CLASSROOM ACTION RESEARCH An Introduction QUALITY CONTROL SUB

CLASSROOM ACTION RESEARCH: An Introduction QUALITY CONTROL SUB DIRECTORATE APRIL 2007

CLASSROOM ACTION RESEARCH (CAR): is a systematic way for teachers to discover what works best in their own classroom situation, thus allowing informed decisions about teaching (Mettetal, 2002) typically involves small-scale investigative projects in the teacher’s own classroom (Richards and Lockhart , 1996). is an activity that connects the ‘doing’ of teaching with the ‘questioning’ of research that can be united if teachers are to become contributors who shape educational policy and define effective classroom practice (Freeman, 1998)

d ere t n u nco ) e s m e robl WHY DOING ‘CAR’ ? olve (p t to n a w s zzle u p the We rs) e m sto u c ( ents d u t r s u o o We don’t want to be burned-out teachers (PD) re t o m ive ent g m o e t t hiev c wan a e W the l e e nd f a s ces c u s eve i h c o a t t n wa We

CHARACTERISTICS OF ACTION RESEARCH It is contextual, small scale and localized. It is evaluative and reflective. It is self-generated. It is participatory (collaborative). It is the base of changes in practice.

SHARING CAR CYCLE INQUIRY / PROBLEMS PREMILIMINARY DATA COLLECTION CONCLUSION REFERENCES DATA ANALYSIS ACTION / INTERVENTION DATA COLLECTION

ACTION RESEARCH PLAN (R. Allwright, 1993) 1. Identifying the problem or puzzle 2. Refine your puzzle 3. Decide on a specific focus for your classroom research 4. Find appropriate procedures 5. Collect the data and analyze it 6. Reflect on your findings 7. Share your findings with other colleagues

Classroom Research starters: 1. I would like to improve. . . 2. I am perplexed by. . . 3. Some people are unhappy about. . . 4. I'm really curious about. . . 5. I want to learn more about. . . 6. An idea I would like to try out in my class is. . . 7. Something I think would really make a difference is. . . 8. Some I would like to do to change is. . . 9. Right now, some areas I'm particularly interested in are. .

DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES: 1. JOURNALS / DIARIES 2. TEACHING LOGS 3. DOCUMENTS COLLECTION 4. OBSERVATION 5. FIELD NOTES 6. RECORDING 7. TRANSCRIPTION 8. SURVEY / QUESTIONNAIRE 9. INTERVIEW / DISCUSSION 10. STIMULATED RECALL • Regular dated accounts of teaching/learning • Include personal feelings, reflections, philosophy, observations

DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES JOURNALS / DIARIES TEACHING LOGS DOCUMENT COLLECTION OBSERVATION FIELD NOTES RECORDING TRANSCRIPTION SURVEYS / QUESTIONNAIRE INTERVIEWS / DISCUSSIONS STIMULATED RECALL