• Hubbard, Ruth, and Brenda Power. The Art of Classroom Inquiry : a handbook for Teacher-Researchers. Portsmouth, NH : Heineman Publishing, 1993. (available in HPHS Professional Library 375.9 EEE)

… Many teachers have to do some wandering to get to their wonderings. Often questions for research start with a feeling of tension…Christina wants to look beyond faddish buzz words and rapid implementation of new teaching methods to try to figure out what is really going on with language development in her students and what this means for the systems of intervention established in schools. Kim wants to understand why her expectations for conferences are so often at odds with the expectations of her students, and how this might affect her future conferences with students. (from Chapter One "Try to Love the Questions Themselves" p.3

Natalie Goldberg advises writers to be specific. "Not car, but Cadillac. Not fruit, but apple, Not bird, but wren. Not a codependent, neurotic man, but Harry, who runs to open the refrigerator for his wife, thinking she wants an apple, when she is headed for the gas stove to light her cigarette… Goldberg stresses that the best way to create a vivid and true picture with words is through specific, tangible, concrete images. The same can be said of a good teacher-research question…" (p.4)

• ASCD. How to Conduct Quality Action Research. binder from Annual Fall Conference, 2000. (contact Joe Senese to borrow this text)

"You need to know that as you think about your work in the classroom, as ideas start to form, that you will be interrupted. An idea that seems to have merit will, in the light of another day, become too big or too silly. But respect the process and stick with it because just the act of thinking about your work will change you. You will begin to notice things differently. This will affect the way you teach, and learn. Enjoy it, let it roll around in your brain for awhile. And record your ideas as they come to you…" (from Section 4 : Asking the Question. p. 4-2) (contact Joe Senese to borrow this text)

• Summer 1999 issue of The Journal of Staff Development. (includes articles entitled "On the Job Learning," "Collaborate," and "Teams." (contact Joe Senese to borrow this journal)

"Job-embedded learning is learning by doing, reflecting on the experience, and then generating and sharing new insights and learning with oneself and others." p. 10 (contact Joe Senese to borrow this magazine)

• Brizuela, B., editor. Acts of Inquiry in Qualitative Research. Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, 2000. (available in HPHS Professional Library 375.9 CCC)

"As an educator interested in teaching and learning among diverse populations, I wanted to investigate how a teacher manages to instruct students from diverse cultures and linguistic backgrounds, students who presumably construct academic knowledge differently…" (p.180)

• Ferrance, Eileen. Action research. Providence, RI : Brown University, 2000. (contact Joe Senese to borrow this text)

"An important guideline in choosing a question is to ask if it is something over which the teacher has influence. Is it something of interest and worth the time and effort that will be spent? (p. 10)

• Mills, Geoffrey. Action research. Columbus, OH : Merrill, 2000. (contact Joe Senese to borrow this text)

"Every teacher and administrator who undertakes an action research project starts at the same place : making explicit a question or problem to investigate, or defining an area of focus. Finding an area of focus can be hard work if your action research inquiry is going to be engaging and meaningful for you. Taking time in the beginning to ensure that your topic is important – for you – is a critical step in the process. No one should tell you what your area of focus is or ought to be. The following guidelines can help you focus your question…" (p. 26)

• Stringer, Ernest. Action research. London : Sage Publications, 1999. (contact Joe Senese to borrow this text)

"Previous chapters in this book have presented one cycle of an action research process in a linear fashion. In practice, the look, think, and act phases not only are reiterative but tend to fold into each other as people review and reflect on the events and activities in which they are involved. An important feature of an action research process, however, is that participants not remain doggedly true to a stipulated recipe, but keep track of the different activities in which they engage, working systematically through the information and ideas that emerge." (p. 187)

• Hopkins, David. A teacher’s guide to classroom research. Philadelphia : Open University Press, 2002. (contact Joe Senese to borrow this text)

"In this chapter, I review some ways in which teachers can develop a focus for classroom research, establish research questions and engage in theorizing. In short, this chapter deals with how to get started on classroom research." (from Chapter 5 : Developing a Focus p. 55)

• Burnaford, Gail. Teachers doing research. Mahwah, NJ :Erlbaum Publishing, 1996. (contact Joe Senese to borrow this text)

"This chapter draws on experiences of teachers who are doing or who have recently completed research studies. The experience and insights of these teachers have been gathered from their research writings, journals, interviews, and discussions. The chapter is divided into the following sections, conceived to help you begin to develop a framework s you think about your research.

• Donoahue, Zoe. Research in the Classroom. Newark, DE : International Reading Association, 1996. (available in HPHS Professional Library 375.9 ALT)

"… You are the one who has to make sense of what is going on in your classroom. Write what you see happening. Some suggestions : Be specific and precise as you can. Look back at those observations and reflect on what you are learning. Think about what the events mean for instruction."

• Cooper, James, editor. Teachers’ Problem Solving : a casebook of award-winning teaching cases. Boston :Allyn and Bacon Publishers, 1995. (available in HPHS Professional Library 375.9 AAA)

"This case identifies the struggle that faces Sarah, a middle school speech teacher, as she explores her philosophy regarding inclusion. Also addressed is the issue of support, of lack of support, which is offered to teachers when they attempt to improve their practice and change their methodology… Imbedded within this account is an emphasis upon reflection as a means for achieving the paradigm shift, or change of perspective, that must occur before teachers can truly model inclusivity." (p. 71)

• Sagor, Richard. How to conduct Collaborative Action Research. Alexandria, VA : ASCD, 1993. (available in HPHS Professional Library 375.9 ARR)

"The time demands of instruction, inservice training, and program improvement leave little time for the reflection necessary to develop a truly meaningful research question. Yet it is essential that collaborative action researchers have sufficient time to accomplish this crucial step. Our experience has shown that teachers who rush to complete the problem formulation stage are more likely to flounder in their later efforts, whereas teachers who take time to reflect on and define their problem are more likely to pursue questions yielding meaningful results.

In this chapter I describe a series of techniques that have been used successfully to help beginning action researchers sharpen their focus on a research topic of significant concern to them. It is not important for teachers to come to this process with a problem in mind. The only prerequisite for participating in collaborative action research is a sincere desire to work with colleagues to improve teaching and learning."  (from Chapter 3 : Problem Formulation p. 12)