Discovering Researcher Subjectivities, Perceptions, and Biases: A Critical Examination of Myths, Metaphors, and Meanings Inherent in University-School Collaborative Action Research Projects (original) (raw)
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Florida Journal of Educational Research, 2019
This inquiry explores the impact of an action research course, taught at a university laboratory school, on the teachers involved as researchers, professionals, and practitioners. Through action research coursework and project design, teachers in this project worked together to plan, conduct, and analyze their individual action research projects over the course of a 15-week semester. Guided by the question: "What is the impact of an action research course experience on teachers' perceptions of their role as researchers and practitioners?" this manuscript brings together teachers' written reflections to shed light on the empowering nature of teacher research.
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Beginning teachers' experiences in university-based teacher preparation are rapidly replaced by the norms and expectations of the school setting and teachers with whom they work. To interrupt this pattern by which new teachers are pulled from the practices they have learned at the university, teachers must be encouraged to reflect about their teaching through action research, a process by which a teacher studies his or her own actions in the classroom as a means to improve practice. To explore the possibility of collaborative action research-action research done in teams of at least two-a study examined 35 apprentice English teachers and 22 mentor teachers. Data was collected from journals of both apprentices and mentors, and in the form of observation notes by university faculty, self-assessment, and interviews. Each of the studies began with a guiding question generated by the research group and directly related to instruction such as, "Are guided essays more effective than nonguided?" or "Will creative role playing increase comprehension?" Findings showed five recurrent themes concerning teacher attitudes toward data collected: (1) research questions based on attempts to improve teaching; (2) fear about conducting research; (3) adverse to using their students as potential pawns; (4) confusion over qualitative data collection and analysis; and (5) lack of time and commitment to formal reporting of results. Results revealed two major effects on participants substantiated by triangulation of the data: sustained interaction with peers increased, and the level and quantity of reflection on practice increased. (A table lists action research projects.) (TB)
Opinion Article Teacher-research: Agency of Practical Knowledge and Professional Development
Journal of Language and Education, 2020
Educational research has generally attracted negative criticism for its generalisability, contextual independence, and inadequacy in addressing teachers' practical problems in their unique educational settings. Moreover, as classrooms are always complicated environments, teachers are therefore encouraged to become active researchers of their own classrooms in order to maximize their instructional performance and provide optimal learning opportunities for their students within their particular context. To promote teachers' self-inquiry into their own practices, this paper will first define what teacher research is, followed by arguments for its need and significance in the teaching profession. Suggestions to help teachers become engaged in classroom inquiry are provided after commonly reported difficulties are reviewed. This paper is expected to provide considerable insights for classroom teachers as well as school administrators in their search for practical, concrete, and contextually-rich knowledge.
Action research is perceived as a trail towards better student achievement. This track may be achieved through the reflective nature instilled in the teacher that sparks initiatives to promote better classroom practices in the aspects of pedagogy, assessment, and parental involvement. Ergo, to determine the most ideal methods for research fluency, certain areas of the respondents' profile and expertise must first be analyzed. These include the years of tenure as an educator, the overall personal and professional profile, among many more facets.
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Educational Researcher, 1999
The current wave of interest in teacher research in the United States is now a little more than a decade old. In this article, we identify what we see as the seminal writings that marked the latest renewal of interest in teacher research and other forms of practitioner inquiry. 1 We describe intellectual traditions and educational projects out of which these writings emerged as well as major publishers and professional communities that nurtured the movement. Then we suggest that five major trends characterize the current teacher research movement in the United States: (1) the prominence of teacher research and inquiry communities in preservice teacher education, professional development, and school reform; (2) the development of conceptual frameworks for teacher research that may be thought of as social inquiry, ways of knowing in communities, and practical inquiry; (3) the dissemination of teacher research at and beyond the local level; (4) the emergence of critique of the teacher research movement on epistemological, methodological, and critical grounds; and (5) the transformative possibilities of teacher research for university cultures. In conclusion, we make recommendations for the next decade based on our own understandings and experiences with teacher research and the teacher research movement.