Introduction
To learn about effectiveness of new pedagogical perspectives & practices, like those inherent to STEPWISE, educational researchers often use action research (AR); that is, research that tracks & analyzes efforts (actions) to improve teaching & learning. AR tends to be a cyclical (or spiral) process, in which researchers continually return to various stages – as illustrated at right/below – to increase depth & breadth of pedagogy & research learning. In light of constructivist learning theory, however, people can struggle with AR because of limited access to alternative perspectives. Accordingly, it is apparent that much success can come through collaborative action research (CAR); that is, through negotiated decision-making among diverse ‘stakeholders,’ such as teachers, educational researchers, administrators, parents, students, etc.