This group of teachers has been working together since 1999 to transform the teaching and learning of literacy. Teachers have read research articles, books, and attended conferences–all with the goal of seriously understanding and rethinking what we do.

A group of us are presenting together at the annual conference of the National Council of Teachers of English in Nashville Tennessee in November 2006. We are on a panel discussing how professional learning communities help teachers learn to teach writing.

Some of what we have read includes:
Lankshear, C. & Knobel, M. (2004). A handbook for teacher research. London: Open University Press.

Larson, J. & Marsh, J. (2005). Making literacy real: Theories and practices for learning and teaching. London: Sage.

Comber & Simpson’s (2001) Negotiating critical literacies in classrooms. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Gee, J. (2003). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. New York: Palgrave.

Hall, N., Larson, J., & Marsh, J. (Eds.) (2003). Handbook of Early Childhood Literacy. London: Sage/Paul Chapman Publishing.

Heath, S.B. (1982). What no bedtime story means: Narrative skills at home and school. Language in Society, 11, 49-76.

Lankshear, C. & Knobel, M. (2003). New Literacies: Changing Knowledge and Classroom Learning. Philadelphia: Open University Press.

Rogoff, B. (2003). The Cultural Nature of Human Development. New York: Oxford.

Rogoff, B. (April 1994). Developing understanding of the idea of communities of learners. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 1(4), 209-229.

For the 2006-2007 academic year we are working on teacher action research projects using the Lankshear & Knobel teacher research handbook as a guide. Each teacher has identified a question to study and has developed a feasible research design. Here is a sampling of what we will be doing:

1. Ivy Clark (6th grade): That was then this is now: Teachers' evolving school culture -focuses on the culture of Henry Hudson School 28 to understanding the consequences of a change in the building principal.

2. Rosalie Ortiz (3/4 Bilingual): Lost in translation: Code switching, language, and identity - investigating what role code switching plays in language and identity development. Rosalie will study which factors lead to a student shunning her/his native language, and how this in turn may affect second language acquisition.

3. Iliana Rodriguez-Meister (3/4 Bilingual) ¿Comprende? How attitudes and misconceptions of bilingualism influence educational philosophy - examines the misconceptions colleagues have about bilingual education in order to address and educate them about the sound research that underlies effective practice.

4. Lynn Astarita Gatto (2-4 looped): Lunch is gross: Third graders as researchers - Students (now in third grade) are researching school lunches.