The Reflective Educator's Guide to Practitioner Inquiry

Nancy Fichtman Dana is professor of education and distinguished teaching scholar at the University of Florida, Gainesville. She began her career in education as an elementary school teacher in Hannibal Central Schools, New York. Since earning her PhD from Florida State University in 1991, she has been a passionate advocate for teacher inquiry and has worked extensively in supporting schools, districts, and universities in implementing powerful programs of job-embedded professional development through inquiry across the United States and in several countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands, China, South Korea, Estonia, Slovenia, Spain, and Portugal. She has published 12 books and more than 100 articles in professional journals and edited books focused on her research exploring teacher and principal professional development and practitioner inquiry. Dana has received many honors for her teaching, research, and writing. Among them are the Association of Teacher Educators Mentoring and Distinguished Research in Teacher Education awards, the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate’s David G. Imig Distinguished Service Award, the National Staff Development Council (now Learning Forward) Book of the Year Award, and was one of three finalist in Baylor University’s prestigious Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching 2020 competition. Before joining the faculty at University of Florida in 2003, she worked at The Pennsylvania State University for 11 years, creating and launching their award-winning inquiry-based Professional Development School program with the State College Area School District. At the University of Florida, she worked to embed inquiry as a signature pedagogy into the undergraduate teacher education program, as well as developed and taught three popular classes on inquiry at the master’s and doctoral levels. In  partnership with the Lastinger Center for Learning, Dana led the development and implementation of inquiry-based professional development for teachers across the state that included  several of the nation’s largest school districts.  Further, she was instrumental in the development of UF’s Teacher Leadership for School Improvement Program and Professional Practice Doctorate in Teachers, Schools, and Society, both national award winning programs that highlight inquiry as a signature program feature and have been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as the #1 Online Graduate Education Programs in the nation. Diane Yendol-Hoppey is professor of teacher education in the College of Education and Human Services at the University of North Florida. She has served as dean, associate dean of educator preparation and partnerships, department chair, and center director. She taught for many years at the University of Florida where she was the evaluator of numerous district, state, and national professional development efforts. Before beginning her work in higher education, Yendol-Hoppey spent 13 years as an elementary school teacher in Pennsylvania and Maryland. She holds a PhD in curriculum and instruction from The Pennsylvania State University. Yendol-Hoppey’s current work explores national and international research focusing on teacher education clinical practice, job-embedded professional learning, and teacher leadership. Yendol-Hoppey has received the AERA Division K Early Career Research Award and the ATE Distinguished Teacher Educator Award for her ongoing commitment to researching innovative approaches to teacher learning. She has published six books, more than 60 articles in professional journals, and secured 20 million in external funding to support teacher learning. Logan Rutten is Assistant Professor in the College of Education & Human Development at the University of North Dakota, where he studies and teaches practitioner inquiry as a form of educator professional learning. A graduate of the Bismarck Public Schools and Concordia College, Rutten began his career as a teacher of Latin and music in Minnesota, Montana, and Pennsylvania. He later earned his PhD at The Pennsylvania State University and received the Robert F. Schuck Distinguished Dissertation in Teacher Education Award from the Association of Teacher Educators for his research about inquiry stance among teacher candidates in a Professional Development School. His current scholarship is rooted in sustained collaborations with educators serving K-12 students in rural and Indigenous communities. Rutten is Associate Editor of The Cambridge Handbook of School-University Partnerships and presently serves as Co-Chair of the Research Committee for the National Association for School-University Partnerships. His recent publications appear in journals such as the Journal of Teacher Education, Action in Teacher Education, Teaching and Teacher Education, Teacher Development, Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, and School-University Partnerships.

"There’s a reason this book is now in its 5th edition. With its many updates that speak to current educational and societal challenges, this book is a must-read for every teacher, teacher educator, and school leader who is interested in how practitioner inquiry enriches professional practice. Highly practical, but also grounded in scholarship, the book offers compelling reflective exercises and a thoughtful step-by-step guide that explore both the ′how′ and, as importantly, the ′why′ of practitioner research."

• PrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorsList of Exhibits and FiguresList of AI MomentsHow to Use the Inquiry Books1. Teacher Inquiry Defined2. The Passions That Drive Your Journey: Finding a Wondering3. Data Collection: Making Inquiry a Part of Your Teaching Practice4. Developing a Research Plan: Mapping Out Your Inquiry Journey5. Finding Your Findings: Data Analysis6. Sharing Your Inquiry Journey: Presenting and Publishing7. Contributing to the Creation of More Equitable Schools and Classrooms: The Why of Inquiry8. On Your Way: Becoming the Best Teacher and Researcher You Can BeReferencesIndex