Collaborative action research approaches promoting professional development for elementary school teachers

Abstract

Action research in classrooms can be challenging for novice teacher researchers. This paper reports on a study involving eight action research teacher teams. Analysis of the teams as they conducted action research resulted in the identification of three collaborative action research approaches promoting professional development. The findings showed that collaborative engagement of teachers in these approaches was influenced by three factors – time to engage and collaborate, workload, and group dynamics – and that these factors were enacted in the three approaches in different ways. Knowledge of teacher experiences within these three collaborative action research approaches can: inform school administrators and professional organizations to facilitate professional development; and guide novice teacher researchers to plan in ways that minimize the challenges of action research.