Opinion
Professional Development Opinion

Professional Growth—Elementary

By Gail Ritchie — December 22, 2006 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Resource teacher
Fairfax County Public Schools
Falls Church, Virginia

I’m passionate about teacher research. And here’s why: Five years ago, when my students and I were unhappy with a writing-instruction method I’d been using, teacher research helped me uncover what was not working, as well as discover and implement what was. Since then, as a K-1 teacher, I’ve routinely used TR to help me “see what I would otherwise not see,” as a colleague once put it.

See Also

Teacher research is a voluntary but systematic means of gathering data, observing, and surveying students for results that can be used to improve your own—and your colleagues’—teaching. In other words, you’re not dependent upon an “expert” outsider for research; you do it all in-house.

Many teachers—already overburdened with accountability requirements and the day-to-day pressures of running a classroom—may question whether they have the time to become researchers. But the observations and documentation I’d normally collect now serve as the data sources for a focused examination of my teaching practices.

The goal here is to investigate, develop, and implement high-quality practices in actual classrooms. And that fits perfectly with the National Staff Development Council’s definition of high-quality professional development: It’s ongoing, data-driven, and job-embedded.

Teacher research gives me ownership of my professional growth. I don’t need to wait for conference opportunities or district-sponsored workshops that may not match my needs. Because TR involves reflecting upon one’s practice, it allows me to analyze and improve my teaching all year long.

As a result, I’ve improved in all areas of the elementary curriculum. And, every day, I expand the learning opportunities for my students. That’s real empowerment.

To learn more about teacher research, visit: www.gse.gmu.edu/research/tr/

A version of this article appeared in the January 01, 2007 edition of Teacher Magazine as Professional Growth

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Professional Development Spotlight Spotlight on The Importance of PD and Growth Opportunities for Teachers
This Spotlight will help you with the ins and outs of effective PD, the types of PD that teachers want, and more.
Professional Development Hybrid PD May Be the Best of Both Worlds, School Leaders Say
Principals debate the upsides and downsides of online professional development for teachers.
7 min read
Woman with headphones using laptop computer.
E+ / Getty
Professional Development Opinion I Tried AI as a Virtual Coaching Assistant. Here's What Happened
Is using an artificial intelligence note-taking tool appropriate during leadership- coaching sessions? Here's what AI had to say.
4 min read
Screen Shot 2023 11 10 at 6.46.14 AM
Canva
Professional Development Spotlight Spotlight on Instructional Coaching for Personalized PD
This Spotlight will help you investigate strategies for effective teacher PD, evaluate examples of personalized coaching programs, and more.