Action Researc h What is Action Research Action

Action Researc h

What is Action Research? Action Research is a process in which participants examine their own educational practice systematically and carefully, using the techniques of research. (Watts, 1985, p. 118)

Action Research is based on the following assumptions: Teachers and principals work best on problems they have identified for themselves; Teachers and principals become more effective when encouraged to examine and assess their own work and then consider ways of working differently;

Teachers and principals help each other by working collaboratively; and helps Working with colleagues teachers and principals in their professional development. (Watts, 1985, p. 118)

Although there are many types of research that may be undertaken, action research specifically refers to a disciplined inquiry done by a teacher with the intent that the research will inform and change his or her practices in the future. Implicit to the term action research is the idea that teachers will begin a cycle of posing questions, gathering data, reflection and deciding a course of action.

What is Not Action Research? Action research is not usually comes to mind when we hear the word “research. ” Action research is not a library project where we learn more about a topic that interests us. It is not problem-solving in the sense of trying to find out what is wrong, but rather a quest for knowledge about how to improve.

What is Not Action Research? Action research is not about doing research on or about people, or finding all available information on a topic looking for the correct answers. It involves people working to improve their skills, techniques, and strategies. Action research is not about learning why we do certain things, but rather how we can do things better. It is about how we can change our instruction to impact students.

Similarities and Differences between Action Research and Formal Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Action Research Systematic inquiry. Goal is to solve problems of local concern. Little formal training required to conduct such studies. Formal Research Systematic inquiry. Goal is to develop and test theories and to produce knowledge generalizable to wide population. Considerable training required to conduct such studies.

Action Research Intent is to identify and correct problems of local concern. Carried out by teacher or other local education professional. Uses primarily teacherdeveloped instruments. Formal Research Intent is to investigate larger issues. Carried out by researcher who is not usually involved in local situation. Uses primarily professionally developed instruments.

Action Research Less rigorous. Usually valuebased. Purposive samples selected. Selective opinions of researcher often considered as data. Generalizability is very limited. Formal Research More rigorous. Frequently valueneutral. Random samples (if possible) preferred. Selective opinions of researcher never considered as data. Generalizability often appropriate.

Types of Action Research Individual Teacher Research – usually focuses on a single issue in the classroom. Collaborative Action Research – may include as few as two teachers or a group of several teachers and others interested in addressing in a classroom or department issue. School-wide Research – focuses on issue common to all.

Types of Action Research District-wide Research – far more complex and utilizes more resources, but the rewards can be great. Issues can be organizational, community- based, performance-based or processes for decision making.

History of Action Research 1940: The idea of using research in a “natural” setting to change the way that the researcher interacts with that setting was traced back to Kurt Lewin – credited for coining the term “action research” to describe work that did not separate the investigation from the action needed to solve the problem.

History of Action Research Stephen Corey - the first to use action research in the field of education. 1950: Action research was attacked as unscientific, little more than a common sense and the work of amateurs (Mc. Farland & Stansell, p. 15). 1970: Saw again the emergence of action research.

Steps in Action Research Within all the definitions of action research, there are four basic themes: empowerment of participants, collaboration through participation, acquisition of knowledge, and social change. In conducting action research, we structure routines for continuous confrontation with data on the health of a school community.

Steps in Action Research These routines are loosely guided by movement through five phases of inquiry: 1. Identification of problem area 2. Collection and organization of data 3. Interpretation of data 4. Action based on data 5. Reflection

Identify the Problem Next Steps Gather Data Evaluate Results Interpret Data Act on Evidence

Identify a Problem Area Teachers often wish have to questions they however, it is important several investigate; to limit the question to one that is meaningful and doable in the confines of their daily work. Careful planning at this first stage will limit false starts and frustrations.

Identify a Problem Area There are several criteria to consider before investing the time and effort in “researching” a problem. The question should: be a higher-order yes/no question- not a be stated in common avoiding jargon be concise be meaningful not already have an answer language,

Gather Data The collection of data is an important step in deciding what action needs to be taken. Multiple sources of data are used to better understand the scope of happenings in the classroom or school.

Gather Data There are many vehicles for collection of data: Interviews Portfolios Journals Diaries Videotapes Audio Tapes Photos Memos Case Studies Surveys Field Notes Checklist Questionnaires Logs of Meetings Individual Files Self-assessment Records – tests, report cards, attendance

Interpret Data Analyze and identify major themes. Depending upon the question, teachers may wish to use classroom data, individual data or subgroup data. Some of the data are quantifiable and without the use of assistance. can be analyzed statistics or technical

Act on Evidence Using the information from the data collection and review of current literature, design a plan of action that will allow you to make a change and to study that change. It is important that altered. only one variable be

Evaluate Results Asses the s to effects of the determine if intervention has occurred. Is there is improvement, do the data clearly provide the supporting evidence? If no, changes can be made to the elicit better reults? what actions to

Next Steps As a result of the action research project, identify additional questions raised by the data and plan for additional improvements, revisions and next steps.

Guide Questions 1. What was my concern? 2. Why was I concerned? 3. What could I do? 4. What could help me? 5. What did I do? 6. How can I evaluate my work?

Benefits of Action Research 1. Focus on school issue, problem or area of collective interest. 2. Form of teacher professional development. 3. Collegial interactions. 4. Potential to impact school change. 5. Reflect on own practice. 6. Improved communications.

Sample #1 Studying the Effects of Time-Out on a Student’s Disruptive Behavior Means by of a Single-Subject Experiment Ms. Wong, a third-grade teacher, finds her class continually interrupted by a student who can’t seem to keep quiet. Distressed, she asks herself what she can do to control this student and wonders if some kind of time out Accordingly, she asks: activity might work.

Would brief periods of removal from the class decrease the frequency of this student’s disruptive behavior? What might Ms. Wong do to get an answer to her question? This sort of question can best be answered by means of a single-subject A-B-A-B design. First, Ms. Wong needs to establish a student’s disruptive behavior. observe the student carefully several days, charting the disruptive behavior. baseline of the Hence, she should over a period of frequency of the

Once she has established a stable pattern of the student's behavior, she should introduce the treatment – in this instance, time- out, or placing the student outside the classroom for a brief period of time –for several days and student’s treatment observe disruptive the frequency behavior of after the periods. She then should repeat the cycle. Ideally, the student’s disruptive behavior will decrease and Ms. Wong will no longer need to use a time-out period with this student.

The main problem for Ms. Wong is being able to observe and chart the student’s behavior during the time-out period and yet still teach the other students in her class. She may also have difficulty making sure the treatment (time-out) works as intended (e. g. , that the student is not wandering the halls). Both of these problems would be greatly diminished if she had a teacher's aide to assist with these concerns.

Sample #2 How Can I Improve My Students to Improve in English? By Ma Hong I am a teacher of English in China, I have been teaching professional context, for two years. I undertook learning which within emphasized a that my traditional teachers should help their students learn correct answers and achieve a high standard of language proficiency.

This involved using pedagogies that put the responsibility for success on the teacher’s teaching, rather than on the student’s learning. Using this approach also meant that my students and I were exhausted at the end of each day. I wondered what I could do about the situation. In 2003, I heard from my colleague, Tao Rui about the action research approaches she was developing under the guidance of Moira Laidlaw at the Guyuan Teacher’s College,

so I asked Moira to help me develop new pedagogies. Under Moira’s guidance I began my formal action inquiry within the context of my class 40 English major students aged 15 -18, of which 98% had failed the entrance examination for senior middle school. I met them for a two-hour class three times a week. This report sets out the action-reflection steps I took to develop my inquiry.

What was my concern? The level students of proficiency of 80% of the and written English was They had limited vocabulary, in spoken unsatisfactory. could not pronounce even simple words, understood little when I used English as my teaching medium, and could not use the basic grammar they had learned in junior middle school. I wanted to help them confidence, show more initiative and more motivated to learn English. develop become

What was my concern? I decided to monitor the progress of the whole class, focusing especially on three students. Ma Jie, Ma Fei, and Yu Jinghu, whose level of proficiency was representative of the low achievers. I felt that if I could help them, I could help others also.

Why was I concerned? Three reasons drove my inquiry. The first was my desire to help the whole class to concentrate more on their learning, rather than spend time chatting and wasting time. The second reason was to improve my own teaching methods. The students were still in a traditional mode of learning passively, waiting to be told what to do, and were unwilling to answer questions in public for fear of losing face if they made a mistake.

Why was I concerned? I seemed to be doing the work for them, rather than enabling them to practice and themselves. Third, I could empathize with think the experience of being a less able student because I had also had that experience at school and had achieved my current position through sheer hard work and determination. I knew how important it was for all students to feel cared for by their teacher.

What could I do? I wanted to: Create a friendly, well-disciplined, united class spirit; Help students develop confidence in themselves; and Encourage them to take more responsibility for their learning.

What could help me? I could observe lessons given by Moira, and colleagues Li Peidiong, Tao Rui, and others. I could ask them to observe my lessons and offer critical feedback.

What did I do? 1. To overcome students’ anxieties about speaking in front of the class, I divided the whole class into eight groups. Each group nominated a leader who was proficient and confident and proactive. One found that many students became more confident and proactive. One of my special participants, Ma Jie, one day volunteered to answer a question for the fist time.

What did I do? 2. I developed strategies to encourage students to take the initiative about their learning, and to ask questions as well as offer answers. 3. I paid particular attention encouraging effort. I praised them publicly and wrote encouraging comments in their books. students answered correctly class applaud them. When less able I got the whole

What did I do? 3. I also encouraged them to regard mistakes as opportunities for learning. It took a long time to persuade them that I was genuine about this, because our culture regards making mistakes as loss of face. This one of the most difficult aspects of my new pedagogies, but students responded well.

What did I do? 4. I also encouraged my students by taking interest in their family stories. Many less able students come from rural environments, where opportunities for schooling are rare. We talked about how hard their parents and families worked to make them come to college, and how important it was for them to succeed. I showed that I was prepared to work as they were.

What did I do? 4. We developed good relationships, and soon the spirit of the class became one of collaborative working through a respectful atmosphere. 5. I aimed to make my teaching more interesting. Rather than teaching the rules in action. Students were asked to listen to the stories, and work out the rule for themselves.

What did I do? 5. I set them short exercises, and organized them into groups to share their learning. Because of these were new methodologies for me, I asked them for feedback, and they said that they found this way of learning interesting and enjoyable. I shifted the practicing emphasis from learning rules to language. I varied the exercises according to student’s ability.

What did I do? 6. I expressed my pleasure and gratitude to my students. I thanked the group leaders for helping others. They in turn took their duties seriously, and checked with their peers whether they had understood that the task and volunteered extra help when appropriate. I valued this aspect particularly, because it met my own values of the need for moral teaching and the value of hard work and care for others.

How can I evaluate my work? I used the following strategies to get feedback on the effectiveness of my work. I kept field notes about when students volunteered to speak. I noted much increased activity and confidence among all the students. I invited group leaders to keep journals, and asked their permission to access their journals for evidence about my influence. The journals contain comments such as: “ I made progress in dictation this time. ”

How can I evaluate my work? I have more time to reflect on the record what happens in class and make an instant evaluation of my teaching. Though I now do less speaking in class. I spend more time preparing, and I ask myself questions such as, “What do I want my students to learn? ” “Which way would be better for them to learn? How can I help them learn? ”.

How can I evaluate my work? Interestingly, out of this research a new problem has arisen. Students who were more proficient in English seem less motivated than before. I am wondering whether it is because of the attention I have paid to the lower-achieving students. So my next research question will be developing differentiated teaching about methodologies that enable all to learn according to their individual learning strengths.

Than k You ^. ^

Worksho p Make individually. an action research Use the following questions. 1. What was my concern? 2. Why was I concerned? 3. What could I do? 4. What could help me? 5. What did I do? 6. How can I evaluate my work? guide

happy workin g ^. ^