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Practical Action Research
A Collection of Articles
Second Edition
Edited by:
Other Titles in:
Continuing Professional Development | Decision Making Tools | Leadership & Management
Continuing Professional Development | Decision Making Tools | Leadership & Management
November 2008 | 248 pages | Corwin
Practical Action Research, Second Edition is a compilation of critical commentaries that offer practical steps for understanding and implementing action research. The contributors demonstrate how educators can reflect, collect data, and create alternative ways to improve their practice in the classroom and schoolwide. Through the voices of experts from the field, the book provides concrete examples of how action research can transform educational challenges into solutions. This updated edition includes seven new articles, along with a series of inspiring case studies that demonstrate how action research can be used to improve a variety of school situations.
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Editor
About the Contributors
Part I. Defining Action Research
Kate Ferguson-Patrick
1. Writers Develop Skills Through Collaboration: An Action Research Approach
Ken Zeichner
2. Educational Action Research
Part II. Understanding Action Research
Helen Meyer, Bennyce Hamilton, Steve Kroeger, Stephanie Stewart, Mary Brydon-Miller
3. The Unexpected Journey: Renewing Our Commitment to Students Through Educational Action Research
Emily F. Calhoun
4. Action Research: Three Approaches
Margo S. O’Neill
Exemplary Project: The Effectiveness of Spalding Instruction for Spelling Performance
Lori Grant
Exemplary Project: The Business Managers’ Network: Action Research to Improve Business Capacities of Colorado Charter Schools
Heidi Mitchell
Exemplary Project: Improving Schoolwide Communication Through a New School Web Site: Responsive Action Research
Part III. Implementing Action Research
Eleanor A. Perry
5. Creating a School for David: A Principal’s Narrative
Lillian Thomas-Wilson
Exemplary Project: Proactive Action Research to Build Leadership for a Charter School’s Success
Betsy Apolito
Exemplary Project: Examining the Impact of External Building Coaches on Teachers
Jill Gaitens
Exemplary Project: Implementing Strategies to Reduce Dropout Rates of At-Risk Youth in an Online Learning Environment
Carole Schulte Johnson, Inga Kromann-Kelly
6. Using Action Research to Assess Instruction
Barbara J. Darroch
Exemplary Project: Singapore Math: Action Research on a Curriculum Change, Student Achievement, and Teacher Efficacy
Tatyana Chayka
Exemplary Project: Increasing Math Achievement of Title 1 Middle School Students
Emily F. Calhoun
7. Action Research for School Improvement
Joshua Jordan
Exemplary Project: Action Research on Middle School Mathematics Instruction Differentiated by Student Gender
Cathy Caro-Bruce, Jennifer McCreadie
8. What Happens When a School District Supports Action Research
Ricci Rodriquez-Elkins
Exemplary Project: Professional Development as a Tool to Enhance Teacher Quality in Charter Schools
Christine L. Salisbury, Linda L. Wilson, Tabetha J. Swartz, Mary M. Palombaro, Jami Wassel
9. Using Action Research to Solve Instructional Challenges in Inclusive Elementary School Settings
Kelli Kreienkamp
Exemplary Project: Math Fact Memorization in a Highly Sequenced Elementary Mathematics Curriculum
Douglas Cheney
10. Using Action Research as a Collaborative Process to Enhance Educators’ and Families’ Knowledge and Skills for Youth With Emotional or Behavioral Disorders
Verree Laughlin
Exemplary Project: Building Blocks to Healthy Emotions: A Parenting Program to Improve the Emotional Health of Low-Income Children
Douglas E. Arnold
11. Action Research in Action: Curricular Articulation and Integrated Instruction
Part IV. Studying Action Research
Eva Espido Bello
Exemplary Project: Initiating a Collaborative Action Research Project: From Choosing a School to Planning the Work on an Issue
Ronald Bergez
Exemplary Project: Self-Reflection in Essay Writing: An Action Research Project
Brenda M. Capobianco, Allen Feldman
12. Promoting Quality for Teacher Action Research: Lessons Learned From Science Teachers’ Action Research
Lew Allen, Emily F. Calhoun
13. Schoolwide Action Research: Findings From Six Years of Study
Steve Collins
14. Ecology and Ethics in Participatory Collaborative Action Research: An Argument for the Authentic Participation of Students in Educational Research
Index
"Schoolwide renewal and improvement occurs only when a group of dedicated professionals decide to study and reflect on what they are doing and how it affects the students in their school and classrooms. Schmuck provides multiple examples of how school professionals use action research in their quest for improving the school experience for children."
Exchange Pointe International
