Educational Research

1. Educational Research Chapter 20 Action Research Gay, Mills, and Airasian

2. Topics Discussed in this Chapter • The definition and purpose of action research • The action research process • The four steps in conducting action research • Key characteristics of action research • Action research data collection techniques

3. Definition and Purpose • Definition • Any systematic inquiry conducted by teacher researchers, principals, school counselors, or other stakeholders in the teaching/learning environment to gather information about the ways that their particular schools operate, how they teach, and how their students learn. Objective 1.1

4. Definition and Purpose • Three purposes • To provide teacher researchers with a method for solving everyday problems in schools to improve both student learning and teacher effectiveness • To develop the professional disposition of teachers • Encourage teachers to be life-long learners • To incorporate into a teacher’s daily routine a reflective stance • The willingness to look critically at teaching so it can be improved Objective 2.1

5. The Action Research Process • The Dialectic Action Research Spiral • A model that provides teacher researchers with a practical guide and illustrates how to proceed with inquiries. • Four steps • Identifying an area of focus • Data collection • Data analysis and interpretation • Action Planning • See Figure 20.1 Objectives 3.1 and 4.1

6. Key Characteristics of Action Research • Two types of action research • Critical action research • Known as emancipatory action research • The goal is to liberate individuals through the gathering of knowledge • Five guiding values • Socially responsive • Democratic – enabling participation of people • Equitable – acknowledging people’s equality of worth • Liberating – providing freedom from oppressive debilitating conditions • Enhancing – enabling the expression of people’s full human potential Objective 5.1

7. Key Characteristics of Action Research • Two types of action research (cont.) • Practical action research • Five key concepts • Individual teachers have decision-making authority • Teacher researchers are committed to continued professional development and school improvement • Teacher researchers want to reflect on their practice • Teacher researchers will use a systematic approach for reflecting on their practice • Teacher researchers follow the Dialectic Action Research Spiral • More applied and less philosophical than critical action research Objective 5.1

8. Key Characteristics of Action Research • Three levels • Individual teacher research • Small teacher groups or teams in a single school • Departments • Common content areas • School-wide research Objective 5.2

9. Key Characteristics of Action Research • Five characteristics • Persuasive and authoritative • Teachers develop solutions to their own problems • Relevant • The focus is on issues of concern to teachers, not educational researchers • Accessible • Teachers’ willingness to reflect on and change their thinking about teaching leads them to become more successful and productive members of the professional community Objective 5.3

10. Key Characteristics of Action Research • Five characteristics (continued) • Challenges the reform of the educational system • Offers an opportunity to embrace a problem- solving philosophy and practice as an integral part of the culture of teachers’ schools • Not a fad • Good teachers have always systematically looked at the effects of their teaching on student learning Objective 5.3

11. Action Research Techniques • Take time to identify a meaningful, engaging problem • Four criteria • The focus should involve teaching and learning and should be related to the teacher’s own practice • The focus is something within the teacher’s locus of control • The focus is something about which the teacher feels passionate • The focus is something the teacher would like to change or improve Objective 6.1

12. Action Research Techniques • Data collection • Reconnaissance • Generally thought of as preliminary data gathering • Reflecting on your own beliefs • Understanding the nature and context of your general idea Objective 6.1

13. Action Research Techniques • Reconnaissance (continued) • Three forms • Gaining insight through self-reflection • Theories that impact your practice • Your educational values • How your work fits into the larger context of schooling and society • Historical contexts of your school and schooling • Historical contexts of your beliefs about teaching and learning Objective 6.1

14. Action Research Techniques • Reconnaissance (continued) • Three forms (continued) • Gaining insight through descriptive activities • Focusing on who, what, when, and where • Provide evidence that your problem is, in fact, a problem • Identify students who are struggling with tasks related to your problem • Identify current methods for dealing with your problem • Identify the frequency with which your problem arises Objective 6.1

15. Action Research Techniques • Reconnaissance (continued) • Three forms (continued) • Gaining insight through explanatory activities • Focus on why • Account for critical factors that have an impact on your problem • Develop a hypothesis stating the expected relationships between variables in your study • Clarifies what the teacher believes about the relationships of factors, variables, and contexts that make up their work • Identifies what the teacher believes can improve the situation Objective 6.1

16. Action Research Techniques • Data collection • Largely determined by the nature of the problem • Idiosyncratic based on the teacher, problem, context, and accessibility • Dominated by qualitative techniques • If quantitative data is collected it tends to remain on a descriptive level Objective 6.1

17. Action Research Techniques • Sharing the results • Communicating the results to others in formal and informal settings • Several commonly used forms • Conversations • Presentations • Papers • Can lead to further analysis and understanding • Creates a permanent record of the research Objective 6.1

18. Action Research Techniques • Taking action • Deciding what steps need to be taken and how to take them in order to alter or improve practice • This is the action in action research Objective 6.1