The Reflective Educator's Guide to Classroom Research: Learning to Teach and Teaching to Learn Through Practitioner Inquiry

Transform your teaching practice with this powerful approach to professional growth! Teacher inquiry can play a critical role in professional staff development across all grade levels and subject areas. Now this updated bestseller offers both an in-depth examination of teacher inquiry as well as step-by-step instructions, giving prospective and practicing teachers everything they need to engage in this vital process. Featuring helpful exercises in every chapter, this how-to guide to action research takes teachers through each stage of the process: formulating a research question, collaborating with others, collecting data, analyzing data, writing and presenting classroom research, and assessing the quality of the work. The authors also demonstrate the relationship between teacher inquiry and differentiated instruction, data-driven decision making, progress monitoring, and Response to Intervention. This revised edition includes An updated section about professional learning communities The latest data collection methods, including digital photos, video, blogging, and assessment measures Simplified models for documenting inquiry results Added examples from middle and high school settings A new chapter on assessing inquiry projects By learning to make the most of this essential tool, teachers can enhance their instruction and contribute significantly to improved student achievement!

Table of Contents:
Foreword to the Second Edition by Gene Thompson-Grove Foreword to the First Edition by Ann Lieberman Preface Acknowledgments About the Authors 1. Teacher Inquiry Defined 2. The Start of Your Journey: Finding a Wondering 3. To Collaborate or Not to Collaborate: That Is the Question! 4. Developing a Research Plan: Making Inquiry a Part of Your Teaching Practice 5. Finding Your Findings: Data Analysis 6. Extending Your Learning: The Inquiry Write-Up 7. Becoming the Best Teacher and Teacher Researcher You Can Be: Assessing the Quality of Your Own and Others' Inquiry 8. The End of Your Journey: Making Your Inquiry Public References Index

About the Author :
Nancy Fichtman Dana is currently professor of education in the School of Teaching and Learning at the University of Florida, Gainesville. She began her career in education as an elementary school teacher in Hannibal Central Schools, New York. Since earning her PhD from Florida State University in 1991, she has been a passionate advocate for teacher inquiry and has worked extensively in supporting schools, districts and universities in implementing powerful programs of job-embedded professional development through inquiry across the United States and in several countries, including China, South Korea, Belgium, Portugal, The Netherlands, Slovenia, and Estonia. She has published ten books and over 100 articles in professional journals and edited books focused on her research exploring teacher and principal professional development and practitioner inquiry. Dana has received many honors, including the Association of Teacher Educator’s Distinguished Research in Teacher Education Award and the National Staff Development Council (now Learning Forward) Book of the Year Award, both honoring Dana and Yendol-Hoppey’s work related to practitioner inquiry. Diane Yendol-Hoppey is a professor of education and dean in the College of Education and Human Services at the University of North Florida. Prior to her appointment at the University of North Florida, she served as the associate dean of educator preparation and partnerships at the University of South Florida, director of the Benedum Collaborative at West Virginia University and taught for many years at the University of Florida where she was the evaluator of numerous district, state, and national professional development efforts. Before beginning her work in higher education, Diane spent 13 years as an elementary school teacher in Pennsylvania and Maryland. She holds a PhD in curriculum and instruction from The Pennsylvania State University. Diane’s current work explores national and international research focusing on teacher education clinical practice, job-embedded professional learning, and teacher leadership. Diane received the AERA Division K Early Career Research Award for her ongoing commitment to researching innovative approaches to professional development. She has published six books and over 60 articles in professional journals.

Review :
"Like all illuminating teacher inquiry, this book asks relevant and intriguing questions, the very questions teacher researchers ask most often. The authors offer a step-by-step guide to answering those questions, deeply grounded in the work of elementary, middle, and high school teacher researchers." "Whether you are a preservice, beginning, or veteran teacher or teacher educator, this is the perfect resource for deepening your understanding of teacher inquiry." "Makes classroom-based research understandable and doable as an integral part of teaching. From finding a wondering to developing a research plan to data analysis and sharing findings, the authors support teacher researchers at all levels of experience."