Studies in Teaching: 2012 Research Digest. Action Research Projects Presented at Annual Research Forum (Winston-Salem, North Carolina, June 29, 2012)

This document presents the proceedings of the 17th Annual Research Forum held June 29, 2012, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Included herein are the following 25 action research papers: (1) "Reading and Writing": A Study Comparing the Strengths of Peer Review and Visible Author Writing Strategies (Elizabeth Behar); (2) Project Based Learning: Is this New Method an Effective Educational Approach to Learning? (Camille Collier); (3) Building a Sense of Community in a High School Physics Class (Nick Corak); (4) Seeing Double: Visual Media and Expanding Definitions of Literacy in the English Classroom (John Randall Davis); (5) Improving Student Attitudes towards Science through Scientific Module Instruction (Carson V. Dobrin); (6) Web 2.0 in High School Social Studies: What Happens? (Kate Douglass); (7) Creative Expression in the Math Classroom: How Incorporating Performance Arts Affects Student Engagement and Motivation (Monica Doyle), (8) Exploring Students' Perceptions about Math: The Value of Explanations in Modern Context (Caroline Ewald); (9) An Investigation of Using Graphing Calculators to Improve Conceptual Understanding in Secondary Mathematics (Samantha Freiberg); (10) The Effect of Personal Goals on Student Motivation and Achievement (Anna Hester); (11) The Effects of Humanistic, Research-based, Anecdotal Science Instruction on Biology Students' Identity in Science (Joseph Hester); (12) Fostering Proactive and Sustained Student Engagement in Poetry (Thomas Kozak); (13) Tracking Talk: Is Dialogic Instruction Differentially Viable Across Academic Tracks? (Chris Lee); (14) Teaching Short Stories: Scaffolded Learning in the High School English Classroom (Dino Mangano); (15) Tools for Thinking: How the Analysis of Primary Sources Influence Students' Critical Thinking (Matthew D. Mizell); (16) The Use of Hispanic Dance to Develop Cultural Awareness and Language Ability (Kelsey Paul); (17) What's My Role? Using Roles in Cooperative Learning in Social Studies (Taylor Peele); (18) "And Historical Thinking For All" (Benjamin Phillis); (19) Grading Teacher Feedback: An Action Research Study (Kathryn Rea); (20) How Graphic Organizers Affect Student Achievement and Engagement in Poetry Analysis (Christopher Sabolcik); (21) The Effect of Journaling from Characters' Perspectives on Students' Engagement (Emily Satterfield); (22) Ephemera in the Classroom: Creating Lasting Knowledge from Temporal Objects (Julianna Sehy); (23) Can Problem-Based Learning Address Stereotypes in Science to Help Female High School Students Create Scientific Identities? (Aaron Willey); (24) Peer-teaching, Group Presentation, and Students' Understanding of Physics (Andrew Wilson); and (25) Reflective Journal Writing and Student Engagement (Brian Wood). (Individual papers contain references, tables, and figures.) [Abstract revised to meet ERIC guidelines.]