Christopher D. Sessums :: Blog :: Call for Authors: Weblogs, Wikis & Action Research

My dear colleague, Nancy Dana, is in the process of writing a book on coaching educators through the action research process*.

As a friend and advisor, I am assisting Nancy with portions of the text related to the use of technology to support practitioner inquiry/action research. What Nancy and I are looking for are examples of teachers who are using social media/social software (e.g., weblogs and wikis) to record and/or publish their action research projects.

If you or someone you know is actively teaching in an elementary or secondary classroom and is using a weblog or wiki to capture and publish their inquiry/action research project, please let me know. Nancy would like to include portions of such work in the book for inquiry coaches to see what the action research process looks like when supported via technology (specifically through a blog or a wiki). This text will be the third in a series that Nancy and her co-author, Diane Yendol-Hoppey, have written for Corwin Press (Will's publisher) related to supporting reflective practice in teaching and learning.

Your work and contributions will be appropriately cited, referenced, and very much appreciated. Not only that, your work will become part of the knowledge base needed to support the teaching profession around the globe.

Again, if you or someone you know is using social media to support their inquiry/classroom research, please either let me know via the comment section below or drop me an email (csessums@gmail.com). Nancy is finishing the initial draft as we speak and would like to move on this as soon as possible.

*Action research is inquiry or research designed and conducted by practitioners to analyze data from their practice in order to improve upon it. This process provides educators the opportunity to reflect on and assess their teaching; explore new ideas, methods and materials; assess the effectiveness of these new approaches; and share the findings of the inquiry/research with colleagues and other practitioners. Many teacher educators believe such an inquiry practice provides a means for generating and sustaining a meaningful focus on classroom and school improvement.