This reflective article examines the relationship between teachers' engagement in action research and their ability to lead within their schools. As part of "The New Educator's" special issue, "Developing an Inquiry Stance toward Instructional Improvement: Teacher-Leader Action Research," this article demonstrates the…

Although the NCATE Blue Ribbon Panel Report challenges those responsible for teacher preparation to design clinically rich programs, there is little discussion about preparing teacher educators to actualize these innovations. This study explored how practitioner inquiry could serve as a mechanism to facilitate the development of the next…

Engagement in practitioner inquiry by classroom teachers is a promising mechanism for teacher professional learning. While much has been learned about the positive role inquiry can play in traditional professional development efforts, we know less about the impact of inquiry in a rapidly advancing technological age that includes the proliferation…

Despite the profound impact of action research coaches on teachers' experiences of the inquiry process, little research exists in the field regarding the coach's role. In this exploratory study, two groups of action research coaches--one novice and one experienced--share their experiences of coaching inquiry during the 2009/10 school year. Out of…

Now that federal and state initiatives require school districts to provide job-embedded professional development, the next step is making it happen. This book helps districts define, develop, and implement a systematic inquiry-based process with a laser-like focus on both adult and student learning. This book's inquiry model challenges educators…

This article introduces the process of inquiry-oriented mentoring as an appropriate tool for developing the knowledge, skills, and abilities of mentors who work with prospective teachers within the professional development school. The process shows promise as a tool for capturing the knowledge of what constitutes powerful mentoring practices, by…

The purpose of this case study was to understand engagement in action research as a form of professional development for practicing principals and the subsequent knowledge constructed as a result. The research team followed five principals through 1 year of professional development, which focused on supporting each principal in the design and…

This article presents a framework for establishing inquiry as a foundation of a teacher education program to help prospective and practicing teachers view inquiry not as a project but as a stance. Cochran-Smith and Lytle (2009) assert that "working from an inquiry stance involves a continual process of making current arrangements problematic,…

National agencies advocate the use of field experiences to help prepare teachers to integrate technology in their classrooms. However, prospective teachers often fail to synthesise the integration of technology with the complexities of teaching during such experiences. This study suggests teacher inquiry, a strategy for helping educators…

Presents a four-phase, theoretically based model for supervision co-constructed and shared by members of a professional-development school community and influenced by four bodies of literature. The four phases include building of readiness, directed supervision, reflective supervision, and teacher inquiry. Benefits of collaborative supervision are…

Having facilitated, read, and collected more than 200 teacher research pieces written by prospective and practicing teachers, the authors conducted a systematic analysis of the domains and contents of teachers' questions as they embarked on their first research study. Focusing on the questions teachers ask led to the generation of a typology of…

This how-to guide to classroom inquiry takes educators through the process step-by-step, from beginning to end, answering critical questions on developing the research plan, collecting and analyzing the data, and writing and publishing the results. Seven chapters include: (1) "Teacher Inquiry Defined" (e.g., what teacher inquiry is and how it…

This 18-month ethnographic study provides a snapshot of teachers' use of space and voice as they work in a newly formed Professional Development School (PDS) committed to shared responsibility for teacher education and developing a culture of simultaneous renewal through inquiry. The study identified the tensions produced when a PDS functions…

Explores the evolution of inquiry into a Professional Development School (PDS) context. Teacher educators hoped to cultivate inquiry as a stance into the PDS culture. This required time for teachers to understand inquiry and embrace it as a powerful tool for reflective teaching and educational change. Mentor teachers gained space to understand…