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This resource is intended to help you plan a self-guided action research project.

Goddard and colleagues conducted a study in a large urban school district in the Midwest. First, the researchers surveyed 452 teachers in 47 elementary schools to determine the extent to which they worked collectively to infl uence decisions related to school improvement, curriculum and instruction, and professional development. To determine the relationship between teacher collaboration and student achievement, the researchers used reading and math achievement scores for 2,536 fourth-graders, controlling for school context and student characteristics such as prior achievement. They found a positive relationship between teacher collaboration and differences among schools in mathematics and reading achievement.

It is ironic that, with all we know about the benefits of collaborative, inquiry-based learning for students, we struggle to create the same rich learning opportunities for teachers. Reports like Reading Next[1] and What Makes Middle Schools Work[2] highlight the benefits of collaboration for both students and teachers, while emerging research suggests that inquiry-based approaches empower teachers to advance their practice and student learning.