Action research empowers teachers and provides a structure for educators to professionally engage with a community of colleagues.
Introduction
Welcome to TPS in the Classroom: Inquiry and Action Research, a professional development module for educators. This module was designed to support teachers’ use of the Inquiry Kits for Social Studies developed as part of the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) program. The inquiry kits were created through a partnership between Maryland Humanities, Maryland Public Television (MPT) and the Maryland State Department of Education.
Inquiry learning is an approach that encourages and builds students’ agency over their learning. Similarly, teachers engage in action research to inform and improve their practice. What is the connection between these two approaches?
Dr. Megan Manfra, Professor in the College of Education at North Carolina State University, leads professional development and supports teachers engaged in action research. In the video below, she explains the relationship between action research for teachers and inquiry learning for students. As you play the video, consider what factors connect inquiry learning and the action research process.
Module Objectives:
In this module, you will:
- Explore the relationship between inquiry learning and action research professional development
- Identify ways to use action research questions to support your use of the Inquiry Kits for Social Studies in the classroom
- Learn how to apply action research findings to your classroom use of the Inquiry Kits for Social Studies
