ESR 531 Exploring Action Research: Action Research I

This course is the first in a four-course action research sequence. It introduces the nature and processes of teachers' classroom inquiry to enlighten instruction and improve student learning. Towards this end, the course introduces traditions and conceptions of action research and its relation to other forms of inquiry. It emphasizes the role of teachers as researchers of their own practices and contexts in terms of their students' learning and construction of meaning. Candidates begin to explore their classrooms as complex systems shaped by interpersonal, cultural, and political/structural dynamics. Candidates build a framework for their own action research as they write their autobiography and their action research proposal. This course is for students in the M.Ed. Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Program. Prerequisite(s): None. Co-requisite(s): None. 2 semester hours