Professional learning networks (PLNs) have been promoted as one way of improving practice in research methodologies and frameworks aimed at the improvement of practice. However, such networks are not yet the norm and there is a growing need for books that provide a theoretical and practical account of how to develop and utilise networks effectively. Mei Kuin Lai and Stuart McNaughton address this need by providing a theoretical and practical account of how PLNs focused on collaborative analysis of data can be integrated into design-based research interventions to improve practice and student learning outcomes. Drawing primarily on examples from a design-based research intervention, the Learning Schools Model, topics covered include theoretical approaches to understanding networks, network purposes and features, constraints and enablers and future directions in utilising networks within design-based research. This intervention is one of the few demonstrations of a consistent and replicable effect of analysing and discussing data in networks on student outcomes within a wider design-based intervention design. The authors discuss the constraints and enablers of the context that influence how PLNs might be implemented across different contexts. Examples of how PLNs can demonstrate fidelity to the general structure of effective networks while adapting to local variations are also provided, enabling readers to conceptualise and design similar networks appropriate to their context.

Current conventions in school evaluation focus on accountability, control and compliance. New Zealand offers a distinctive, systemic alternative to school self-evaluation, with developmental and negotiated approaches ingrained throughout the education system, from school inspection to major government schooling improvement initiatives. In New Zealand there is no national testing, other than a Ministry-sponsored (voluntary) formative assessment system designed for school and teacher self-evaluation. This is a form of professional and program evaluation where there is shared power and responsibility between evaluators and those being evaluated. Through a detailed national case study of New Zealand, together with commentaries from international specialists, this volume examines the successes and challenges of this approach to programme evaluation and its generalizability to other educational and professional review settings, and show how education systems can recover a balance between an achievement agenda and a focus on educational quality.

In a context where schools are held more and more accountable for the education they provide, data-based decision making has become increasingly important. This book brings together scholars from several countries to examine data-based decision making. Data-based decision making in this book refers to making decisions based on a broad range of evidence, such as scores on students' assessments, classroom observations etc. This book supports policy-makers, people working with schools, researchers and school leaders and teachers in the use of data, by bringing together the current research conducted on data use across multiple countries into a single volume. Some of these studies are 'best practice' studies, where effective data use has led to improvements in student learning. Others provide insight into challenges in both policy and practice environments. Each of them draws on research and literature in the field.

There is an increasing focus on research-practice partnerships that adopt research designs aimed at improving educational practice while advancing research knowledge. There is now a need for books that provide a theoretical and practical account of successful research designs that have been tested and replicated over time and contexts. This book addresses this need by providing the first comprehensive account of the Learning Schools Model (LSM), a design-based research-practice partnership that has been tested over 15 years and across contexts and countries (n=5). This model has successfully built teacher and school capacity and improved valued student outcomes for primarily indigenous and ethnic minority students from lower socio-economic communities. The quality of research into the model has been recognised locally and internationally. The International Literacy Association reprinted a paper on the original model in their volume "Theoretical models and processes of Reading (6th Ed)". The authors won the University of Auckland's Research Excellence Award (2015), awarded for research of demonstrable quality and impact, for their research into the Model. This book addresses several gaps in the existing literature on research-practice partnerships. Firstly, understanding applications in contexts beyond the USA where much of the seminal work is located adds to our collective understanding of contexts in terms of constraints and enablers. Secondly, we provide a theoretical account of partnership development and demonstrate how these are practically developed in situ to address the known need for stronger theoretical understandings of partnership development and better training in developing partnerships. Finally, our book demonstrates how research can be both responsive to context and yet have robust and replicable research designs that improve valued student outcomes over time and contexts. This in turn provides an alternate research approach for countries where randomised control trials are often the "gold standard" for interventions.

In a context where schools are held more and more accountable for the education they provide, data-based decision making has become increasingly important.This book brings together scholars from several countries to examine data-based decision making. Data-based decision making in this book refers to making decisions based on a broad range of evidence, such as scores on students' assessments, classroom observations etc.

This booksupports policy-makers, people working with schools, researchers and school leaders and teachers in the use of data, by bringing together the current research conducted on data use across multiple countries into a single volume. Some of these studies are 'best practice' studies, where effective data use has led to improvements in student learning. Others provide insight into challenges in both policy and practice environments. Each of them draws on research and literature in the field."

'I plan to use this book with district administrators, building administrators, and building staff. All would find it an excellent tool for bringing about change in their organizations. It is infinitely readable, meaningful, and very useful' - -Linda L. Elman, Ph.D., Director, Research & Evaluation, Central Kitsap School District, Silverdale, WA 'The material on the research process and the examples are terrific. Steps are clearly spelled out and practical suggestions hit the major problems teachers encounter in attempting research for the first time' - Mildred Murray-Ward, Assistant Provost for Assessment, Professor of Education, California Lutheran University '(With) more schools...operating as 'learning communities,' this is an excellent tool for schools conducting action research in their own settings. Practitioner Research for Educators is easy to read, has lots of practical advice and examples, and should appeal to the seasoned as well as the novice researcher' - Roxana M. Della Vecchia, Professor & Assistant Dean, College of Education, Towson University Learn to conduct research rather than just consume research! Each school and classroom is different. Therefore teachers must learn, through their own inquiry, how to adjust their practices in ways that will improve teaching and learning. Practitioner Research for Educators explains how the popular technique of practitioner inquiry can be used by teachers, headteachers and other school leaders to solve teaching problems and improve student achievement. Viviane Robinson and Mei Kuin Lai include step-by-step instructions, ready-to-use tools and examples of successful practitioner research projects. Practical yet rigorous, this collaborative process is ideal for use in professional learning communities. Focusing on the pragmatic aspects of embedding research into everyday practice, the authors demonstrate how to: - Develop an important, yet manageable research question - Select research methods appropriate to the question - Plan and conduct a research project that is both practical and rigorous - Use inquiry to reveal, critique, and revise taken-for-granted assumptions about how to teach - Use evidence to check the accuracy of claims about "what works" - Communicate the results of the research to a range of professional audiences Appropriate for new and experienced teachers alike, this indispensable book provides a functional framework for developing a culture of inquiry among teachers based on high-quality information, mutually supportive critique, and a sustained focus on school improvement. While the primary audiences for this book are teachers, headteachers and other school leaders, this valuable resource is equally useful for teacher educators and pre-service teachers.