Kirjahaku

This practical and easy-to-use book offers professional educators of any academic level, subject area, or position the tools, techniques, and strategies to disseminate, share, publish, and promote the results of their action research projects and studies.Acclaimed author Craig A. Mertler offers a clear-cut guide for practitioner-researchers, covering the following:A robust overview of action research/practitioner research, including its characteristics, processes, and professional benefits;Discussion of the main products for disseminating practitioner research, including written reports, presentations, and visual formats;Delivery strategies for disseminating practitioner research, including refereed publications (both practitioner and scholarly), face-to-face and virtual presentations (conferences, local presentations, and elsewhere), as well as social media and electronic media, from blogs and podcasts to Twitter and LinkedIn.Written for any educational practitioner in any role—from in-service and pre-service teachers in PK-12 or higher education settings to scholars, administrators, policymakers, staff, graduate students, and other researchers—this book offers a pragmatic and motivational guide useful for any field of education in which practitioner research is component.

This practical and easy-to-use book offers professional educators of any academic level, subject area, or position the tools, techniques, and strategies to disseminate, share, publish, and promote the results of their action research projects and studies.Acclaimed author Craig A. Mertler offers a clear-cut guide for practitioner-researchers, covering the following:A robust overview of action research/practitioner research, including its characteristics, processes, and professional benefits;Discussion of the main products for disseminating practitioner research, including written reports, presentations, and visual formats;Delivery strategies for disseminating practitioner research, including refereed publications (both practitioner and scholarly), face-to-face and virtual presentations (conferences, local presentations, and elsewhere), as well as social media and electronic media, from blogs and podcasts to Twitter and LinkedIn.Written for any educational practitioner in any role—from in-service and pre-service teachers in PK-12 or higher education settings to scholars, administrators, policymakers, staff, graduate students, and other researchers—this book offers a pragmatic and motivational guide useful for any field of education in which practitioner research is component.

Action Research: Improving Schools and Empowering Educators, Seventh Edition introduces both beginning and experienced educators to the process of designing and conducting classroom-based action research. This practical text focuses on research methods and procedures that educators can use in their everyday instructional practices, classroom activities, and school settings.

Action Research Communities presents a new perspective on two current and proven educational practices: classroom-/school-based action research and professional learning communities. Implementation of one or the other of these practices often results in a variety of possible benefits for the teaching–learning process, for student achievement, and for overall school improvement. While these might seem to be separate, isolated practices, the author has taken the beneficial aspects of each practice and merged them into a cohesive and potentially powerful concept, coined "action research communities." Each of the two concepts or approaches (action research and professional learning communities) is presented and discussed in detail. Because they both focus on local-level improvement of educational practice and share several overlapping features, the two concepts are then merged into a single entity—action research communities, or ARCs. These professional learning communities, with action research at their core, hold an immense amount of power and potential when it comes to enhanced professional growth and development for educators, increased student achievement, school improvement, and educator empowerment. ARCs essentially capitalize on all the individualized benefits and strengths of action research and of professional learning communities, and merge them into a single educational concept and practice. ARCs have the potential to help educators everywhere experience:•a common and collective focus and vision;• sustained collaborative inquiry;•individualized, customizable—and meaningful—professional growth; and•true empowerment that comes with this form of collaborative, inquiry-based, and reflective practice.Practical guidance for the development and implementation of ARCs is also provided, by focusing on ways in which professional educators (teachers, administrators, support staff, etc.) can implement, sustain, and extend the impact of their respective action research communities. Specific roles for district administrators, building administrators, and teachers are presented and discussed in depth, as are ways that ARCs can be used both to deepen professional learning for educators and to improve student learning.

Action Research Communities presents a new perspective on two current and proven educational practices: classroom-/school-based action research and professional learning communities. Implementation of one or the other of these practices often results in a variety of possible benefits for the teaching–learning process, for student achievement, and for overall school improvement. While these might seem to be separate, isolated practices, the author has taken the beneficial aspects of each practice and merged them into a cohesive and potentially powerful concept, coined "action research communities." Each of the two concepts or approaches (action research and professional learning communities) is presented and discussed in detail. Because they both focus on local-level improvement of educational practice and share several overlapping features, the two concepts are then merged into a single entity—action research communities, or ARCs. These professional learning communities, with action research at their core, hold an immense amount of power and potential when it comes to enhanced professional growth and development for educators, increased student achievement, school improvement, and educator empowerment. ARCs essentially capitalize on all the individualized benefits and strengths of action research and of professional learning communities, and merge them into a single educational concept and practice. ARCs have the potential to help educators everywhere experience:•a common and collective focus and vision;• sustained collaborative inquiry;•individualized, customizable—and meaningful—professional growth; and•true empowerment that comes with this form of collaborative, inquiry-based, and reflective practice.Practical guidance for the development and implementation of ARCs is also provided, by focusing on ways in which professional educators (teachers, administrators, support staff, etc.) can implement, sustain, and extend the impact of their respective action research communities. Specific roles for district administrators, building administrators, and teachers are presented and discussed in depth, as are ways that ARCs can be used both to deepen professional learning for educators and to improve student learning.

"Craig A. Mertler's approach would reduce your stress level as his book walks the reader through the various assessments often encountered in schools and helps the reader make better use of the information embedded in accountability reports. The book is well-organized and provides clear and thorough descriptions of the myriad terms the reader will encounter with assessments."—Lane B. Mills, THE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR"This text offers a clear, insightful study of how to interpret, use, and reflect on test data in ways that help to develop better schools, highly qualified teachers, and well prepared students."—Linda Karges-Bone, Charleston Southern UniversityAs standardized testing continues to grow in importance in our society, this text will become a critical part of measurement curriculum and instruction."—Gordon Brooks, Ohio UniversityInterpreting Standardized Test Scores: Strategies for Data-Driven Instructional Decision Making is designed to help K-12 teachers and administrators understand the nature of standardized tests and, in particular, the scores that result from them. This useful manual helps teachers develop the skills necessary to incorporate these test scores into various types of instructional decision making—a process known as "data-driven decision making"—necessitated by the needs of their students.Key FeaturesHelps readers understand, interpret, and use standardized test scores to improve classroom instruction: Several specific examples are given for interpreting test scores and developing a plan to revise instruction based on those results.Offers activities for application and reflection: Follow-up activities and discussion points are provided for experienced and preservice teachers across K-12 grade levels.Presents successful case studies: The author includes interviews with classroom teachers, building administrators, and district-level administrators who have successfully engaged in a process of incorporating test scores into decision making.Intended AudienceThis is an excellent supplementary text for any course that incorporates standardized testing as a topic, including but not limited to courses in Classroom Assessment, Educational Psychology, Content Methods, Reading, Special Education, Curriculum, Literacy, Administration, The Principalship, and The Superintendency.

"Craig A. Mertler's approach would reduce your stress level as his book walks the reader through the various assessments often encountered in schools and helps the reader make better use of the information embedded in accountability reports. The book is well-organized and provides clear and thorough descriptions of the myriad terms the reader will encounter with assessments."—Lane B. Mills, THE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR"This text offers a clear, insightful study of how to interpret, use, and reflect on test data in ways that help to develop better schools, highly qualified teachers, and well prepared students."—Linda Karges-Bone, Charleston Southern UniversityAs standardized testing continues to grow in importance in our society, this text will become a critical part of measurement curriculum and instruction."—Gordon Brooks, Ohio UniversityInterpreting Standardized Test Scores: Strategies for Data-Driven Instructional Decision Making is designed to help K-12 teachers and administrators understand the nature of standardized tests and, in particular, the scores that result from them. This useful manual helps teachers develop the skills necessary to incorporate these test scores into various types of instructional decision making—a process known as "data-driven decision making"—necessitated by the needs of their students.Key FeaturesHelps readers understand, interpret, and use standardized test scores to improve classroom instruction: Several specific examples are given for interpreting test scores and developing a plan to revise instruction based on those results.Offers activities for application and reflection: Follow-up activities and discussion points are provided for experienced and preservice teachers across K-12 grade levels.Presents successful case studies: The author includes interviews with classroom teachers, building administrators, and district-level administrators who have successfully engaged in a process of incorporating test scores into decision making.Intended AudienceThis is an excellent supplementary text for any course that incorporates standardized testing as a topic, including but not limited to courses in Classroom Assessment, Educational Psychology, Content Methods, Reading, Special Education, Curriculum, Literacy, Administration, The Principalship, and The Superintendency.

Action Research: Improving Schools and Empowering Educators introduces both novice and experienced practicing educators to the process of designing and conducting classroom-based action research in order to make their instructional practices more effective. This practical text focuses on the research methods and procedures that educators can use in their everyday instructional practices, classroom activities, and school procedures. Using over 20 years of teaching experience, author Craig A. Mertler provides insightful coverage of the knowledge and skills needed to design research studies, conduct research, and communicate findings to relevant stakeholders. FREE DIGITAL TOOLS INCLUDED WITH THIS TEXT SAGE edge gives instructors and students the edge they need to succeed with an array of teaching and learning tools in one easy-to-navigate website. Learn more: edge.sagepub.com/mertler6e