This action research explored the relationship between community and learning. The essence of community was examined through informal conversations with Hawaiian parents, service providers, and students involved in advocating for family/community centers in the schools. Community was found to be inversely related to alienation and defined by…

A teacher in a rural high school in East Tennessee observed that her high school advanced English students would readily agree to writing journal entries as long as they were allowed to use word processing software. In the past, students had bemoaned the daily ritual of journal writing using pencil and paper. The teacher wanted to find out if…

This report describes a program for improving student organizational skills. The targeted population consisted of a fourth-grade self contained class, a sixth-grade science class, and a high school nine through twelve learning disability class in an elementary, middle, and high school setting. The schools were located in middle to upper class…

This report stresses the need to incorporate various methods of teaching as a means of developing an integrated curriculum to address the lack of phonetic skills amongst second grade and kindergarten students. The target population of Site A consisted of a kindergarten classroom in a medium-sized district of a growing middle class community…

This research described strategies used to improve the reading fluency of students. The targeted populations consisted of first, second, and third grade classes from middle class communities located in the Midwest. Evidence for the existence of this problem included teacher observation, parent surveys, and lack of progress shown on reading…

This study explores the impact of a researcher-developed World Wide Web database on a variety of tasks and talk in a science classroom. The study was part of an experienced teacher's action research project designed to increase student engagement in biology class. Lessons were videotaped approximately once a week throughout the entire school year,…

This study utilized collaborative group action research to investigate the effective use of mentoring teacher programs. The research group consisted of a new content area teacher, a transferring teacher from a different state, and a university researcher. The group met initially to finalize the research question, which addressed how they could…

This report outlines a program for improving reading fluency. The targeted population consisted of second and third grade students from three separate communities located in suburbs of a major metropolitan area. The need for fluency improvement is documented through teacher observations, reading fluency assessments, standardized reading test…

This paper examines issues and areas of concern for the educational researcher moving from the relative safety of academic research to the more perilous arena of practice-oriented or action-oriented qualitative research. The first question is one of purity or objectivity: giving credibility to research results by imposing adequate rigor on methods…

This paper reports stage 3 of a research project conducted in 40 preschools in Victoria, Australia. During the first stage of this project, preschool teachers were asked about their concerns relating to young children's literacy development. Their responses revealed little access to recent thinking concerning emergent literacy, either through…

Written lesson plans by 16 secondary student teachers were compared to audiotapes of the lessons as actually taught, including types of class activities intended or used and lesson pacing. From the results, suggestions are made to cooperating teachers on specific ways that they can help student teachers with instructional planning. (SJL)

This action research study evaluated problem-based learning (PBL), traditional lecture, and a combination of PBL and lecture in an elective biochemistry course at a secondary school for gifted students. Lecture tended to wide content coverage, whereas understanding and retention was promoted by PBL. (Author/DB)

A third grade teacher followed the development of a peer tutoring program involving third- and fifth-grade study partners. The cross-age tutors included students representing diverse learning styles and academic achievement. Students were matched by personality. Cross-age tutoring was judged to be good for all the students. (SM)

Describes the experiences of six science teachers and a facilitator involved in an action research group in science, technology, and society (STS) education. Explores the genesis of an issues-based model and highlights applications of this model in a classroom context. Examines action research as a potential tool for professional development in…

Examines important factors and student outcomes in action research courses taught via distance in a Master of Education program. Discusses communication that evolved from mail and phone correspondence to email and online discussion groups; technical aspects, including working with collaborative groups; and human aspects, including providing…