San Diego Area Writing Project

Teacher research study groups provide a powerful forum for dialogue and broaden the understanding of reflective practice. The San Diego Area Writing Project enters its eighth year supporting teachers as they inquire into teaching and learning in their own classrooms.

Monthly teacher research meetings provide a forum for Fellows and colleagues to engage in professional, informing conversations, collect observational and related data, write and respond in small groups, and read and write professional articles/case studies. This group is designed to assist and support teachers at all grade levels and in all subject areas as they examine how their students learn, with the intention of both improving their teaching practice and improving student learning. Teacher researchers consider various approaches to classroom inquiry that focus on teacher observation, documentation, reflection, implementation, analysis, and articulation, both oral and written, as a recursive process.

For the 2006'07 research cycle, and for more information about participating, please contact Kim Douillard, SDAWP TR Group Coordinator, at teachr0602@aol.com.

Online Resources for Teacher Research

NETWORKS: AN ON-LINE JOURNAL FOR
TEACHER RESEARCH
http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/research/index.html
"This is the first on-line journal dedicated to teacher
research. With the help of readers and writers like you,
this journal aims to provide a forum for teachers'
voices, a place where teachers working in classrooms,
from pre-school to university, can share their
experiences and learn from each other…. In each
issue, you will find feature-length articles, as well
as short reports of work-in-progress, book
reviews, and discussions on current issues in
teacher research."

TEACHER RESEARCH (George Mason University)
http://gse.gmu.edu/research/tr/
A site maintained by George Mason University
listing resources and background information for
teachers interested in using research practices in
their classrooms. Information includes: teacher
research projects, research about teacher research,
and current issues in teacher research.

ACTION RESEARCH ARTICLES ONLINE
(University of Colorado at Denver)
http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~mryder/itc_data/act_res.html
"This is a resource site for teachers who are
interested in conducting research about teaching
and learning, both formal (more traditional)
research and informal action research. It is also the
information site for three North Central Indiana
teacher-researcher initiatives."

RESOURCES FOR TEACHER-RESEARCHERS
(Indiana University South Bend)
http://www.iusb.edu/~gmetteta/Research_about_Teaching_
and.htm
A website with research resource and tips for
conducting classroom research.

LOOKING AT STUDENT WORK
http://www.lasw.org/
This web site represents an association of individuals
and educational organizations that focus on looking
at student work to strengthen connections between
instruction, curriculum, and other aspects of school
life to students' learning. The site is offered as a
resource for teachers, administrators, staff developers,
and others who work with teachers, schools, and
students. Looking at Student Work provides ideas
and resources about a set of practices we term
"looking at student work."

CRESS TEACHER RESEARCH PROGRAM (UC Davis)
http://education.ucdavis.edu/research/index.html
The CRESS teacher research program offers year-long
seminars for teachers interested in conducting systematic
research in their own classrooms or schools. Now in
its twelfth year,the program supports a regional
network of teacher research groups. Each group is
facilitatedby an experienced teacher researcher,
and, taken together, the groups support teachers
of all grade levels and from all
disciplines.

EDUCATING AS INQUIRY - A TEACHER
ACTION RESEARCH SITE
http://www.lupinworks.com/ar/index.html
Developed by Dr. Judith M. Newman.
Links to journals, articles, courses.

CARNEGIE FOUNDATION - CASTL PROGRAM
http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/CASTL/k-12/index.htm
The program, which began in 1999, includes
a national fellowship project that brings together
outstanding K-12 teachers as Carnegie Scholars.
These scholars are committed to documenting their
teaching and to sharing their work with others.

NATIONAL WRITING PROJECT
http://www.writingproject.org/Resources/trweb.htm
A selection of informative, user-friendly web sites
dedicated to practitioner research.

The Teacher Researcher's Bookshelf

Interested in learning more about the process of
teacher research? Here is a bibliography of publications
about the history of teacher research,how to begin your own process of inquiry, and accounts of individual teachers' experiences with classroom research.

Brause & Mayher. (1991). Search and Re-search. London:
Falmer Press

Cambourne, Brian & Jan Turbill, eds.(1994). Responsive
Evaluation: Making Valid Judgements about Student
Literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Cochran-Smith, Marilyn and Susan Lytle. (1993). Inside-
Outside: Teacher Research and Knowledge. NY: Teachers College Press.

Connelly, F. Michael & D. Jean Clandinin, eds.. (1999).
Shaping a Professional Identity: Stories of Educational
Practice. NY: Teachers College Press.

Connelly, F. Michael & D. Jean Clandinin. (2000). Narrative Inquiry: Experience and Story in Qualitative Research. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, Inc.

Fishman, Stephen & Lucille McCarthy. (2000). Unplayed
Tapes: A Personal History of Collaborative Teacher Research. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.

Frank, Carolyn. (1999). Ethnographic Eyes: A Teacher's Guide to Classroom Observation. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Hubbard, Ruth Shagoury and Brenda Miller Power. (1993).
The Art of Classroom Inquiry: A Handbook for Teacher-
Researchers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann

Hubbard, Ruth Shagoury and Brenda Miller Power.(1999).
Living the Questions: A Guide for Teacher Researchers.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Loughran, John, Mitchell, Ian & Judie Mitchell, eds. (2002). Learning From Teacher Research. NY: Teachers College Press.