This volume celebrates teachers as life-long learners of the art of teaching, by presenting 21 action research studies designed and implemented by classroom teachers. A "How To Get Started" section outlines action research steps and offers worksheets. Descriptions of the research studies begin with ethnographic studies, which include "Adopt a…

The Project for Enhancing Effective Learning (PEEL) is a well-established Australian example of teacher collaborative action research. The aim of the project, which began in a secondary school in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia) and later spread to other countries, is to improve the quality of students' classroom learning through practice in…

This book offers guidelines for action research, a process in which teachers experiment with various strategies at the classroom level. Action research is the process of systematically evaluating the consequences of educational decisions and adjusting practices to maximize effectiveness. Essentially the examination of one's own practice, it…

This paper describes the design and outcomes of the University of Houston School-University Research Collaborative, a partnership that uses collaborative research and evaluation as a vehicle for educational improvement. Two of the collaborative's three research agendas are described in detail: (1) the collaborative-level research project,…

Open attitudes, dispositions, and values are the primary preconditions for learning for both adults and children. Unfortunately, schools do not provide a suitable environment for adult learning. Organizational roles of educators tend to undermine adult learning, and as teachers and administrators advance, they seem to exhibit even less need to…

This paper discusses the problems encountered in applying rational and participatory models to school reform and presents an alternative model based on action research. The group processes of a school-improvement team (SIT) at a high school are examined. Data were collected through participant observation, interviews with three faculty members,…

The purpose of this monograph is to heighten awareness about action research for both teachers and administrators involved in California middle level reform efforts. This approach to educational research is a means of developing knowledge through collaboration in a process that improves both student learning and professional autonomy. The…

In 1991, eight schools received funding to carry out a 3-year locally designed family and community involvement project. This multisite collaborative action-research project aims to identify school policies and practices that obstruct or advance effective family-school-community partnerships. Data gathering and analysis are being carried out at…

This report describes a program designed to increase students' knowledge in the science content area utilizing reading comprehension strategies. The targeted population consisted of grade 6 middle school students in a growing urban community in eastern Iowa. The students demonstrated poor comprehension of their science textbook. Data also revealed…

This guide provides teacher educators and staff developers with strategies to enhance the reflective thinking abilities of preservice and inservice educators. Strategies for reflective thinking are approached at three levels: technical, contextual, and dialectical. Within each level, strategies have been field tested with populations of preservice…

Rural community development is undergoing changing visions, activities, and methodologies. Factors impacting this change include decentralization, budget reduction in the public sector, and globalization and downsizing in the private sector. Community "building" (community-generated change and emphasis on capacities rather than…

This report describes a method for increasing parental involvement in physical education and art in an elementary school in Illinois. The parents of second- and third-grade students in a well-developed, middle class community in Illinois participated in the study. The lack of parental involvement had been documented through data revealing the low…

This book offers middle school educators information about inquiry-based, interdisciplinary learning, highlighting the I-Search process. I-Search offers a powerful mix of ingredients (e.g., respecting curiosity, supporting independence, and fostering creativity) to capture students' and teachers' imaginations. It makes research more learner…

An action research project described a program for expanding multiple intelligences to increase reading comprehension in both English and math. The targeted population consisted of ninth, tenth, and eleventh grade students located in a south suburb of Chicago, Illinois. The problem of reading comprehension was documented through data revealing…

A program developed interventions for improving student writing in the areas of technique and creativity. The targeted population consisted of students in the first through fourth grades in three different school sites, all being similar upper-middle class communities, located in the suburbs of a mid-western city. The problems that some students…