Living the Questions: A Guide for Teacher-Researchers

Teacher research is an extension of good teaching, observing students closely, analyzing their needs, and adjusting the curriculum to fit the needs of all. In this completely updated second edition of their definitive work, Ruth Shagoury and Brenda Miller Power present a framework for teacher research along with an extensive collection of narratives from teachers engaged in the process of designing and carrying out research projects to inform their instruction. This edition includes a greater variety of short contributions from a wide range of teacher-researchers -- novices and veterans from all backgrounds and parts of the country -- who speak to the growing diversity in today' s classrooms. Threaded throughout the chapters and narratives is a discussion of the emergence of digital tools and their effect on both teaching and the research process, along with an expanded number of research designs. The book has three primary components: 1.Chapters written by the authors explaining key elements of the research process: finding questions, designing projects, data collection and analysis, and more 2.Research activities that enable readers to try out the featured strategies and techniques 3.Teacher-researcher essays in which teachers share details of completed projects and discuss the impact they have had in their classrooms. Living the Questions, Second Edition: A Guide for Teacher-Researchers will take you step-by-step through the process of designing, implementing, and publishing your research. Along the way, it will introduce you to dozens of kindred spirits who are finding new passion for teaching by living the questions every day in their classrooms. You will be reminded of why you became a teacher yourself.

Ruth Shagoury (PhD, University of New Hampshire) is the Mary Stuart Rogers Professor of Education at Lewis & Clark College. She works with students of all ages (from preschool through adult learning), teaching in classrooms as well as conducting workshops across the United States and Canada. Her current research is focused on language and literacy acquisition with diverse student populations. She is the author of several books, and her articles about literacy, research, and teaching have appeared in numerous journals. Brenda Power taught for many years at the University of Maine, before leaving in 2002 for full-time work as a senior editor for Stenhouse Publishers. She founded Choice Literacy, a multimedia professional development resource for teachers, in 2006.