Seeing for Ourselves: Case Study Research by Teachers of Writing

Based on studies conducted by teachers and graduate students at Northeastern University, this book offers a comprehensive overview of the kinds of research being conducted by writing teachers, as well as extensive information on how this research has affected their professional lives. The chapters are divided into five parts dealing with the backgrounds of teacher research, longitudinal studies, becoming a researcher, four short-term studies, and writing beyond the classroom. The essays and their authors are as follows: (1) "What Is a Teacher-Researcher?" (Glenda L. Bissex); (2) "Why Case Studies?" (Glenda L. Bissex); (3) "A Quiet Revolution: The Power of Teacher Research" (Richard H. Bullock); (4) "Year-Long, Classroom-Based Case Studies" (Glenda L. Bissex); (5) "The Teacher as Learner" (Susan Kaplan); (6) "Traci: A Learning Disabled Child in a Writing Process Classroom" (Carol S. Avery); (7) "Roles and Strategies in College Writing Conferences" (Ferguson McKay); (8) "The Effect of Poetry in a First-Grade Classroom" (Elizabeth Cornell); (9) "Visions of Communication: The Use of Commonplace Books in the English Class" (Judith Boyce); (10) "Rx for Editor in Chief" (Jane Richards); (11) "Teachers Talk about Their Research: A Round-Table Discussion," edited by Richard H. Bullock; (12) "Short-Term Studies in a Traditional Graduate Setting" (Richard H. Bullock); (13) "Breaking Patterns" (Kathleen Hogan); (14) "Laura" (Kathy Calkins); (15) "Observing a Would-Be Novelist" (Patricia Hanlon); (16) "A Writer Composes Aloud: Tracing Cognitive Processes in Writing" (Jennifer Hicks); and (17) "Circles within Circles: A New Perspective on Writing about Art" (Alice DeLana). This book represents the first extensive collection of articles concerning teacher conducted case-study research and, as such, offers previously unpublished insights into writing and how it is learned.