Teachers are the single most important element in helping every child succeed in school. Action Research for Teacher Candidates has been written in the hopes of equipping teachers-in-training with the skills needed for action research: a process that leads to focused, effective, and responsive strategies that help students succeed. Robert P. Pelton is also the author of Making Classroom Inquiry Work: Techniques for Effective Action Research, which is designed to serve those who wish to delve deeper into their action research or as leaders in teacher research and reflective practice. These two books serve as both a perfect training curriculum for pre-service teachers at the undergraduate or graduate level and as an excellent vehicle for professional development for in-service teachers.

Action research is increasingly used as a means for teachers to improve their instruction, yet for many the idea of doing "research" can be somewhat intimidating. Using Action Research to Improve Instruction offers a comprehensive, easy-to-understand approach to action research in classroom settings. This engaging and accessible guide is grounded in sources of data readily available to teachers, such as classroom observations, student writing, surveys, interviews, and tests. Organized to mirror the action research process, the highly interactive format prompts readers to discover a focus, create research questions, address design and methodology, collect information, conduct data analysis, communicate the results, and to generate evidence-based teaching strategies. Engaging in these decision-making processes builds the skills essential to action research and promotes a deeper understanding of teaching practice. Special Features Include: -An Interactive Text -Reflection Questions and Activity Prompts -A Sample Action Research Report -Numerous Examples and Practice Examples -Numbered Sections for Cross Referencing This original text is a must-read for teachers interested in how they can use their current knowledge of instruction and assessment to meaningfully engage in action research.

This book presents a broad overview of a variety of methodologies that can be used to improve teacher preparation and professional development programs.

Craig Mertler’s Action Research: Improving Schools and Empowering Educators introduces practicing educators to the process of conducting classroom-based action research. Practical and comprehensive, the book focuses on research methods and procedures that educators can use in their everyday practice. This Fifth Edition adds enhanced coverage of rigor and ethics in action research, means of establishing quality of both quantitative and qualitative data, as well as strengthened pedagogical features. New material includes discussions of social justice advocacy as an application of action research and the inclusion of abstracts in research reports.

Written from various perspectives, this book describes ways of using action research to improve teaching and learning. It includes contributions about action research related to: political action; school inclusion; distance learning; feminism; and initial teacher training. The coherent theme of the book is the consistent appraisal of action research as a means of supporting the transformation of educational praxis through practical enquiry and reflexive practice.

Becoming a Teacher through Action Research, Third Edition skillfully interweaves the stories of pre-service teaching with the process of action research. This engaging text focuses specifically on the needs of pre-service teachers by providing assistance for all stages of the research experience, including guidance on how to select an area of focus, design a culturally-proficient study, collect and interpret data, and communicate findings. With an updated introduction and two new chapters, this revised edition fully develops a convincing response to the framing question of the book, "Why pre-service teacher action research?" The new edition continues to focus on elements of trustworthy pre-service teacher action research, and provides a more robust overview of research methodology. Using additional activities, charts, and examples, this book offers support during the steps of writing a critical question, data collection, data analysis and the use of analytic memos. New Features in the Third Edition include: New chapters on ongoing data analysis and final data interpretation, which include practice scenarios and examples to give readers a deeper understanding of doing the work of action research processes; An expanded chapter on action research methodology, which includes scaffolds for making methodological decisions, additional practice scenarios, and a revised action research design template; New end-of-chapter Content and Process Questions to encourage deeper understanding; New examples throughout, expanded additional glossary terms, enhanced literature review guidance, and updated templates to support action research projects; An updated companion website with downloadable templates and additional instructor resources; A revised interior text design to increase the accessibility of the text. This one-of-a-kind guide continues to offer invaluable support for teacher-education students during a critical phase of their professional—and personal—lives.