This document presents the proceedings of the 17th Annual Research Forum held June 29, 2012, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Included herein are the following 25 action research papers: (1) "Reading and Writing": A Study Comparing the Strengths of Peer Review and Visible Author Writing Strategies (Elizabeth Behar); (2)…

A major benefit of inclusive education is to give students and staff learning and teaching opportunities that reflect the wide range of contributions by and roles open to people similar to and different from themselves. Inclusion covers all students, including those with behavior problems, lower academic abilities, and health conditions. For…

Teacher education programs are rapidly changing to ensure that pre-service teachers are well prepared to successfully conquer the critical issues they will encounter in K-12 public schools. The major issue influencing teaching and learning is school violence and the lack of a sense of peace and caring in educational institutions. The educational…

There has been a recognized need to understand the basis of quality teaching at the secondary school level. The Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) was developed by T. Wubbels, H. A. Creton, and H. P. Hooymayers in the 1980s to address teaching quality at the high school level. A modified version of the QTI, the Professor Interpersonal…

Every year, accidents claim the lives of thousands of children and many thousands more are injured. A need exists for schools to teach children the important components of safe behavior and safe conditions; safety instruction in the elementary schools cannot be left to chance. The inclusion of safety education across all elementary levels and…

This paper describes a simulation activity, which was coupled with Confluent/Gestalt meta-processing, that was designed to address the affective component of a mathematics procedures class for preservice teachers. The activity consisted of an explanation and demonstration for teacher educators. It is argued that a reconstruction of disposition…

This study was designed as an effort to understand how student-directed small-group discussions can further student thinking about issues related to social studies. The study utilized participant observation to collect data two to three times weekly as students engaged in a literature-based reading program called Book Club. The specific questions…

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) recently published two documents, "Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics" (1989) and "Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics" (1991), (the "Standards Documents"), that recommend departure from conventional forms of instruction and…

A study investigated the range of methods and approaches used by teachers in Year 2 in teaching reading and writing, and the assumptions underlying these approaches. Headteachers of 122 nationally representative maintained schools in England and Wales completed a brief questionnaire giving mostly statistical information about their school. A…

Research on communication instruction for students with severe intellectual disabilities is reviewed, focusing on the pragmatic elements involved in accomplishing a successful communicative exchange. A federally funded project, called the "Conversation and Social Competence Research Project," is then described. The project sought to…

This practicum addressed the problems of low self-esteem levels of at-risk students in kindergarten and in grades three and five by implementing a peer facilitator program. The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, the OUNCE Attitude Scale, and a Kindergarten Checklist of Low Self-Esteem Characteristics were used to determine the students'…

The Jackson County (Michigan) Intermediate School District curriculum for teaching emotionally impaired elementary students is presented. The curriculum document describes program management techniques, strategies for developing and maintaining teacher-student relationships, and therapy/change systems. It outlines referral and eligibility…

An inservice program for Australian teachers, which involved clinical supervision methods, was evaluated to examine its effectiveness. Clinical supervision seeks to promote a form of teacher development that is descriptive and formative. Teachers were involved in a process of assisted self-reflection about their teaching, with the aid of a…

In fall 1987, the Learning to Learn Subcommittee was formed at Miami-Dade Community College (M-DCC) to help design a formal course in teaching/learning theory, to identify effective student behaviors and teaching strategies to develop critical thinking skills, and to identify strategies to implement the "learning to learn" concept across all…

One promising alternative to the traditional workshop format of inservice teacher education is to bring researchers and teachers more closely together, in classrooms, where the two groups can work as a team addressing those needs the teachers have defined. A teacher and a researcher collaborated in a 3-month effort to improve the way the teacher…