Teacher Research: Who Is It For and What Is The Point?

Abstract

This paper was written by a teacher educator and five of her former students who completed a research project as part of a graduate course. Each of the students produced an exemplary project and spoke about the benefits of teacher research at the conclusion of the course. One year after completing the graduate course, none of the teachers continued conducting teacher research. In email reflections, these teachers described teacher research as beneficial and explained why they are no longer conducting research. Their comments challenge teacher educators to examine the goals of teacher research courses and the sustainability of teacher research for classroom teachers.