The use of data-based decision making is critical in any classroom, but especially in special education settings. The Teacher’s Guide to Action Research for Special Education in PK-12 Classrooms describes the basic concepts of action research and how this process can support student success in the classroom and beyond. This practical, approachable, and concise guide provides case studies, vignettes, student learning objectives, and review exercises to help teachers understand how to effectively use the action research process to identify and evaluate evidence-based interventions, with explicit connections to legally mandated IEP planning, implementation, and evaluation processes.

Researchers in special education have been developing a knowledge base of evidence-based practices that improve the outcomes of students with disabilities. Unfortunately, filtering that knowledge into classrooms implemented by special education teachers has been a challenge. In The Essentials of Special Education Research, Andrew M. Markelz and Benjamin S. Riden directly address the persistent research-to-practice gap by systematically presenting the essential components of research that every special education teacher must know. The first section investigates the foundations of research and why special education teachers should regularly read research articles. It also examines the basic structure of research articles to demystify jargon and provide teachers confidence when reading scientific literature. The second section explores various research methodologies that consumers of research must know. Methodologies such as literature reviews, single-case design, quantitative, qualitative, and others are unpacked so that special education teachers know the critical components of these methodologies, along with their limitations, to become critical consumers of research. The third section focuses on putting this knowledge into practice. Using practical scenarios, the authors demonstrate how a special education teacher can combat common classroom problems by locating and reading relevant research to gain information and implement best practices based on scientific evidence. This step-by-step guide combines the knowledge and skills outlined in this book to truly become a scientific practitioner.

This edited volume presents narratives on a range of methods for research on second language teaching and learning appropriate to the elementary, middle, and high schools (K-12). Teacher researchers in different worldwide contexts narrate their processes to explain and demonstrate practitioner research in context; contributors describe their research from exploring the rationale for the project, to designing the study, analyzing the data, and disseminating it. As such, the book illustrates how K-12 practitioners design, gather, analyze, interpret, and strategically employ data to make data-driven, evidence-based, and analysis-informed instructional, assessment, and programmatic decisions. This volume empowers teacher-researchers and allows them to envision research projects in their own classrooms. Offering new insights into the researchers’ thinking processes, challenges, and solutions, and advocating teacher research for understanding learning, the teaching of language, and the development of SLA, this text will appeal to educators and researchers involved in language education, second language acquisition, TESOL, ESL/EFL/ELT, and applied linguistics.

Blended learning has gained significant attention recently by educational leaders, practitioners, and researchers. i²Flex, a variation of blended learning, is based on the premise that certain non-interactive teaching activities, such as lecturing, can take place by students without teachers’ direct involvement. Classroom time can then be used for educational activities that fully exploit teacher-student and student-student interactions, allowing for meaningful personalized feedback and scaffolding on demand. Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through the i²Flex Classroom Model presents a well-rounded discussion on the i²Flex model, highlighting methods for K-12 course design, delivery, and evaluation in addition to teacher performance assessment in a blended i²Flex environment. Emphasizing new methods for improving the classroom and learning experience in addition to preparing students for higher education and careers, this publication is an essential reference source for pre-service and in-service teachers, researchers, administrators, and educational technology developers.

This handbook presents and critiques predominant and emergent traditions of Educational Action Research internationally. Now a prominent methodology, Educational Action Research is well suited to exploring, developing and sustaining change processes both in classrooms and whole organisations such as schools, Departments of Education, and many segments of universities. The handbook contains theoretical and practical based chapters by highly respected scholars whose work has been seminal in building knowledge and expertise in the field. It also contains chapters exemplifying the work of prominent practitioner and community groups working outside universities. The Editors provide an introduction and conclusion, as well as an opening chapter which charts the historical development of action research and provides an analysis of its underlying theories. The handbook is organized into four sections, each beginning with a short introduction: - Action research methodology: diversity of rationales and practices - Professional: Knowledge production, staff development, and the status of educators - Personal: Self-awareness, development and identity - Political: Popular knowledge, difference, and frameworks for change This is a key resource for scholars and graduate students at doctors and masters levels, as well as school leaders and administrators. Susan Noffke is Associate Professor of Curriculum & Instruction at the University of Illinois - Urbana/Champaign and co-editor with R.B. Stevenson of Educational Action Research (Teachers College Press, 1995). She taught at the primary school level for a decade, and has led masters and doctoral level courses in action research for the past 20 years. She continues to work with many collaborative projects with schools and school districts. Bridget Somekh is Professor of Educational Research at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. She is a founder editor of the Educational Action Research journal and has been a co-ordinator of the Collaborative Action Research Network (CARN) for many years. She is co-editor of Research Methods in the Social Sciences (SAGE: 2005) and author of Action Research: a Methodology for Change and Development (Open University Press: 2006).

With the rapid development of emerging technology tools, the digital nature of learning environments continues to change traditional forms of education. Therefore, knowledge of these changes for incorporation into classroom instruction is necessary. Pedagogical Applications and Social Effects of Mobile Technology Integration analyzes possible solutions over the concerns and issues surrounding mobile technology integration into the classroom. This book is an essential resource for professionals, researchers, and technology leaders interested in providing a direction for the future of classroom technology.

Primary and Secondary education is a formative time for young students. Lessons learned before the rigors of higher education help to inform learners’ future successes, and the increasing prevalence of learning tools and technologies can both help and hinder students in their endeavors. K-12 Education: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications investigates the latest advances in online and mobile learning, as well as pedagogies and ontologies influenced by current developments in information and communication technologies, enabling teachers, students, and administrators to make the most of their educational experience. This multivolume work presents all stakeholders in K-12 education with the tools necessary to facilitate the next generation of student-teacher interaction.

As classrooms are becoming more diverse, teachers are now faced with the responsibility of creating an inclusive classroom community. As such, researching classroom pedagogies and practices is an imperative step in curriculum planning. The Handbook of Research on Classroom Diversity and Inclusive Education Practice is an authoritative reference source for the latest scholarly research on ways to effectively teach all students and further refine and strengthen school-wide inclusive pedagogy, methods, and policies. Featuring extensive coverage on a number of topics such as special education, online learning, and English language learners, this publication is ideally designed for professionals, educators, and policy makers seeking current research on methods that ensure all students have equal access to curricular content and the chance for growth and success.

Revised and updated guide for prospective teachers with increased detail about the realities of teaching in a changing demographic society, post-pandemic life, societal changes brought about by technology, and the current political moment in education. Real challenges. Real choices. And very real consequences. That’s what today’s classrooms are about. That’s why Marleen Pugach’s Because Teaching Matters, Third Edition depicts today’s classrooms as they truly are, while highlighting the enormous impact teachers have on students’ lives. The book is organized around five professional commitments— learning from multiple sources of knowledge, using the curriculum responsibly, practicing equity-minded teaching, meeting the needs of individual students in the context of the classroom and school community, and contributing actively to the profession. The third edition focuses on: The current landscape and challenges of supporting multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-ability classrooms across socio-economic levels, and the relationships among students, families, communities, and educators The latest academic approaches for teaching students who have disabilities, leveraging modern classroom technology, the role of legislation and funding, and updates on the current context of teaching and teacher preparation New post-pandemic societal and educational contexts Classroom and school reflections on practice, written by current teachers and teacher leaders in real classrooms and real schools, showing authentic best practices in action. Ideal for Foundations of Education and Introduction to Teaching courses designed to provide preservice teachers with an overview of the profession, Because Teaching Matters, Third Edition tells the story of today’s complex classrooms. It also drives home that, though the decision to teach is a serious one, it is one that can be extremely rewarding.