Encouraging Reflective and Critical Thinking – An Action Research exploration of Teaching and Learning

Using act, reflect, and revise cycles of action research, this study explores ways of encouraging students to think about their thinking, their reading strategies, and their comprehension of the text while reading. Sentence starters, questions, and discussions guide their thinking as they read silently, aloud with partners, and with the teacher in groups as well as individually. As alterations were made to the learning opportunities provided to the students, they showed increasing awareness of their thinking while reading and of their use of strategies to comprehend text. The study explores the significance of developing a learning community in which teachers can engage in professional development.  Within the context of such a learning community, action research is shown to provide a constructivist approach to teachers’ learning.  The underlying message in this research is that taking responsibility for one’s own learning can lead to empowerment and improvement, for both teachers and students.

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