An action research study detailed a program for improving kindergarten students' alphabet identification. The targeted population consisted of low achieving kindergarten students in a growing, middle class community located in northern Illinois. The students' skill levels were documented through data which revealed a lack of letter recognition and…

This report describes a program for motivating reluctant writers. The targeted population consisted of one fourth-grade and four fifth-grade classrooms in three elementary schools. All three schools were located in the western suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. The problems of reluctant writers were documented with timed writing samples, student and…

In 1995 Catholic educators established Selected Programs for Improving Catholic Education (SPICE). The program is a form of action research that identifies, validates, and systematically diffuses elementary and secondary school programs that work. This handbook is the first volume in a series of annual National Catholic Educational Association…

Using a symbolic interactionism theoretical perspective, this project examined the merits of team collaborative action research as a tool in comprehensive staff development for middle- grade teachers. The specific question examined during the action research was how inclusion of special needs students affects the academic and social achievement of…

This manual was developed in response to teachers' requests for help in maintaining focus and resolving questions and concerns arising out of the Questioning and Understanding to Improve Learning and Thinking (QUILT) program. The introduction describes collegial investigation as a structural process that groups can use to examine problems, issues,…

An action research study described and evaluated a program for motivating students to read and to take more responsibility for their learning. The targeted population consisted of second- and fourth-grade students in rural-suburban communities west of Chicago, Illinois. Students' lack of motivation related to reading and failure to become…

This document presents descriptions of 11 experimental, descriptive, and naturalistic research designs created by classroom teachers about questions that they had and that they investigated within the context of teaching dynamics unique to their classrooms. An action research approach was utilized, emphasizing immediate application of a method and…

This digest outlines salient characteristics of teacher-led research and its benefits to teachers and students. A discussion of selected resources for teacher researchers, which are available through various components of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), follows the overview. Effective teacher research is an empowering…

Outcomes of a parent/teacher action research project, the League of Schools Reaching Out, are described in this paper. The League is a group of nine schools working with the Institute for Responsive Education and the Center on Families, Communities, Schools, and Children's Learning as a resource exchange network. Project goals are to: investigate…

The Puget Sound Educational Consortium (PESC) is a partnership of 11 school districts in the Puget Sound, Washington, area and the College of Education at the University of Washington. The partnership is based on the following assumptions: a belief in the school as a primary unit of change; a commitment to political inquiry; the development of…

Five teams of teacher-researchers, 15 teachers in all, representing three Wyoming school districts and Casper College conducted classroom-based investigations and wrote about their inquiries. These teachers of prekindergarten through college collaborated to examine performance based assessment questions with an overall theme of improving science…

Some reflections on the future of educational research are offered as responses to questions derived from an article by Ian Stronach ("Research Intelligence," n61 p3 1997). The first is the question of what the future holds for the philosophy and methodology of educational inquiry. A response to this question must recognize the importance of the…

In 1994, Australian Catholic University personnel and 14 K-12 Catholic school teachers collaborated on an action research project to promote professional growth. The K-12 Professional Development Program involved classroom teachers in action research through which they could identify ways to create partnerships with parents. The action research…

This updated third edition is a handbook for teachers to bring the reflective inquiry emphasis of integrated curriculum theory to life in the elementary and middle school classroom. It takes an action approach to implement theory and practice in educating students for a democratic, multicultural society. The five major interrelated emphases in the…

An action research project described a program for improving elementary children's recreational reading habits through a combination of modeling by the teacher plus incentives to enhance students' intrinsic motivation to read for enjoyment. The targeted population consisted of three suburban public schools, grades 2 and 4. Analysis of probable…