Whether conducted individually or in teams, action research engages teachers in designing and pursuing investigations.
Teachers pose questions related to their own school goals or classroom situations.
Then, by collecting and analyzing data, and sharing results with colleagues, teachers gain insights that can inform and shape classroom practices. Typically organized around a particular topic of interest, study groups bring colleagues together for reading, discussion, site visits, or other collaborative activities. Science teachers at a middle school, for example, could form a study group to learn how they could improve the school's science fair through the use of inquiry-based learning. Taking a cue from business professionals, educators are discovering the benefits of getting together for an uninterrupted brainstorming session to develop goals and action plans targeting specific needs of their school. Similarly, work days enable teams of teachers to focus on a particular task, such as planning a thematic unit.