Teaching with Purpose: Closing the Research-Practice Gap.

TEACHING WITH PURPOSE: Closing the Research-Practice Gap. John E. Penick and Robin Lee Harris. Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association, 2005. 66 pp. Paperback, $21.95. As the authors explain in this book's acknowledgment and dedication: "The central concept remains: A personal, researchbased rationale can play an essential role in promoting exemplary and effective teaching and professional development" (p. vii). Stylistically, this book is easy to follow and includes teachers' anecdotes on using the authors' process. It reads like a toolbox for quality instruction that should be in the library of all teachers, not just science educators. This book is sectioned into three key steps for teachers: the need to articulate their goals, the use of research to validate their practice, and reflecting upon their teaching and effectiveness.

Penick and Harris build upon Dorothy Schlitt's research-based concept originated at Florida State University more than 40 years ago. Although Penick, a student of Schlitt, and Harris, a student of Penick, focus on science educators, their theories can be applied in a more general sense to any area.

Most important, as illustrated in Chapter Two, the teacher must have goals for the learner, goals for the teacher's role, and goals for students' roles in learning. One anecdote in the book, from a teacher/assistant principal in Minnesota, confirms the success of Penick's and Harris's methodology: "This research-based rationale began to define who I was as a teacher and became my framework for making classroom and teaching decisions" (p. 9).

This book includes paradigms, models, charts, and references for teachers to utilize. Additionally, Chapter Four gives recommendations for teachers who use the research-based rationale to take a leadership role and "close the gap between research and practice" (p. ix). Reviewed by Melissa Keller, 10th-Grade English and Gifted Teacher and Ph.D. student at Barry University, Miami Shores, FL