Living the Questions: A Guide for Teacher-Researchers

Most of all, teacher research is a gift: to the profession, in helping us change the way we see old problems and bringing us new solutions; to research communities, in showing us new research strategies and how to take risks in writing up research; to ourselves, in reminding us of the energy and passion in learning that made us teachers in the first place. It is a gift that we're all working hard for...
from Living the Questions

Teachers know that the research they undertake in their own classrooms is a powerful tool for many purposes—from finding the best way to teach a subject, to organizing student work and activities, to assessing children's learning. And like traditional approaches to inquiry, teacher research is more than a way of thinking: it involves specific procedures and practices that lead to positive changes in teaching and learning.

Living the Questions is the definitive resource for the methods of teacher research. With a consistent tone that is eloquent and passionate, this guide for novice and veteran teacher-researchers will challenge and inspire educators at all levels to see the potential for inquiry in their lives.

Part research text, part contributed collection, Living the Questions includes:research strategies illustrated in hands-on workshops;sample projects from twenty-eight contributing teachers in grades K-college;guidelines for setting up schoolwide inquiry groups;practical strategies for managing time and resources in research projects;innovative ideas for enlisting students and colleagues as co-researchers;ethical considerations in teacher research projects;advice from veteran teacher-researchers on building regional and national support networks;suggestions for getting research published;internet resources for teacher-researchers;the role of administrators in fostering teacher research.

Teachers, school inquiry groups, and professors of research courses in education will find Living the Questions a rich source of ideas and processes for developing inquiry skills. This book will also help educators at all levels understand how and why teacher research is transforming the lives of so many teachers.

Brenda Power was born in Wayne, Michigan, the daughter of a teacher and engineer. She received her bachelor and master's degrees from Michigan State University, and her doctorate from the University of New Hampshire, where she worked with Donald Graves, Donald Murray, and Thomas Newkirk.

She taught for many years at the University of Maine, leading professional development efforts in local schools, and authored or co-authored a dozen books. Brenda's passion has always been helping teachers bring their work to larger audiences: first, as the founding editor with (Ruth Shagoury) of the Teacher Research journal, and then as an editor at Stenhouse Publishers.

She founded Choice Literacy in 2006 as a multimedia resource for K-12 literacy professional development. Brenda edits a weekly newsletter for literacy leaders, The Big Fresh, with over 50,000 subscribers worldwide.

"I still love teaching and writing, though most of my teaching now involves coaching individual writers," writes Brenda. "The technology remains a challenge for me - I definitely think I was shortchanged in the engineering end of my family gene pool!"