from that instruction, resulting in eight recommended teaching practices. Argues that well-targeted…

Offers a close look at how three eighth-grade students used their writer's notebooks, examining what they thought of their writer's notebooks, what purposes they used them for, and how their responses changed over the course of the school year. Notes that the authors learned that their involvement in the writer's notebook was vital. Includes…

Describes a successful approach to teaching a research unit in a "problem" class. Uses word processing, group work, physical movement and manipulative activities, plenty of individual choices, and respect for each individual. (SR)