Expanding upon previous theorizing of Art[middle dot]I/f/act[middle dot]ology published in "Qualitative Inquiry" in 2008, this article offers autoethnographic re:collections of a performance/paper presented at the international "Academic Identities in Crisis?" conference at the University of Central Lancashire, held in…

This article presents a commentary exchange between authors Laurie Grobman and Richard C. Raymond regarding Raymond's article "Re-placing Lit in Comp II: Pragmatic/Humanistic Benefits." Grobman said that in her brief commentary on Raymond's article, she chooses not to explicitly address his thesis that literature belongs in a research-based…

The authors have spent many years providing professional development in the area of science education, working alongside teachers and observing children in the classroom. These experiences have convinced them that activities involving inclined planes are possibly the best science activities they have ever encountered. They call their collection of…

"Prior knowledge" (sometimes called schema or background knowledge) is information one already knows that helps him/her make sense of new information. New learning builds on existing prior knowledge. In traditional reporting-style research projects, students bypass this crucial step and plow right into answer-finding. It's no wonder that many…

This article explores the role of teacher research as part of a robust program of professional development. Teacher research offers teachers at every stage of development a recursive and reflective means of bridging the gap between current practice and potential professional growth. The purpose of this dual level inquiry was to probe the concept…

In this article, we undertake three critical tasks: First, we delineate major shifts in feminist rhetorical inquiry, thus describing a new and changed landscape of the field. Second, we argue that as feminist rhetorical practices have shifted, so have standards of excellence. To articulate excellence in feminist rhetorical studies, we draw…

The consolidation of reconceptualism as a distinctive tradition in curriculum inquiry is commonly understood to go hand-in-hand with the decline and even eclipse of an explicit political orientation in such work. This paper offers an alternative argument, focusing on a re-assessment of what has been called the representation problem, and exploring…

Development of a research instrument to measure student achievement requires planning and reliability and validity testing before the instrument is used to collect data. These steps are often overlooked in research studies, but when the instrument is to be used across a wider population, the inclusion of these steps is vital to address the…

In this project, the author explores a novel variation on an established social science research method, photo-elicitation. The author photographed eight school principals during a two-year period and asked the principals to respond to the photographs by writing narratives below each. The author uses photography, reflections, and her own memories…

It all began one Monday morning. Raymond could not wait to come to large group. In his hand, he held a chunk of white granite he had found. "Look at my beautiful rock!" he cried. The rock was passed around and examined by each student. "I wonder how rocks are made?" wondered one student. "Where do they come from?"…

In the hands-on, guided-inquiry lesson presented in this article, high school students create, calibrate, and apply an affordable scientific-grade instrument (Lapp and Cyrus 2000). In just four class periods, they build a homemade integrated circuit (IC) digital thermometer, apply a math model to calibrate their instrument, and ask a researchable…

This case study examined learning experiences of three nontraditional online learners who were unsuccessful in an online course, Middle Level Education, and opted to repeat it in a face-to-face setting. Their unique experiences and perspective provided an opportunity to shed light on the nature of preservice teacher education for nontraditional…

Action research is a method of organizational development and improvement often used in educational settings. This study implemented an action research process in an alternative school that serves students with significant special needs. The action research process was implemented by classroom teams who developed a research question, collected and…

This study explores how informal inquiry among teachers occurs in pursuit of their professional development within a learning community that has been voluntarily constructed by South Korean teachers. To this end, the study investigates what leads teachers to participate in a self-organized learning community, how informal inquiry occurs in the…

The history of learning biology through distance education is documented. A review of terminology and unique problems associated with biology instruction is presented. Using published research and their own teaching experience, the authors present recommendations and best practices for managing biology in distance-based formats. They offer ideas…