Teacher Co-Designed Research: Contributing to Evidence-based Knowledge and Decision-Making Rosemary Evans Principal, University of Toronto Schools University of Toronto Schools (UTS) was the fortunate beneficiary of the Eureka! fund established at the initiative of Richard Ingram ’61. Mr. Ingram and some of his fellow alumni were convinced that UTS teachers could contribute to the knowledge base for best practices in teaching and learning by conducting rigorous research, guided by professors of education with expertise in teacher research. With this guiding vision, UTS arranged for Professor Clare Kosnick to facilitate a teacher research inquiry circle. As a renowned educator and researcher who has investigated teacher research, Clare was the perfect partner. A Professor in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto and currently the Director of the Jackman Institute of Child Studies, Clare has held a number of leadership positions including Director of the Master of Teaching program, Head of the Centre for Teacher Education and Development, and Director of the Elementary Preservice Program. In 2003, on leave from OISE, she became the Executive Director of the Teachers for a New Era research and development project at Stanford University, one of the largest initiatives in teacher education. Clare has been recognized
for her many contributions to teacher development. In 2014 she was awarded the 2014 University of Toronto J.J. Berry Smith Award for Doctoral Supervision and in 2009 she received the OISE Award for Distinguished Contribution to Teaching. Clare partnered with her graduate students and other researchers to support the Eureka! program. Every session was stimulating, informative and inspiring. Her collaborative leadership style instilled confidence and provided continuing motivation. Guided by Clare’s informed facilitation, our teacher research initiative flourished. Six staff succeeded in completing an 18month investigation into problems which they had identified in their practice. They were taught to articulate researchable questions, to design appropriate research protocols, to conduct literature reviews, to analyze their data in order 7