Saint Xavier University in Chicago, Illinois offers a Master of Arts in Teaching and Leadership (MATL) degree program for certified teachers in the state of Illinois. This professional development program is provided through a partnership with Pearson Achievement Solutions. The program employs an action research model to guide teachers in analyzing how they are teaching and how well their students are learning. This paper outlines the components of the action research project developed in a Master of Arts in Teaching and Leadership program designed to improve teaching and learning. It presents four steps of a learning cycle model by explaining each step, describing how MATL program requirements promote each stage and providing excerpts of a completed action research project. (Contains 1 figure.)