Introduction to Critical Reflection and Action for Teacher Researchers

Introduction to Critical Reflection and Action for Teacher Researchers
Author: Bernie Sullivan
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2016-04-28
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1317435117

Introduction to Critical Reflection and Action for Teacher Researchers provides crucial direction for educators looking to improve their teaching and maximise learning. While many students can grasp the basic elements of researching their practice and can write about practitioner research, some need guidance and assistance to reflect meaningfully on their teaching practice so as to articulate their educational values. This book provides this guidance. By exploring how to engage in an authentic, practical and personalised framework, the book encourages critical reflection and action on educational practice. Moving through the process of reflecting on practice, engaging in critical thinking and planning and taking action, it helps the reader to subsequently generate educational theory from their own personal learning. Examples from the authors’ experiences illustrate the issues raised in each section, with ‘Pause and Reflect’ activities, guidelines for conducting a research project and annotated further reading available for every chapter. Introduction to Critical Reflection and Action for Teacher Researchers is based on the idea that reflection is in itself a deliberate action and something we must live - it is key to understanding our practice and is a core component of action research. This book is a valuable guide for teachers, trainee teachers and researchers interested in reflecting on and enhancing their teaching practice.

Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher

Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher
Author: Stephen D. Brookfield
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 311
Release: 2017-02-13
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1119049709

A practical guide to the essential practice that builds better teachers. Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher is the landmark guide to critical reflection, providing expert insight and practical tools to facilitate a journey of constructive self-critique. Stephen Brookfield shows how you can uncover and assess your assumptions about practice by viewing them through the lens of your students' eyes, your colleagues' perceptions, relevant theory and research, and your own personal experience. Practicing critical reflection will help you… Align your teaching with desired student outcomes See your practice from new perspectives Engage learners via multiple teaching formats Understand and manage classroom power dynamics Model critical thinking for your students Manage the complex rhythms of diverse classrooms This fully revised second edition features a wealth of new material, including new chapters on critical reflection in the context of social media, teaching race and racism, leadership in a critically reflective key, and team teaching as critical reflection. In addition, all chapters have been thoroughly updated and expanded to align with today's classrooms, whether online or face-to-face, in large lecture formats or small groups. In his own personal voice Stephen Brookfield draws from over 45 years of experience to illustrate the clear benefits of critical reflection. Assumptions guide practice and only when we base our actions on accurate assumptions will we achieve the results we want. Educators with the courage to challenge their own assumptions in an effort to improve learning are the invaluable role models our students need. Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher provides the foundational information and practical tools that help teachers reach their true potential.

The Reflective Educator’s Guide to Professional Development

The Reflective Educator’s Guide to Professional Development
Author: Nancy Fichtman Dana
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2008-05-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1452239258

"A tool box overflowing with ideas that will help every staff developer craft a school culture hospitable to adult and student learning." —Roland S. Barth, Author, Lessons Learned "The book speaks to many audiences, including instructional coaches, PLC leaders, action researchers and group leaders, and university professors working with action researchers and PLCs." —Gail Ritchie, Coleader, Teacher Researcher Network Fairfax County Public Schools, VA "A terrific resource for connecting teacher networks and action research to create powerful professional development opportunities. This book is a joy to read." —Ellen Meyers, Senior Vice President Teachers Network Powerful tools for facilitating teachers′ professional development and optimizing school improvement efforts! Professional learning communities (PLCs) and action research are popular and proven frameworks for professional development. While both can greatly improve teaching and learning, few resources have combined the two practices into one coherent approach. The Reflective Educator′s Guide to Professional Development provides educators with strategies, activities, and tools to develop inquiry-oriented PLCs. Nationally known school reform experts Nancy Fichtman Dana and Diane Yendol-Hoppey cover the ten essential elements of a healthy PLC, provide case studies of actual inquiry-based PLCs, and present lessons learned to help good coaches become great coaches. With this step-by-step guide, readers will be able to: Organize, assess, and maintain high-functioning, inquiry-oriented PLCs Facilitate the development of study questions Establish the trust and collective commitment necessary for successful action research Enable PLC members to develop, analyze, and share research results Lead successful renewal and reform efforts By combining two powerful training practices, coaches, workshop leaders, and staff developers can ensure continuous, robust school-based professional development.

Enhancing Practice through Classroom Research

Enhancing Practice through Classroom Research
Author: Caitriona McDonagh
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 212
Release: 2019-07-30
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0429684665

Offering updated references, questions for reflection, the latest case studies, and current advice relating to data protection and storage, this second edition of Enhancing Practice through Classroom Research provides an accessible introduction to understanding and improving teaching and learning through a process of reflection, research, and action. Divided into five parts, this self-study action research approach emphasises the positive aspects of enhancing practice and reflects how this can lead to higher levels of teacher autonomy and agency. With the addition of a chapter dedicated to the links between action research and well-being, this book provides a step-by-step guide to beginning your own research and covers topics such as: Identifying an area of professional concern or interest Exploration of educational values Developing a better understanding of practice Thinking critically about educational practices Finding a research methodology Drawing on the authors’ new experiences of working with second level, third level, and postgraduate educators, as well as their work designing postgraduate programmes in the field of critical reflection and self-study action research, this friendly guide provides a straightforward approach to classroom research. It is the perfect resource for all student and practising teachers looking for support in classroom research, as well as those wanting to pursue effective professional development or further studies in an area of interest.

International Perspectives on Teacher Well-Being and Diversity

International Perspectives on Teacher Well-Being and Diversity
Author: Timothy R. N. Murphy
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 218
Release: 2021-06-21
Genre: Education
ISBN: 981161699X

This book explores teacher well-being in light of the increasingly ethnically diverse profiles of schools and classrooms, focusing on socially and linguistically diverse teaching contexts. It draws attention to the socio-economic disadvantages that can often be characteristic of ethnically diverse classrooms, prior to examining and reviewing the interconnections between teacher well-being and the implementation of pedagogical processes in the classroom teaching and learning context. Teachers and academics alike report on and address the well-being-related needs of practising teachers. This book contributes to the emerging field of literature on teacher well-being and offers international perspectives on lessons learnt in socially diverse and multilingual teaching contexts. Accordingly, it offers a valuable resource for teacher educators, researchers, pre-service and in-service teachers, and policymakers.

Teacher Action Research

Teacher Action Research
Author: Gerald J. Pine
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2008-10-31
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1452278741

"This is a wonderful book with deep insight into the relationship between teachers′ action and result of student learning. It discusses from different angles impact of action research on student learning in the classroom. Writing samples provided at the back are wonderful examples." —Kejing Liu, Shawnee State University Teacher Action Research: Building Knowledge Democracies focuses on helping schools build knowledge democracies through a process of action research in which teachers, students, and parents collaborate in conducting participatory and caring inquiry in the classroom, school, and community. Author Gerald J. Pine examines historical origins, the rationale for practice-based research, related theoretical and philosophical perspectives, and action research as a paradigm rather than a method. Key Features Discusses how to build a school research culture through collaborative teacher research Delineates the role of the professional development school as a venue for constructing a knowledge democracy Focuses on how teacher action research can empower the active and ongoing inclusion of nontraditional voices (those of students and parents) in the research process Includes chapters addressing the concrete practices of observation, reflection, dialogue, writing, and the conduct of action research, as well as examples of teacher action research studies

Teachers Investigate Their Work

Teachers Investigate Their Work
Author: Allan Feldman
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2013-12-02
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1317796969

Teachers Investigate Their Work introduces the methods and concepts of action research through examples drawn from studies carried out by teachers. The book is arranged as a handbook with numerous sub-headings for easy reference and fourty-one practical methods and strategies to put into action, some of them flagged as suitable `starters'. Throughout the book, the authors draw on their international practical experience of action research, working in close collaboration with teachers. It is an essential guide for teachers, senior staff and co-ordinators of teacher professional development who are interested in investigating their own practice in order to improve it.

Instruction in Libraries and Information Centers

Instruction in Libraries and Information Centers
Author: Laura Saunders
Publisher:
Total Pages: 389
Release: 2020
Genre: Academic libraries
ISBN: 9781946011091

"This open access textbook offers a comprehensive introduction to instruction in all types of library and information settings. Designed for students in library instruction courses, the text is also a resource for new and experienced professionals seeking best practices and selected resources to support their instructional practice. Organized around the backward design approach and written by LIS faculty members with expertise in teaching and learning, this book offers clear guidance on writing learning outcomes, designing assessments, and choosing and implementing instructional strategies, framed by clear and accessible explanations of learning theories. The text takes a critical approach to pedagogy and emphasizes inclusive and accessible instruction. Using a theory into practice approach that will move students from learning to praxis, each chapter includes practical examples, activities, and templates to aid readers in developing their own practice and materials."--Publisher's description.

Action Research for Teachers

Action Research for Teachers
Author: Jean McNiff
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 145
Release: 2005
Genre: Action research in education
ISBN: 1843123215

Assuming no prior knowledge of research methods and techniques, this book is the perfect companion for teachers at all levels undergoing professional development who need to enhance their formal reflection skills. Providing a detailed explanation of what action research is and its importance in terms of whole school development, this book invites the teachers to try out educational research for themselves and adopt an investigative attitude that will help improve and evaluate practice. It includes: * Support and guidance that help you tackle key issues * "Real-life" practical case studies that underline what action research is and how it can be effectively used.