Education Commons^™

Reflective Practices As The Cornerstone For Teacher Development In The 21st Century: Lessons From Educators’ Action Research Projects, Musa Saimon, Fredrick Mtenzi

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

Research has shown that reflective practices improve teaching practices, which makes them valuable in the 21st century where the teaching context is complex due to increasing technological innovations and diversity among learners. However, it is hardly practiced among teachers. As a result, the present study aims at highlighting how reflective practices could improve teaching practices in a challenging context. The study adopted a Self-Study qualitative research approach. The data were collected through reflection, observation, and interviews from two collaborating researchers, primary school teachers, and students. Data were analyzed thematically. Findings show that reflective practices improve four main aspects of teaching …

Employing Notetaking Technique To Improve Vietnamese English Specialized Students' Listening To News, Duong Nguyen

English Language Institute

This research aims at demonstrating the effectiveness of note-taking technique to improve Vietnamese English specialized students’ ability to listen to authentic sources. Action research is employed for this paper, combining with different data collection methods including T-test, questionnaire, and teaching journals. This primarily explains some challenges students may face when they listen to authentic sources and how taking notes can help mitigate those obstacles.

From Training To Improving Classroom Practices: Learning From School Improvement Program Intervention In A Mountainous Public Secondary School In Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, Abdul Wali Khan

Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Working Paper Series

This study reports learning from a professional development (PD) session and classroom action research from an English class conducted in the mountainous northern part of Pakistan. The researcher got training from Professional Development Centre North (PDCN) as a member of the Quality Assurance Team and then conducted a five-day workshop for teachers on various general teaching techniques, lesson planning, writing reflections/portfolios and classroom management. After the sessions, the teachers applied these knowledge and skills in their respective classes, and English teachers did action research with the researcher to improve the language skills of grade 7 students for three cycles. Pre- …

The Impact Of Station Rotations In 2nd Grade Reading, Rebecca Draayer

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Selecting a classroom approach which engages students and prepares them for success can be challenging for teachers. Educators have to take into account resources available for instruction as well as the demographics of their classroom. This action research study followed second grade students over a four-month period in a reading classroom that utilized the station rotation approach of blended learning. The reason for selecting the station rotation model of blended learning was to improve students' reading scores. It was a goal of this action research to see if a more active approach to teaching would help improve student reading skills. …

Ripple Effects: How Teacher Action Research On Culturally Relevant Education Can Promote Systemic Change, Hillary Parkhouse, Julie Gorlewski, Jesse Senechal, Chu Yi Lu Qiu

Teaching and Learning Publications

Teacher action research has been shown to both promote professional growth in teachers as well as produce gains for students. However, to date, little research has examined how action research might contribute to systemic changes in schools and school districts. This qualitative study of six teachers from various districts, subject areas, and grade levels, illustrates how action research can have simultaneous impacts on teachers, their students, and their schools and districts. The teacher action research projects all focused on culturally relevant education and the pursuit of equity. Impacts included teachers’ deepened understandings of equity and inclusivity; students’ diversity awareness, positive …

A Peer Review Of Teaching Benchmark Portfolio For Mued 403 Student Teaching Seminar, Danni Gilbert

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This portfolio examines the course planning and delivery of MUED 403—Student Teaching Seminar. Taken concurrently in the final semester of the music education degree with full-time student teaching field experiences, in addition to fulfilling the ACE 10 requirement, this course provides an analysis of PK-12 music teaching with special attention to teacher certification, selected legal aspects of education, current issues in education, and professional communication. I chose this course for the Peer Review of Teaching Project to determine whether undergraduate music education students could successfully complete an action research project during their student teaching semester and if so, whether the …

Online School Assessments: Lessons From The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kavita Sanghvi

Teacher India

Kavita Sanghvi shares findings from an action research project aimed at understanding how students responded to online assessments administered by their school during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Biblioguidance Approach To Understanding And Developing Adolescents’ Social-Emotional Competence In The Health Education Classroom: A Formative Research Study, Jennifer R. Banas, Julia Valley, Amina Chaudhri

Health Sciences and Physical Education Faculty Publications

Purpose

Though the benefits of social-emotional competence (SEC) are well-recognized, measuring it and designing appropriately matched interventions remains elusive and methodologically challenging. This paper shares formative research designed to uncover the SEC of one secondary school health teacher's students and to help her make evidence-based curricular and instructional decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

Inspired by bibliguidance (or bibliotherapeutic) approaches to well-being, the researchers and teacher developed a fiction literature curriculum intended to foster SEC and health literacy skills. A mixed-method approach was used to gather and analyze data from 133 students and a teacher. A survey and journal entries embedded into the curriculum, …

Educating For Global Competence: Co-Constructing Outcomes In The Field: An Action Research Project, Kristina A. Van Winkle

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Capacity building for globally competent educators is a 21st Century imperative to address contemporary complex and constantly changing challenges. This action research project is grounded in positive psychology, positive organizational scholarship, relational cultural theory, and relational leadership practices. It sought to identify adaptive challenges educators face as they try to integrate globally competent teaching practices into their curricula, demonstrate learning and growth experienced by the educators in this project, and provide guidance and solutions to the challenges globally competent educators face. Six educators participated in this three-phase project, which included focus groups, reflective journal entries, and an exit interview. Data …

A History Of Distrust: How Knowing The Law Impacts African American Males' Perceptions Of Police Encounters, Glynell R. Horn Jr.

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

From its inception American Law Enforcement was built from a racially motivated system in which African Americans were subject to discriminatory treatment. Unfortunately, that treatment still persists in modern day policing, which is highlighted by the deaths of Eric Garner and George Floyd to name a few. There is no surprise that law enforcement needs to improve trust with the African American community; however there is a dire need for a new approach. This study is unique because unlike previous research this study focuses solely on African American males that reside in disenfranchised communities that are most at risk for …

Shifting Paradigms: Using Action Research To Redefine Engagement In Faith Formation In Unitarian Universalism, Amy Huntereece

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The issues that this research addressed were the changes related to engagement in religious education (RE) in the Unitarian Universalist (UU) church in the past several decades. To address this problem, the purpose of this research was to innovatively problem-solve with other religious professionals and consider how to redefine engagement to support families in their faith formation. The research aims to answer the question: How could UU RE professionals more effectively engage families in faith formation opportunities designed to meet the desired outcomes of RE parents/caregivers? To gather data, interviews with seven Millennial and Generation X parents/caregivers from the Baja …