Using Research To Improve Teaching

Given the increased accountability at the college and university level, one of the most promising ways for faculty at institutions of higher education to improve their teaching is to capitalize upon their skills as researchers. This book is a step-by-step guide for doing research to inform and improve teaching and learning. With background and instruction about how to engage in these methodologies—including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods—Doing Research to Improve Teaching and Learning provides examples across disciplines of how to use one's research skills to improve teaching. This valuable resource equips faculty with the skills to collect and use different types of research evidence to improve teaching and learning in any college and university classroom. Special Features: Chapter openers highlight the questions and issues that will be addressed in each chapter. Recurring text boxes provide authentic examples from actual research studies, student work, and instructor reflections. Coverage of challenges, key successes, and lessons learned from classroom research presents a nuanced and complete understanding of the process.

Action Research: Using Strategic Inquiry to Improve Teaching and Learning is a core text for the Action Research course in Education. The proposed text seeks to address the needs of practitioners as it will be primarily written for use within a graduate level action research class. It will be oriented towards proactive planning as part of an organized, efficient process for developing and conducting an action research study. The book will be organized around implementation of the action research process using self-regulatory principles, which is characterized by four phases: task definition, goal setting and planning, enacting, and adapting. These four phases will be addressed as the learner considers what action research encompasses and a topic to be studied, then proceeds to establish a plan and enact it. This overall process is organized as can be seen in the Table of Contents. Michael Putnam and Tracy Rock will highlight methods and processes that incorporate formative data that is readily available to teachers, facilitating associations between classroom instruction and the action research process. The text will also reinforce how action research can improve the teaching and learning process by reinforcing or changing perceptions about the use of informal data, including anecdotal notes or observations, in the research process.

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.

Love To Teach: Research and Resources for every classroom is an exciting book that combines the latest educational research with examples of what this can look like in the classroom. Filled with research-informed ideas to support all teachers and leaders in both Primary and Secondary this book would be great for NQTs to more experienced teachers and leaders alike. The educational research is presented in a format which is accessible, helpful and informative and will help inform educators about cutting-edge research in practical and applicable ways. The practical resources are easily adaptable and ready to be implemented in any classroom and are grounded in Kate's own classroom practice. 'Written with the same passion, reflection and drive that runs through everything Kate does, Love To Teach is a real gem. Kate explores a huge range of practical pick-up-and-use strategies rooted deeply in educational research. The book is an equal balance between thought-provoking and extremely useful. Love to Teach is a great resource for all teachers who are committed to improving their practice and increasing their impact upon the futures of the young people they teach.' -- Sarah Findlater Secondary Principal at Gems First Point School Dubai. Author and Series Editor of the Bloomsbury CPD Library @msfindlater

Action Research: Using Strategic Inquiry to Improve Teaching and Learning helps educators use research to guide decision-making and determine the effectiveness of various instructional strategies. The book leads the reader through the action research process using a model of self-regulation, which focuses on task definition, goal setting and planning, enacting research, and adaption. Written specifically for educators who may not feel prepared to measure the impact of interventions on student learning outcomes, the book provides very practical and useful tools, containing specific examples that are relevant to teachers’ everyday reality. The text also reinforces how action research can improve the teaching and learning process by reinforcing or changing perceptions about the use of informal data, including anecdotal notes or observations, in the research process.

As professionals, teachers can become more effective and powerful by developing the skills to recognize scientifically based practice and, when the evidence is not available, use some basic research concepts to draw conclusions on their own. This paper offers a primer for those skills that will allow teachers to become independent evaluators of educational research.

Action research is increasingly used as a means for teachers to improve their instruction, yet for many the idea of doing "research" can be somewhat intimidating. Using Action Research to Improve Instruction offers a comprehensive, easy-to-understand approach to action research in classroom settings. This engaging and accessible guide is grounded in sources of data readily available to teachers, such as classroom observations, student writing, surveys, interviews, and tests. Organized to mirror the action research process, the highly interactive format prompts readers to discover a focus, create research questions, address design and methodology, collect information, conduct data analysis, communicate the results, and to generate evidence-based teaching strategies. Engaging in these decision-making processes builds the skills essential to action research and promotes a deeper understanding of teaching practice. Special Features Include: -An Interactive Text -Reflection Questions and Activity Prompts -A Sample Action Research Report -Numerous Examples and Practice Examples -Numbered Sections for Cross Referencing This original text is a must-read for teachers interested in how they can use their current knowledge of instruction and assessment to meaningfully engage in action research.