Teacher-researcher methodology: Themes, variations, and possibilities.

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Ann Duffy Harrington, Clinical Associate Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: This analysis of teacher research studies illustrates the variety of choices teachers make in exploring questions within their own classrooms. Teacher action research has a long and rich history (McFarland & Stansell, 1993; Olson, 1990), and there has been a recent renaissance of interest in teacher research (Baumann, Shockley-Bisplinghoff, & Allen, 1997; Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1993; Lytle, 2000). This resurgence has resulted in the publication of numerous collections of teacher-research reports (e.g., Bissex & Bullock, 1987; Donoahue, Van Tassell, & Patterson, 1996; Patterson, Santa, Short, & Smith, 1993), teacher-research studies published as full-length books (e.g., Allen, 1995; Allen, Michalove, & Shockley, 1993), and articles appearing in periodicals such as The Reading Teacher, Teacher Research: A Journal of Classroom Inquiry, and Language Arts. Although there are many excellent sources for selecting and applying specific methods in teacher-research studies (e.g., Brause & Mayher, 1991; Hopkins, 1993; Hubbard & Power, 1993, 1999; Mohr & Maclean, 1987; Sagor, 1992), we know much less about the methodological decisions teacher researchers actually make. In this article, we (a) summarize findings from a methodological analysis of published teacher-research studies, and (b) discuss what the results might suggest for the conduct of teacher-research investigations.

Additional Information

Publication
ReadingTeacher, 54, 608-615
Language: English
Date: 2001
Keywords
Teacher research, Teacher action research,

Email this document to