Anastasia P. Samaras 
Self-Study Teacher Research [EPUB ebook] 
Improving Your Practice Through Collaborative Inquiry

Preface
PART I: THE 6Ws OF SELF-STUDY RESEARCH
1. Understanding Self-Study: What and Why
What is Self-Study Teacher Research?
What Self-Study Teacher Research is Not
Why Conduct Self-Study Teacher Research?
Key Ideas
2. Overview of the Self-Study Process: What and How
Self-Study Research Project Planner
Self-Study Research Project Timeline
Self-Study Teacher Research Exemplar Brief
3. The Self-Study Community: When and Where and Who
Culture of the Self-Study Community
Paradigm Shift
Influence, Confluence, and Divergence
Important Events in Outgrowth of Self-Study School
Critique and Sustainability
Key Ideas
4. The Self-Study Research Methodology: Why and How
Characteristics of Self-Study Research
Five Foci Framework: Methodological Components of Self-Study Research
Key Ideas
5. Self-Study Methods: How
Choosing a Self-Study Method
Challenges in Choosing a Method
Key Ideas
PART II: YOUR SELF-STUDY PROJECT
6. Design
Design Matters
Seven Key Design Components
Key Ideas
7. Protect
Questioning the Ethics of Your Study
School Division Review
The Role of Professional Organizations
Standards of Research Ethics
Institutional Review Boards
Key Ideas
8. Organize Data
Alignment of Data with Question
Document
Categorize
Overlapping Research Phases
Key Ideas
9. Collect Data
Data Gathering Techniques
Alternative Data Gathering Techniques
Quantifiable Data
Key Ideas
10. Analyze Data
Research as a Recursive Act
Coding
Coding Families
Categories and Connections
Grounded Theory and the Constant Comparative Method
Concept Maps
Computer Software Tools
Key Ideas
11. Assess Research Quality
Multiple Sources of Data
Transparency, validation, exemplars, and trustworthiness
Reliability
Generalizability
Key Ideas
12. Write
Some Friendly Writing Advice
Writing Your Research Report
Writing Your Abstract
Welcoming Peer Critique
Key Ideas
13. Present and Publish
The Importance of Presenting Your Research
Challenge the Status Quo of Presentations
Pointers for Presenting
Writing Your Self-Study Proposal
Advice for Presenting
The Proposal Review Process
Advice for Getting Published
Key Ideas
Closing Remarks
Appendix A: Sample of a Self-Study Teacher Research Exemplar Brief
Appendix B: Self-Study is Not Just for Classroom Teachers
Glossary
References
Index
About the Author

Anastasia P. Samaras, Ph.D. is Professor at the Graduate School of Education at George Mason University. She is a pedagogical scholar with an extensive repertoire of teaching, administrative, and research activity directly related to her signature work in the self-study research methodology which include books on Learning Communities in Practice (2008) and Self-Study Teacher Research (2011). A former school teacher and director of teacher education programs at The Catholic University of America and George Mason University, she brings a repertoire of practical applications grounded in sociocultural theory directly to her teaching. She is recipient of the Dissertation Research Award, Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, the Outstanding Scholar Award, University of Maryland, a Fulbright Scholar, and a visiting scholar at the University of Kwa Zulu-Natal, University of Iceland, Vrije University, and Victoria University. Her expertise in early childhood and teacher education has also led to appointments as a consultant for numerous program reviews with various Federal agencies, departments, Head Start, and universities. She currently serves as Chair-Elect of the Self-Study of Teacher Education Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association and project leader of two university cross-disciplinary faculty self-study groups. Her research centers on designing and studying Neo-Vygotskian-based curriculum applications in teachers’ professional practices, including her own.