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Full-Text Articles in Education
Silencing Reading, Silencing The Boys: Using Action Research To Investigate Silent Reading Programs And Its Effects On Boys’ Literacy Skills, Rachel Velluto, Joanna Barbousas
Silencing Reading, Silencing The Boys: Using Action Research To Investigate Silent Reading Programs And Its Effects On Boys’ Literacy Skills, Rachel Velluto, Joanna Barbousas
Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research
Despite the vast amount of literature regarding boys and their underperformance in the literacy realm, only some research indicates that boys’ low literacy levels may be attributed to unchallenged literacy classroom practices. Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) is a free voluntary reading program in which students are expected to read (usually books) for a period of time. Observing an SSR period during the teaching practicum as a pre-service teacher, the unstructured nature of the lesson disengaged many of the boys. In the lesson, the students are expected to select a book from the library and read in silence for the duration …
Learning From Families: Pre-Service Teachers’ First Interactions With Parents, Diana Brannon
Learning From Families: Pre-Service Teachers’ First Interactions With Parents, Diana Brannon
Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research
Field experiences are practical ways for pre-service teacher education programs to provide their students experiences and exposure to schools, students, and communities similar to and different from ones that they have attended. The use of field experiences is commonplace in teacher preparation. These experiences provide hands-on application and practical experiences that cannot be replaced or matched by even the best education methods courses (Hammerness, Darling-Hammond, & Bransford, 2007). As Dodds (1989) explains, “Field experiences represent the closest juncture between formal teacher training in universities and on-thejob training in schools” (p. 81). Field experiences have been found to make significant contributions …
A Book Review - Voices From The Classroom: Performing Case Study Action Research, Nicholas D. Hartlep
A Book Review - Voices From The Classroom: Performing Case Study Action Research, Nicholas D. Hartlep
Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research
Voices from the Classroom is about how to perform case study action research. The book is 130 pages in length, and contains ten chapters. Written sequentially, each chapter is related to sections of an action research study. For instance, how to introduce the study (chapter 2); how to write a literature review (chapter 3); how to describe the setting, sampling, and participants (chapter 4); how to collect data (chapter 5); how to confirm the trustworthiness of the study (chapter 6); how to analyze data (chapter 7); how to write up the results (chapter 8); and how to discuss implications of …
Student-Centered Empowerment Of Teacher-Centered Practices: An Action Research Project, Nicolas Clegorne, Roland Mitchell
Student-Centered Empowerment Of Teacher-Centered Practices: An Action Research Project, Nicolas Clegorne, Roland Mitchell
Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research
This action research reflects a narrative inquiry into the age-old debate concerning the relationship between theory and practice in educational settings. The unique perspective we add to this discussion is our distinct vantages. One researcher is a faculty member and the other is a student-affairs practitioner both working in a large public university. The insights we gleaned from this inquiry were drawn from our participant observation of a Foundations of Higher Education course. The course enrolled 22 students (many of whom worked full-time as student affairs practitioners) and we challenged them to engage theoretically dense material with the expressed aim …
Drawings As A Component Of Triangulated Assessment, Charlotte A. Otto, Susan A. Everett, Gail R. Luera, Christopher F.J. Burke
Drawings As A Component Of Triangulated Assessment, Charlotte A. Otto, Susan A. Everett, Gail R. Luera, Christopher F.J. Burke
Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research
Action research (AR) in an educational setting as described by Tillotson (2000) is an approach to “classroom-based problems” or “specific school issues” (p. 31). His process involves identification of the issue or problem, development and implementation of an action plan, gathering and interpreting data, sharing the results within the community, and “action planning” as a cyclical endeavor (Tillotson, 2000, p. 32). AR is utilized as a key component of developing pre-service teachers in the University of Michigan-Dearborn certification program. Illustrating the five components of Tillotson’s approach, pre-service elementary teachers develop and analyze pre-assessments of K-8 student knowledge about a specific …
Pre-Service Teachers And Participatory Action Research: Students, Community, And Action, Paul Mencke
Pre-Service Teachers And Participatory Action Research: Students, Community, And Action, Paul Mencke
Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research
Participatory Action Research (PAR) has a history of empowerment, transformation, and healing (McIntyre, 2008). Its limited use in teacher education must be addressed, and this study shows pre-service teachers’ overwhelming enjoyment in completing a PAR project. An outline of classroom methods demonstrates how the project was implemented, and 41 student responses are analyzed from a secondary Community and Cultural Context of Education course. Findings indicate 73% concluded PAR was great or enjoyable, and included are reflections about transformational experiences, reasons for not enjoying PAR, and ideas to improve the project. Implications for continued study suggest a need for further inquiry …
Colliding Theories And Power Differentials: A Cautionary Tale Of Conducting Action Research While Student Teaching, Jennifer M. Conner-Zachocki, Danielle Dias
Colliding Theories And Power Differentials: A Cautionary Tale Of Conducting Action Research While Student Teaching, Jennifer M. Conner-Zachocki, Danielle Dias
Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research
Accounts of student teachers engaging in action research are abundant. Few of those accounts, however, provide insights into the challenges that this context might pose for an action researcher. Using narrative research methods, this study shares the story of one pre-service elementary education teacher who, with the permission of her supervising teacher and student teaching partner, made plans to teach a New Literacies Studies unit during her fourth grade student teaching placement and engage in action research in order to reflect on teaching and learning during that unit. Ultimately, philosophical tensions underpinning the student teacher and supervising’s understandings of literacy …
Request In The Secondary History Classroom: How Does The Introduction Of A Purposeful Reading Technique Effect Comprehension Of Text?, Jeffery Peleaux, Jason Endacott
Request In The Secondary History Classroom: How Does The Introduction Of A Purposeful Reading Technique Effect Comprehension Of Text?, Jeffery Peleaux, Jason Endacott
Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research
This quantitative, action research study sought to explore the effects of introducing the ReQuest reading comprehension technique to students who are accustomed to using a world history textbook and the initiate-respond-evaluate questioning pattern to acquire basic historical information. Data collected from a series of paired sample quiz scores indicates that the ReQuest method shows promise as part of a purposeful, reciprocal teaching method when reading comprehension of expository text is the explicit goal of the classroom teacher. The results of this exploratory study support the literature on the use of explicitly taught reading strategies and suggests that further investigation of …
Editorial Introduction, Kenneth Fasching-Varner, Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell, Tynisha Meidl, Christopher Meidl
Editorial Introduction, Kenneth Fasching-Varner, Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell, Tynisha Meidl, Christopher Meidl
Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research
This special edition seeks to challenge the perspective of research surrounding preservice teachers, shifting from a focus on preservice teachers to a focus on the work in which pre-service teachers are themselves engaged. As guest editors of this special edition, we work with pre-service teachers in a variety of institutional contexts and configurations ranging from traditional undergraduate preservice teachers to accelerated graduate student pre-service teacher candidates, and from a small liberal-arts to large research intensive institutions.
University-Based Collaborative Pre-Service-Mentor Teacher Teams: A Model For Classroom-Based Inquiry, Ronald Beebe, Diane Corrigan
University-Based Collaborative Pre-Service-Mentor Teacher Teams: A Model For Classroom-Based Inquiry, Ronald Beebe, Diane Corrigan
Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research
Current literature indicates classroom inquiry not only enhances the training of pre-service teachers but also increases the effectiveness of mentor teachers and improves student learning. However, designing an effective collaborative model has met with less success. This study examined the experiences of ten pre-service/mentor teacher teams in urban schools who participated in designing and implementing collaborative classroom-based research conducted in their classroom. The model sought to address issues noted in previous studies related to equal participation and anxiety surrounding the research process. Findings suggest that a university supported model employing a reflective practitioner approach enhances collaboration and promotes positive results …
Linking Action Research To Response To Intervention (Rti): The Strategy Implementation Project, David Hoppey
Linking Action Research To Response To Intervention (Rti): The Strategy Implementation Project, David Hoppey
Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research
This paper showcases how one teacher preparation program embedded action research within the Response to Intervention (RtI) model. This integration helped preservice teachers gain a deeper knowledge of RtI key concepts and pedagogical decision making for meeting diverse students’ needs. Examples from a course assignment are provided to demonstrate how an action research framework helped cultivate the professional knowledge and skills needed to understand and successfully implement the RtI decision-making process. A brief discussion and implications for teacher preparation programs are also shared.
Analysis Of Misconceptions In High School Mathematics, Lauren C. Schnepper, Leah P. Mccoy
Analysis Of Misconceptions In High School Mathematics, Lauren C. Schnepper, Leah P. Mccoy
Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research
Research on teachers’ ability to identify and address student “errors” asserts that because many students who are not proficient in basic math skills demonstrate numerous mathematics misconceptions, it is essential for teachers to recognize various misconceptions when adjusting instruction (Riccomini, 2005). The research of Stefanich and Rokusek (1992) affirms that when a pattern of error was diagnosed and instruction was directed to remediate the incorrect procedure, then new learning could take place quickly, and retention appeared to be long-term. Correspondingly, a study by Wilcox and Zielinski (1997) concluded that assessment helped teachers gain better insights into their students’ understanding, including …
Editorial Introduction, Catherine F. Compton-Lilly
Editorial Introduction, Catherine F. Compton-Lilly
Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research
Welcome to Volume 15, number 2 of Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research! As we end a decade and a half of publication, we are proud to present a rich set of articles that highlight educators’ voices and knowledge.
Finnish Mathematics Teachers Talk About Restructuring Practice, Ann-Sofi Röj-Lindberg
Finnish Mathematics Teachers Talk About Restructuring Practice, Ann-Sofi Röj-Lindberg
Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research
The case study presented in this article addresses how five Finnish mathematics teachers, colleagues in a Swedish speaking teacher training school, talked about on-going restructuring of their teaching and learning practices in terms of experiences and expectations five months into an action research process that they initiated in the early 1990s. In this action research the teachers were the agents of change (Leder, 1989); I joined the process as an outsider researcher.
Communicative Elements Of Action Research, Thomas G. Ryan
Communicative Elements Of Action Research, Thomas G. Ryan
Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research
This review considers human communications as utilized within a research design; in this case collaborative action research (CAR), a derivative of action research (AR), to achieve outcomes that change, and move participants forward. The association between AR and CAR is a deliberate attempt by the author to draw attention to communicative actions within each mode. Communication herein emerges via two channels, the nonverbal and verbal which combine to produce meaning in AR and CAR as researchers investigate. CAR was defined via numerous understandings of AR which were presented as a means to develop professionally. AR as reflective practice is presented, …
Leveraging Lighting Color, Temperature And Luminosity For Improving Classroom Learning:, Michael Seth Mott, Teresa R. Thomas, Jodie L. Burnette
Leveraging Lighting Color, Temperature And Luminosity For Improving Classroom Learning:, Michael Seth Mott, Teresa R. Thomas, Jodie L. Burnette
Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research
This short article addresses a preliminary exploration of a third grade teachers’ action research applied to the use of a dynamic lighting system for improving educational performance in the classroom. Dynamic lighting offers teachers’ four light settings: focus, energy, calm, and normal. Prior research has revealed a positive relationship between dynamic light use and student cognition, motivation and concentration. What is not known is how a teacher should make use of the four settings throughout the day during all of the activities, content-area learning, and transitions in students’ experience. Teacher data (journal entries) was collected for one year. Case study …
The Value Of Why For Student And Teacher Learning, Jody Guarino, Marie Sykes, Rossella Santagata
The Value Of Why For Student And Teacher Learning, Jody Guarino, Marie Sykes, Rossella Santagata
Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research
We believe teaching for understanding begins with the development of a few essential orientations. Teachers must have an appreciation for student-centered mathematics teaching, valuing an approach that builds on student thinking. In addition, teachers must appreciate the complexity of students’ mathematical thinking and ideas. Once these orientations are in place we can attend to student thinking in ways that draw inferences about their understanding (Carpenter, Fennema, Peterson & Carey, 1988; Ma, 1999) and use those inferences to further probe, uncover and extend the complexities of student thinking. We contend this is possible through the value of “why.” Asking “why?” when …
The Impact Of Blogging On Student Communication About Books, Brittany M. Albaugh
The Impact Of Blogging On Student Communication About Books, Brittany M. Albaugh
Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research
The purpose of this research was to investigate how the use of blogging in the language arts classroom influences student communication about independent reading novels. I was motivated to do this study by witnessing the enthusiasm with which my students discussed technology as well as their eagerness to use those resources to create technologically sound learning experiences. That inspired me to investigate socially-driven technology. Our classroom blog and accompanying blog comments were the primary sources of data collection for this study. Theories that helped frame this study include Social Constructivism and Transactional/Reader Response. The results of this study indicated that …
Digging Deeper Into The Culture Of Writing: Do Mentor Texts Inspire Male Students To Write?, Natalie Judith Gericke, Lindsay Gloria Salmon
Digging Deeper Into The Culture Of Writing: Do Mentor Texts Inspire Male Students To Write?, Natalie Judith Gericke, Lindsay Gloria Salmon
Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research
In a growing trend in schools across the country, girls are out-performing boys in the area of literacy. Some researchers would support a disconnection regarding specific topics taught in the literacy curriculum and the interests of boys (Gurian & Stevens, 2004). In our kindergarten and first grade classrooms, we have observed a difference in the participation between boys verses girls during writer’s workshop. In this article, we share our experiences, as two primary teachers, in utilizing mentor texts and mini-lessons to teach writing to our male kindergarten and first grade students. We will share research on Early Emergent literacy and …