This report describes a program for improving students' writing skills in the areas of mechanics and organization through the implementation of a Writer's Workshop. The targeted population consists of fourth and fifth grade students in a Midwestern community located outside of a major city. Evidence for the existence of this problem is shown…

This article highlights the work of Ontario teachers who use research and inquiry in the classrooms as part of self-directed professional learning. It positions action research within the work of the Professional Affairs Department at the Ontario College of Teachers. It begins with a narrative account of the researcher's work as a program officer…

This report describes a program for enriching language use in writing. The targeted population consisted of one classroom of fourth grade students in a public elementary school. This school is in the small rural community near a large city in the Midwest. The problem of lack of language skills in writing was documented with teacher and student…

This report describes a program for improving phonemic awareness skills in kindergarten students. The targeted population consisted of kindergarten students in two elementary schools. The schools are located in the northern suburbs outside a large Midwestern city. The problem of poor phonemic awareness skills was documented with a parent survey, a…

This research project focuses on the problem of the inappropriate assessment of primary grade students. The targeted group was first graders in a suburban elementary school. While taking tests, students revealed a low performance in comparison with their daily performance. They also exhibited frustration and a high stress level. Current research…

This report describes the implementation and results of the Utah Community Partnership for Character Development, a 4-year grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The project was initiated in January 1996, in 50 schools from 4 school districts in Salt Lake City (Utah) and neighboring communities. The grant included more than 65 schools…

This paper draws on the findings from a collaborative research journey with two groups of primary school teachers and principals within a context of curriculum change in Hong Kong. The purpose of the paper is an invitation to stakeholders to reflect and act upon the findings that can have an impact on reconstructing teachers' work at various…

This action research project sought to decrease the number of late or missing homework assignments among fourth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders in two schools near large urban communities. Survey data showed that over 75 percent of teachers polled considered late or missing assignments to be a problem. Several strategies were implemented,…

This study focused on the use of journal writing and worksheets in the area of social studies within a suburban elementary school. The study was designed to determine if there was a difference in children's social studies test scores when they completed journal activities or when they completed worksheets. Subjects were 36 Tennessee fifth-grade…

The purpose of this ongoing project is to establish a model for school-based teacher development for secondary science and mathematics teachers in Taiwan. The model uses an action research approach with emphasis on constructivist perspectives of teaching and learning and the idea that teachers are to be taken as researchers and reflective…

This book chronicles practitioners' struggles in implementing information technology, identifies the existing barriers to implementation, and provides a set of frameworks from the current understanding of this process to support learning through information creation. The chapters are: chapter 1, "A Model for Organizational Learning: The…

The objective of this research project is to observe some effects music has on the elementary classroom. This study was conducted with the third grade students throughout the first semester of the 1999-2000 school year. Music is a language with powerful appeal to children of all ages. Love of music may be an excellent strategy to assist and…

This action research project investigated various reading strategies to increase reading comprehension and vocabulary skills. The targeted population consisted of students from three elementary schools and one junior high school, located in lower to middle socioeconomic neighborhoods. Two elementary schools and the junior high school are located…

This paper describes how a language teacher educator guides her students through a particular literacy research project, with the goal of helping students to enjoy their research experience. It outlines two stages to make up the entire assignment--the interview and the paper. It describes the development of questions for the purpose of gaining…

This paper explores the way teachers make use of and work on theory to disrupt and ultimately improve everyday educational practice. The paper argues that teachers working on and with theory can and do generate new forms of educative practices in the field of literacy education, which are based on explicit standpoints towards social justice in…