This book introduces readers who are also pre-service teachers to the powerful concept of action research — research which stems from a practical problem and is planned and implemented by the people most likely to be affected by the findings - the teachers. This book provides the specifics of transforming the teacher (or preservice teacher ) into a reflective practitioner and action researcher.

A textbook which explains both how teachers can develop lessons with a consideration of educational theory and research, as well as how collecting systematic data from their own classrooms can be used to develop effective teaching strategies. These processes are termed, respectively, "reflective teaching" and "action research." After discussing the fundamentals of action research, the text looks at the application of specific principles of research and discusses the use of research design and control to more fully assess the impact of teachers' decisions.
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Part I: Action Research: Increasing Effectiveness of Teacher Decision Making. 1. Teachers as Reflective Practitioners and Action Researchers. 2. The Fundamentals Still Apply. Part II: Increasing Teacher Effectiveness: Working With the Uniqueness of "Who" We Teach. 3. The Unique Impact of Students Cognitive Development: First an Observation and a Question. 4. Qualitative and Quantitative Methodology: Tools for the Action Researcher. 5. Hypothesis Testing, Validity and Research Design: Addressing Student Needs and Reactions. 6. Case Study and Within Subject Design for Observing and Adjusting to Individual Uniqueness. Part III: The How of Teaching: Researching Learning Theory and Instructional Practice. 7. Time Series Designs: Studying Behavioral Learning Theories. 8. Using a Reversal Design to Assess the Effectiveness of Constructivist Approaches to the Classroom. 9. Multiple Baseline Designs: As Applied to Studying Elements of Student Motivation. Part IV: Becoming an Action Researcher. 10. Becoming an Action Researcher. Epilogue: Being Informed and Formed By Research and Experience.