The National Assessment of Educational Progress shows that many US students are deficient in core knowledge in geography, civics and current events. In this paper, a professor of social studies methods describes an action research project developed to assess and improve teacher candidates' knowledge in these areas. The article explains how…

This paper reports on the results of the first cycle of an action research project. The objective of this action research was to examine the implementation of a school-based active transportation education program (Making Tracks). A two-cycle action research design was employed in which elementary school students' (ages 7-9), middle school…

When I was asked to teach the entire literacy curriculum to my grade six students in only five months, I implemented reading conferences as an instructional practice to deepen students' reading comprehension. Classroom events related to reading conferences, student decision-making, and instructional planning were recorded in a journal. This…

This article describes the first two years of an ongoing, collaborative action research project focused on the troubled recess environment in 4 elementary schools in southern Ontario. The project involves an iterative, dynamic process of inquiry, planning, action, and reflection among students, teachers, university researchers, university student…

This exploratory action research investigation provided the opportunity for a collaborative examination of the pedagogy underlying the use of wireless clicker technology within an elementary school environment. It investigated the uncomfortable truths of their use and revealed some unanticipated benefits. Using a triangulated qualitative data…

The purpose of this paper is to report a study that examined the impact of using Clickers technology on classroom instruction from both the students' and the teachers' perspectives. The students in this study came from six high school Spanish classes, and the teachers were from six different subject areas in the high school and two…

Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL) activities were examined in comparison with effective, research-based learning strategies to observe any difference in student engagement and time-on task behavior. Experimental and control groups were randomly selected amongst the intermediate elementary school students ages 8 to 10 years old. Student…

Developing critical literacy skills in students from an early age is vital and should be every teacher's goal. When students are taught how to evaluate a text in critical terms, they are empowered to consider and analyze the influences that are shaping their thoughts and ideas. Strong critical thinking skills enable students to question and…

In this paper, the author reflects on a personal experience he had while attempting to establish a Ramadan Music Accommodation to support four Muslim students who hoped to be exempted from their music lessons during the month preceding Eid-al-Fitr. While this paper outlines a context--and degree--of cultural responsiveness, it also details some of…

This action research is a quantitative study of personal goal setting and how it affects the academic performance of third grade students on weekly Math, Reading, and Language Arts assessments in a proactive effort to increase individual performance on standardized tests. The students' weekly performance was indicative of their expected…

This article shares the experience of a teacher investigating the tension between a mandated literacy program and his desire to teach in response to his perceptions of students' needs. Qualitative teacher research methodology is used to study the impact of mandated literacy practices on teaching and learning; and to answer the question: how is my…

After administering an end of unit assessment written by the school's math program, teachers of three second grade classes in a New York City school noticed a majority of the students had not demonstrated mastery of subtracting two, two-digit numbers. The teachers worked with the school's math coach to implement an instructional unit that required…

This action research report follows the journey of four elementary school teachers as they learn to define and ask "deeper" or meaningful mathematical questions in their teachings. It chronicles the way that teaching through problem solving and developing criteria for questioning increased the percentage of "deeper" questions being asked and…

The action research team developed a "Personal Math Concept Chart". This chart required students to describe the mathematical concepts that they were studying in the Geometry strand of Mathematics using their own images and words. In this study, students were encouraged to express their own understanding of geometric concepts in order to…

Written collaboratively by two former teaching partners, this paper details the journey taken by a team of teachers from a large southern Ontario school board as they completed an action research project during the 2008-2009 school year, in conjunction with ETFO and their Teachers Learning Together: A Math Journey initiative. This paper will…