Introduction

This website shows how teachers in schools can initiate and sustain educational research within their everyday work in their classroom. Teachers as researchers are often supported by a process of 'research mentoring' (Fletcher, 2005) integrating mentoring into action enquiry. Teachers and research mentors are 'experts' whose skills, values and understandings complement and enrich one another's practice.

Teachers' action research is on-going professional development for teachers, by teachers rather than being done to teachers by outside 'experts'. It is a form of systematic enquiry undertaken by individuals or groups who share a passion to improve their own and others' teaching and learning to support students in school.

These are the website's main areas:

• Teachers' Research: local, national and international work.
• Research Mentoring: an overview of scope and methodology.
• News and Events: locally, nationally and internationally.
• Reviews: a personal look at relevant books and websites.
• Links: to websites supporting teacher researchers.
  
  

Latest News: teacher research in 2009!

June 29 2009

The fourth e-seminar for BERA's Mentoring and Coaching SIG is now underway.
Mark Potts: How do I Analyse Video Data in my Qualitative Research?

CLICK for the discussion paper

Based on this paper there are three questions:

1) How far does my method of video analysis assist you to evidence your claims to know?
2) What other methods for analysing video are you aware of? (How do you analyse video?)
3) How far is self-study using video analysis a valid, rigorous research approach for a PhD?

1) If you wish to participate, please join the JISCmail Mentoring-Coaching list at http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk - search for Mentoring-Coaching + follow guidelines.
2) If you wish to see what is being discussed but do not wish to join this JISClist you can access the archives at JISCmail.ac.uk by searching for Mentoring-Coaching.

June 20 2009

The third e-seminar for BERA's Mentoring and Coaching SIG is now underway. This week's online event will be convened by Corina Seal who teaches at Sweyne Park School in Essex. Corina is a member of the National Teacher Research Panel and her discussion paper focuses upon the research questions that teacher researchers ask.

CLICK for the discussion paper

Based on this paper there are three questions:

1) How are teachers' research questions and research currently used by teachers in schools and how do other stakeholders, including policy makers, in education research use them?
2) How do we know, as a mentoring and coaching research community, about the kind of questions and research that teachers tend to find useful to further learning in schools?
3) When we consider teachers' research questions, do they choose to focus on areas that can challenge them or choose research areas that they feel confident enough build on?

June 13 2009

Following on a huge success of last week, our next e-seminar starting today focuses on using visual representation (especially video cams) in research by teachers and for teachers. John Robinson and Tony Shallcross at Manchester Metropolitan University are leading our discussion. Their overview, paper and focus questions are available below. Thus week's e-seminar will last until mdnight GMT this Friday night.

CLICK for Discussion paper one (WORD doc)
CLICK for Discussion paper two (WORD doc)

Based on these two papers, there are four questions:

1) To what extent is it appropriate to suggest that a multi-modal approach to data collection and analysis afford an enhanced understanding of issues surrounding the mentoring of trainee teachers?
2) Does the capture of visual data by trainees about their own practice genuinely afford a greater degree of empowerment over their own assessment?
3) What implications are there for further training in order to capitalise on the benefits of multi-modal analyses of trainees experiences?
4) What are the ethical issues that arise out of the concerns expressed above?

June 6 2009

I am delighted to announce a season of e-seminars, hosted by the BERA's Mentoring and Coaching SIG. This will run through 2009. Professor Tadashi Asada, at Waseda University Japan, will convene our first e-seminar. Tadashi has circulated resources for discussion, for reading and consideration of the areas where he invites discussion between Monday 8th June and Friday 12th June.

CLICK for Discussion paper one (pdf file)
CLICK for Discussion paper two (pdf file)
CLICK for Discussion paper three (pdf file)

Based on these three papers, there are 4 questions;

1) What aspects of kounai ken seem most useful to you for promoting
teachers' CPD?
2) How might mentoring and coaching facilitation support teachers' CPD in
kounai ken?
3) Are there particular types of mentoring and of coaching that might be
most effective?
4) What kinds of successful school-based mentoring and coaching programmes
might be adapted to support kounai ken as a means to teachers' CPD?

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Forthcoming Events:

3 - 5 September

BERA Annual Conference
at Manchester Metropolitan University

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Did you know... that if you join the Mentoring and Coaching Special
Interest Group for the British Educational Research Association (the Convenor is Sarah Fletcher) you are elegible to receive a major discount on the annual rate for the internationally acclaimed Mentoring and Tutoring Journal

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Archive from 2008 for this website (links below)

24 November 2008

National Teacher Research Panel Conference
CLICK for the Conference flyer

3-6 September 2008

British Educational Research Association Annual Conference:
This was held at Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland

CLICK for 1st presentation PowerPoint
CLICK for 2nd presentation PowerPoint

11 August 2008

Please help Marie Armaou by completing her on-line teacher research questionnaire. CLICK HERE. The aim of her research is to explore the occupational pattern of character strengths, how they are related to life satisfaction, and how parameters of teachers' jobs affect this relationship.

28 June 2008

GTC conference 'Personalising CPD'
Holiday Inn, Bloomsbury, London
CLICK to access conference notes

21 June 2008

BERA Mentoring and Coaching Special Interest Group
Bailbrook House, Bath, Somerset
Focus: Preparing for BERA's Annual Conference
Focus: Mentoring and Coaching SIG Publication
Focus: SIG plans short, medium and long term

13 June 2008

Workshop for the Collaborative Action Research Network
'What Counts as an impact?'

1 June 2008 (deadline August 1 2008)

Call for proposals opens for the Annual Conference for the
American Educational Research Association, San Diego, 2009

19 April 2008

BERA Mentoring and Coaching Special Interest Group
Bailbrook House, Bath, Somerset.
Focus: Appreciative Mentoring
For a copy of the day's programme Please CLICK HERE

5 April 2008

BERA Mentoring and Coaching Special Interest Group
Bailbrook House, Bath, Somerset. Focus on coaching
For a copy of the day's programme Please CLICK HERE

4 April 2008

Annual Research Conference for Mentoring and Coaching
Oxford Brookes University, Harcourt Hill campus, Oxford

April 2008

CLICK here for Sarah's completed paper for AERA 2008: Technology Enabled Educational Research Mentoring for Teacher Researchers. My paper was developed between 27 and 31 March 2008 as a celebration of using web-based technology and multi media in teacher research.

24-28 March 2008

Annual Conference in New York The American Educational Research Association. Research on Schools, Neighborhoods, and Communities: Toward Civic Responsibility.
See 'Educational Researcher'; What Makes Education Research "Educational" ?

17 March 2008

Sarah Fletcher, who convenes the Mentoring and Coaching SIG for the British Educational Research Association and maintains this website, is presenting 'Mentoring Adult Learners: Realizing Possible Selves' at the Bristol Coaching Exchange. CLICK HERE. This research was published in Rossiter, M. (ed.) (2007) New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education, JosseyBass, USA. PowerPoint CLICK HERE

Do you know about the excellent Research of the Month feature offered by the GTCe (General Teaching Council for England)?

Have you seen the materials available at teacher training resource bank? if not, you are in for a treat! Do look at the review of Rosalind Rice's paper focusing on The Mentor's Use of Adult Learning Theories Rosalind's paper presented on 29 September 2007 at the BERA Mentoring and Coaching SIG Study day in Milton Keynes is accessible if you CLICK HERE

With so many activities there has never been a better time to join BERA Mentoring and Coaching SIG - join at http://www.bera.ac.uk


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Archive from 2007 for this website (Click here)

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News and views ...

CARA awards by Creative Partnerships

TLA Stages of Recognition for Teacher Learning

CUREE's resources for mentoring and coaching

Teachers' TV CLICK for action research by teachers

Action research for teachers - link to Becta's website

Have you seen...

Mike Gasper and Paul Watling's paper 'Reflections on Leadership mentoring and the Zone of Proximal Development'

2006 archives and an invitation to post up Teacher Researcher events

Web-based resources to support mentoring in initial teacher training

The Reviews section of this website offering selected book reviews.

Web-based research accounts by members of the
Bitterne Park School Teacher Research Group in Southampton?

A web-based tribute to the teacher researchers in China

A web-based archive of evidence that teachers' research impacts constructively on teaching and learning in schools.

The Canadian on-line journal Teaching Today for Tomorrow

Fletcher, S. (2000) 'Mentoring in Schools'
is published by RoutledgeFalmer, London. To see other publications by Sarah Fletcher, please click here

You can purchase a copy of Mentoring in Schools at
http://www.amazon.co.uk or at http://www.amazon.com

Sarah Fletcher is a freelance consultant in research mentoring. She has taught in schools and higher education institutions since 1973. She maintains this website.

Updated June 28 th 2009