Action research, explored in this book, is a seven-step process for improving teaching and learning in classrooms at all levels. Through practical examples, research tools, and easy-to-follow "implementation strategies," Richard Sagor guides readers through the process from start to finish. Learn how to uncover and use the data that already exist in your classrooms and schools to answer significant questions about your individual or collective concerns and interests. Sagor covers each step in the action research process in detail: selecting a focus, clarifying theories, identifying research questions, collecting data, analyzing data, reporting results, and taking informed action. Drawing from the experience of individual teachers, faculties, and school districts, Sagor describes how action research can enhance teachers' professional standing and efficacy while helping them succeed in settings characterized by increasingly diverse student populations and an emphasis on standards-based reform. The book also demonstrates how administrators and policymakers can use action research to bolster efforts related to accreditation, teacher supervision, and job-embedded staff development. Part how-to guide, part inspirational treatise, Guiding School Improvement with Action Research provides advice, information, and encouragement to anyone interested in reinventing schools as learning communities and restructuring teaching as the true profession it was meant to be.

Teachers are the single most important element in helping every child succeed in school. Action Research for Teacher Candidates has been written in the hopes of equipping teachers-in-training with the skills needed for action research: a process that leads to focused, effective, and responsive strategies that help students succeed. Robert P. Pelton is also the author of Making Classroom Inquiry Work: Techniques for Effective Action Research, which is designed to serve those who wish to delve deeper into their action research or as leaders in teacher research and reflective practice. These two books serve as both a perfect training curriculum for pre-service teachers at the undergraduate or graduate level and as an excellent vehicle for professional development for in-service teachers.

"This is a wonderful book with deep insight into the relationship between teachers′ action and result of student learning. It discusses from different angles impact of action research on student learning in the classroom. Writing samples provided at the back are wonderful examples." —Kejing Liu, Shawnee State University Teacher Action Research: Building Knowledge Democracies focuses on helping schools build knowledge democracies through a process of action research in which teachers, students, and parents collaborate in conducting participatory and caring inquiry in the classroom, school, and community. Author Gerald J. Pine examines historical origins, the rationale for practice-based research, related theoretical and philosophical perspectives, and action research as a paradigm rather than a method. Key Features Discusses how to build a school research culture through collaborative teacher research Delineates the role of the professional development school as a venue for constructing a knowledge democracy Focuses on how teacher action research can empower the active and ongoing inclusion of nontraditional voices (those of students and parents) in the research process Includes chapters addressing the concrete practices of observation, reflection, dialogue, writing, and the conduct of action research, as well as examples of teacher action research studies

This comprehensive, easy-to-understand book provides a guide to action research methods grounded in sources of data. Its highly interactive format enables readers to more quickly design and carry out successful action research in the classroom.

The current thrust in the field of education is to improve teachers’ understanding of how research on best practices can improve student learning. The field of world language education introduces a double, perhaps a triple, bind: teachers must be able to design and deliver instruction that aligns with national expectations for developing students’ language and intercultural abilities for success in the global workplace, yet in schools across America, all K-12 students do not have the opportunity to study languages, even though research supports their astonishing facility for acquisition. Schools and teachers without resources, including time to investigate and implement evidence-based best practices, are ultimately held accountable for student performance. If world language teachers are to advocate for languages, they must use their expertise and share evidence of their students’ progress. The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) recently began development of a national research priorities agenda for grades preK-16. Action research, which is classroom-centered and inquiry-based, can contribute to our profession’s efforts, as it helps us to increase awareness of the critical need for language study in grades preK-16. World language teachers can become teacher-researchers in their own classrooms, gathering deeply meaningful insights into their students’ progress that they can share with others. Teacher-researchers investigate innovative approaches in response to their questions about teaching and learning, which are rooted in daily experience. They engage their students in fresh learning activities, and student feedback helps them to make better decisions about instructional and assessment strategies. Results can be shared with stakeholders, including parents, administrators, school board members, and guidance counselors, as evidence of what all kinds of students can do in languages. At a time in our history when we are striving to prepare teachers for 21st-century schools that prioritize global competence, Action Research in the World Language Classroom is a timely resource for the profession. It describes a natural, engaging, motivating way to contribute, particularly for preservice teachers who are shaping their views and understanding about world language instruction and the connections between research and best practices. The book includes four studies conducted by preservice teachers during their student teaching internships in North Carolina public schools. The editor hopes that their work and observations will inspire and assist world language educators at all stages of their careers.

There has been a dearth of studies on teacher educators using action research to improve their own practice. This book is the first systematic study of a group of teachers examining and enhancing their own practice through the inquiry process of action research. This book presents a broad overview of a variety of methodologies that can be used to improve teacher preparation and professional development programs. It is a ‘must read’ book for those educators who are new to the college teaching profession and for those who are aspired to be outstanding and successful lecturers.

Teachers Investigate Their Work introduces the methods and concepts of action research through examples drawn from studies carried out by teachers. The book is arranged as a handbook with numerous sub-headings for easy reference and fourty-one practical methods and strategies to put into action, some of them flagged as suitable `starters'. Throughout the book, the authors draw on their international practical experience of action research, working in close collaboration with teachers. It is an essential guide for teachers, senior staff and co-ordinators of teacher professional development who are interested in investigating their own practice in order to improve it.

In this second edition of his best-selling volume The Action Research Guidebook, Richard Sagor provides updated tools and insights to guide the implementation of school-based research for student success. Ideal for teacher leaders and teacher teams, this practical guidebook features new examples, activities and leadership applications that reflect the recent growth of professional learning communities, wider acceptance of standards, and the need for more qualitative research. Sequentially organized to be used as you go, the book follows Sagor's four-stage process developed from his many years of experience training educators: clarifying visions/targets; articulating theory; implementing action and collecting data; and reflecting on data and planning informed action. Inside are numerous tables, charts, handouts, forms, and worksheets to demystify the action research process. This handbook will also be valuable to principals, counsellors, and other educators wishing to apply the action research process to school improvement.

This book is a straightforward, no-nonsense guide to a research method that can be used by educators to increase student learning, student self-esteem, and quality of school life in the classroom. This user-friendly book covers the principles and history of action research, ethical and legal considerations, methods for conducting both formal and informal action research, data collection methods, analysis and interpretation, action planning and initiation, and results evaluation. The author includes numerous examples, strategies, and illustrations that can be applied to elementary and secondary schools as well as university settings.