Research

Action Research

Moravian University is a recognized international leader in teacher action research and one of only two institutions of higher learning in the United States to belong to the European-based Collaborative Action Research Network, with partner universities around the world including Cambridge, Utrecht, and the University of Waikato. Moravian University, along with Notre Dame, Pepperdine, and others, is a founding member of the Action Research Network of the Americas, which is committed to supporting practitioner inquiry in educational settings. Our extensive partnerships provide additional opportunities for teacher education students to present their research at partner colleges and universities around the world and also enable Moravian University to bring nationally and internationally recognized teacher education scholars to campus.

Moravian University's graduate teacher action research studies from one of the largest repositories of publicly accessible teacher research in the world and may be accessed in Reeves Library or electronically, here.

A sampling of publications about action research at Moravian University are listed below.

Rowell, L.L., & Shosh, J. eds. (2016). Action Research Networks: Prospects and Challenges of Greater Global Connectivity Special Issue. Educational Action Research 24(1).

Shosh, J.M. (2016). Constructing Comenian third spaces for action research in graduate teacher education. In J. McNiff (Ed.), Values and virtues in higher education: Critical perspectives (pp. 141-154). New York: Routledge. https://www.amazon.com/Values-Virtues-Higher-Education-Research/dp/1138916811

Shosh, J.M. (2016). Toward the construction of a knowledge base on teaching and learning by and for teachers and learners. In L.L. Rowell, C.D. Bruce, J.M. Shosh, & M.M. Riel (Eds.), Palgrave international handbook of action research. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. https://www.amazon.com/Palgrave-International-Handbook-Action-Research/dp/1137441089/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469538187&sr=8-1&keywords=palgrave+international+handbook+of+action+research

Rowell, L.L., Bruce, C.D., Shosh, J.M., & Riel, M.M. (2016). Palgrave international handbook of action research. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. https://inthandbookactionresearch.wordpress.com/

Shosh, J.M., & McAteer, M. (2016). The CARN/ARNA inaugural Study Day inquiry: what happens to action research after the master’s degree? Educational Action Research 24(1), 4–20

Shosh, J.M., & Bruce, C. (2015). Reflections on the 2014 Action Research Network of the Americas (ARNA) Conference: Enacting Our Beliefs. In E. Polush, T. Flynn, J. Hill, H. Leaman, & J Martinez (Eds.). Proceedings of the 2014 conference of the Action Research Network of the Americas (ARNA). Bethlehem, USA: ARNA.

Shosh, J.M. (2013). Re-articulating the values and virtues of Moravian action research. In J. McNiff (Ed.), Value and virtue in practice-based research (pp. 107-123). Poole: September Books.

Shosh, J.M. (2012). How teachers define and enact reflective practice: It’s all in the action, Action Researcher in Education 3(1), 104-119.

Shosh, J.M., & Zales, C.R. (2007). Graduate teacher education as inquiry: A case study of the Moravian M.Ed. model for professional development. Teaching Education 18(3), 257-275.

Shosh, J.M., & Zales, C.R. (2005). Daring to teach writing authentically K-12 and beyond. English Journal 95(2), 77-81.

Undergraduate Research

SOAR

The goal of the Student Opportunities for Academic Research (SOAR) program is to facilitate student research in collaboration with a faculty mentor. To this end, the program provides stipends, travel allowances, and research expenses to support students and their faculty mentors as they engage in scholarly or creative work. Since its inception in 1998, the SOAR program has supported projects with student and faculty participation across every academic discipline at the college.

Education students have engaged in a wide array of SOAR projects on campus, in the local community, and abroad. They have presented their research at national and international conferences. 

Gabriella Nasta '19

SOAR Profile: Responsive Shared Book Reading and Early Literacy Skills in Four Year Olds: A Summer Reading Experience

Ellyce Nieves '19

SOAR Profile: The Underrepresentation of Teachers of Color: Using Narrative Inquiry to Address the Imagination Gap

Erin Anagonst '20

SOAR Profile: Towards Project-Based Citizen Science: Environmental Education and Community Action at Lehigh Valley Summerbridge

Honors

Independent study and Honors research programs allow students to delve deeply into areas of personal interest. Such programs also give students the chance to work closely on research projects with senior faculty members—an unusual opportunity at the undergraduate level. Some independent study and Honors students have been awarded scholarships and fellowships—including Woodrow Wilson, Goldwater, and Mellon fellowships and Fulbright scholarships—to continue their academic and professional work. Robin Tieperman ’15, Spanish certification candidate, became the 12th Fulbright Scholar from Moravian University in the last 15 years.

While students usually participate in the Honors Program during their last two semesters at Moravian University, typically the Fall and Spring of their senior year, those seeking education certification are encouraged to apply for Spring Junior Year/Fall Senior Year participation.

Graduate Research

Action Research Thesis Abstracts

More than 175 K-12 teachers to date have researched their professional practice and documented the ways in which they have worked to increase student engagement and achievement within their respective classrooms as part of their requirement to earn the Master of Education degree. The complete collection of abstracts and studies in pdf format from 2003 to the present may be perused and downloaded from this site or you may examine the collection, using the search features of the Reeves Library MOSYS or by clicking the link above.