Teachers as researchers : models of professional learning

Supporting Teachers As Researchers (STAR) was an investigation into how teachers’ professional learning might be enhanced by positioning teachers as practitioner researchers and professionals who are capable of generating change within their local educational context. The chapter presents a model of professional learning in which teachers were given space to bring renewable professional knowledge to their work as practicing teachers. Within this chapter a teacher story is used to show how teachers designed research questions, gathered evidence about their teaching and used this evidence to inform their practice. The teacher story presents the realities of everyday teaching. The elements that contribute to the overall effectiveness of this model of are presented to contribute to the debate surrounding the char-acteristics of effective professional learning.