The Reflective School Counselor's Guide to Practitioner Research: Skills and Strategies for Successful Inquiry » (New Edition)

Danielle Torres earned a B.A. and M.A. from Pepperdine University, and a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Oregon. She is currently a faculty member of the School Counseling Program at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Her teaching includes courses in action research, diversity issues in education, and the professional development of school counselors. She has experience as a counselor in schools at all grade levels and with various school-based research projects. Dr. Torres resides in Portland, Oregon.

Provides a step-by-step process for conducting practitioner inquiry projects by collecting, analyzing, and using data, and offers guidelines for developing counselors' advocacy, leadership, and collaboration skills.

Acknowledgments     vii
About the Authors     ix
Introduction     xi
School Counselors Collaborating for High Student Achievement     xi
School Culture in the Time of School Reform     xii
Tips for Using the Book     xiii
Launching Inquiry: Developing Your Question     1
How We Arrived at This Point     1
Moving Into Inquiry     3
Data Sources     5
Thinking About Thinking     7
Formulating Questions     7
Exploring Your Question     8
Strategies for Success     11
Meet Dianne: An Ongoing Case Study     12
Discovering the Territory: Exploring Others' Expertise     15
Why Gather Supporting Information?     15
Exploring Others' Expertise     16
Keeping It Simple     16
Components of the Summary     28
Dianne's Journey Begins     30
Getting It Together: Gathering Your Data     33
Ethical Considerations     34
What Data Is Needed?     36
Avenues for Gathering Data     38
School Artifacts     45
The Last Tip: How to Navigate Dead Ends     47
Dianne'sHunch Pays Off     50
Sorting It Out: Making Sense of Your Data     53
Descriptive Data as a Powerful Tool     53
Ways to Look at Data     54
Dianne Makes Sense of It All     73
Stepping Up: Sharing What You Now Know     75
The Fundamentals     75
Know Your Audience     79
Know Your End Product     80
Inquiry Support Groups     80
Routines     81
The Block     81
Deadlines     83
It's All in the Details     83
Dianne Seeks Support From Key People     88
Building Your Learning Community   Laura Pedersen     91
Learning Communities     92
Practitioner Inquiry Support Team     95
Dianne Brings Parents Into the Learning Community     98
Review and Can-Do: Putting It All Together     101
Where's Dianne Now?     103
References     105
Index     109