Digging Deeper Into Action Research : A Teacher Inquirer's Field Guide

Take your great idea to the next level with action researchHow—and when—can we find time to conduct meaningful action research?Great ideas and thought-provoking questions can only blossom through methodical inquiry.Nancy Fichtman Dana steps in as your action-research coach and leads you on a journey through wonderings to real change in your classroom.From framing your question to presenting your research, this guide will encourage, challenge, and ultimately lead you through the action research process.Teachers, students, and action-research coaches alike will learn how to:• Reframe initial wonderings into pointed inquiries• Creatively analyze both qualitative and quantitative data• Draw action-research topics out of ordinary discussions with colleagues• Share findings with others to help them improve as wellWith real-life vignettes, self-guided worksheets, and an included DVD, Digging Deeper into Action Research is your go-to guide each time you embark on a new journey toward professional growth. "This field guide will undoubtedly make a valuable contribution to the larger project of practitioners engaged in the work of reflecting on, studying, and interrogating their own practice in order ultimately to improve the social life of classrooms and the learning opportunities and life chances of children."—Marilyn Cochran-Smith, Cawthorne Professor of Teacher EducationBoston College"This is THE book to read for any educator who ever found themselves asking, 'What just happened?!?' If you like finding your own solutions to your teaching problems, this is the key to your freedom and to satisfaction in your teaching career!"—Mary K.Culver, Associate Clinical ProfessorNorthern Arizona University