The mission of The Center for the Study of Boys is to promote best practices in engaging and teaching boys through research, professional development, and programming. Since 2005, St. Christopher’s teachers have participated in the International Boys’ Schools Coalition Action Research program. In 2015, the Center for the Study of Boys launched the Saints Action Research Program. The Saints Action Research Program is an intensive one-year professional development experience in which a cohort of teachers is guided through the process of systematic inquiry in an area of practice about which they would like to learn more. Each researcher develops his or her own research question, researches the topic, gathers and analyzes data, evaluates and reflects on the findings, and shares the journey through a presentation and a research brief.
The Saints Action Research program is led by Laura Sabo. The team is supported by Upper School Librarian, Marsha Hawkins, and Middle School teacher and IBSC Action Research alumnus, Derek Porter.
Alumni of the Saints Action Research
The process is amazing! Reflecting on what we do every day and more importantly WHY we do what we do helps us to formulate experiences and activities that are engaging and effective for our boys.”
“I enjoyed researching a topic that was relatively new to me, challenging myself as an educator by trying something completely different in my classroom, and interacting with other teachers on campus that I might not have otherwise had much opportunity to know. Mostly, I loved seeing the satisfaction on my students' faces when they rose to the challenge and were proud of their accomplishments!”
“...in our practice, we need intentional seasons of time where we step back and consider what we're doing, how we're doing it, and why. We need to open up our practice to others not just anecdotally but with rigorous scrutiny of research in that specific field.