The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of a Choice-Based art curriculum with students in an ESL (English as a Second Language) kindergarten classroom. Of specific interest to the researcher there was a strong correlation between students using visual aids and communication skills to set their own art making goals. Through action…

Although many teacher education programs claim to prepare teachers for social justice, there is a critical gap in research exploring how new teachers enact their ideals of social justice in the classroom, and how their ability to do so relates to their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. For her dissertation, Ilana Nankin facilitated a…

The purpose of this action research study was to conduct a professional development activity to provide content-area teachers with academic vocabulary strategies to be implemented during instruction on a daily basis. Professional development is essential for teachers to gain new knowledge and skills in order to hone their craft to improve student…

This small action research study (ARS) began with a review of the literature examining the relationship of gangsta rap in regards to academic achievement, self-esteem, decision-making, identity issues and development of young African American males. The purpose of the ARS was to examine the correlation between gangsta rap and its influence on 5th…

This study focuses on the effects of involving fourth grade students in an experiential learning task that improves the school and requires the students to call on community agency, area business, and high school student support. Data related to students' learning were collected by using evaluative writing surveys, student and parent conferences,…

This paper is a reflection on action research I conducted in two classrooms to explore the effectiveness of feedback. As a result of this project, I have changed my practice to streamline verbal feedback. Despite its transience, verbal feedback can be made far more effective if it is reduced to key points only

This paper is based on an action research carried out in two Kenyan Primary schools in Nairobi. The purpose was to implement group work and pair work to improve teaching and learning in large classes by creating interaction opportunities for learners. This was a mixed method study of dominant/less dominant design where interviews and structured…

Secret shopping is a form of unobtrusive evaluation that can be accomplished with minimal effort, but still produce rich results. With as few as 11 shoppers, the author was able to identify trends in user satisfaction with services provided across two entry-level desks at Illinois Wesleyan University's The Ames Library. The focus of this secret…

The 24-hour/5-days-per-week (24/5) model at Belk Library & Information Commons has experienced multiple changes since first implemented in 2006. First the library started small, then expanded, then reduced, and finally expanded again. This article tells the story of a library's 24/5 evolution within the assessment cycle framework, describes…

This paper explores the everyday enactments of new public management in our professional lives utilizing principles of self-ethnography. Drawing on the reworking of an Action Research class, I explore the possibilities of a contextual analysis of the workplace to make more transparent the enactment of new public management. Little is known…

This article presents a qualitative critical action research of six Grade 12 high school teachers who used Turnitin as part of their assessment processes. Turnitin submissions, one-on-one semi-structured interviews, observation and reflective activities were used for data production/generation. This article concluded that although Turnitin did not…

The author reveals in this article that her action research journey in the land of evidence-based practice was not her own idea. She writes that she was lured by the profession's finest scholars who advocated for reflective dispositions for practitioners to improve their practice and demonstrate the school librarian's critical role in teaching and…

This article describes a teacher-research project in which a class of fifth-grade English language learners demonstrated that learning about photography and using it as inspiration for their creative writing authenticated their writing task, helped them bring their outside-school worlds inside school, increased their enthusiasm for writing, and…

Threshold concepts, student learning and curriculum are constructs within a learning and teaching discourse foregrounded by Meyer and Land. In this paper, we introduce a conceptual model that integrates these three constructs and identifies desired outcomes at the intersects: namely the processes of (1) ways of thinking and practising, (2)…

This research uses Mixed-Methodology applied research and development together with participatory action research. The model is appropriate for the context environment. The participants were able to complete the learning activities in participatory forms of knowledge management, using the following five-step model: 1) Knowledge Identification, 2)…