Classroom Action Research is part of the new Teacher Action Research Institute initiated by Sheila Jordan, County Superintendent. Unlike other research models where an outside researcher enters the classroom, watches and records what happens there, and reports his or her findings, the teacher and teaching artist investigates their own classroom. Through Action Research, teachers pursue a line of inquiry about their student understanding and their own teaching practice in relation to what their students are understanding or not understanding. The “Action” in Action Research refers to the active role that teachers take as they don their researchers’ caps, decide what their inquiry focus is, document and reflect on what is happening in their classroom, and make changes based on their discoveries and conclusions.

Classroom Action Research Tool
The Classroom Action Research Tool is an interactive publishing piece that allows teachers and teaching artists to document and investigate their classroom learning using text, pictures and video. This tool supports and reveals the learning process of teacher teams as they describe, think through, and improve arts related teaching and learning in reflective, collaborative explorations. It can also be used by professional learning communities of teachers and administrators to share and reflect on student learning and outcomes.

Stay tuned! This new tool will be available in the Spring 2008.