Mills Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All...

Bethlehem Moravian College

Abrilene Johnston-Scott, EdDResearch Coordinator

Action Research Workshop Presentation

Education Department

September 11, 2014

Action Research Any systematic inquiry conducted by

teacher researchers, principals, school counselors, or other stakeholders …

in the teaching/learning environment … to gather information about how their

particular schools operate, how they teach, and how well their students learn.

Research done by teachers for themselves

Goals of Action Research

To improve the lives of children To learn about the craft of teaching

The Process of Action Research

Mills’ Dialectic Action Research Spiral

Ethics

Informed Consent Ensures that research participants

enter the research of their free will understand the study are aware of any possible dangers

Intended to reduce the likelihood that participants will be exploited

Ongoing dialogue between participants and teacher-researcher

Written permissions if necessary

Freedom from Harm

Students must not be exposed to risk anonymity: researcher does not

know identity of participants confidentiality: researcher does

not release personally identifiable information

There is no place for deception in action research!

Parental Permission Required if

students are underage data identify students

Not required if school personnel have “legitimate

educational interest” records are anonymous

Request must specify what data may be disclosed for what purposes to whom

Deciding on an Area of Focus

Clarify your area of focus. Do reconnaissance. Review related literature.

Clarifying an Area of Focus

General idea: statement that links idea to action and refers to a situation to change or improve

Area of focus: explicit question or problem to investigate involves teaching and learning focuses on your own practice within your locus of control something you feel passionate about something you want to change or

improve

Reconnaissance

Preliminary information gathering Taking time to reflect on your own

beliefs Taking time to understand the nature

and context of your general idea 3 forms

self-reflection description explanation

Self-reflection

Reflect on theories that affect your practice educational values you hold

historical contexts

how your work in schools fits into the larger context of schooling and societyhistorical contexts

Descriptive Activities

What evidence do you have that this is a problem?

Which students are affected? How is the content currently taught?

Explanatory Activities

Develop a hypothesis focus on the why try to account for critical factors

that have an impact on the general idea

Review of Related Literature

Systematically identifying, locating, analyzing documents related to the topic/area of focus major themes promising practices

Data Collection Techniques

Data Collection

Largely determined by the nature of the problem qualitative quantitative mixed method

Qualitative Data Collection Techniques

Using and Making Records Archival documents

attendance and retention rates discipline referrals standardized test scores

Journals Maps, video and audio recordings,

photos, film Dictation software Other artifacts

Quantitative Data Collection Techniques

Teacher-made tests Standardized tests School-generated report cards Questionnaires etc

Triangulation

Use of multiple sources of data “multi-instrument” approach

Triangulation Matrix

Realigning Your Focus

Other directions appear more interesting, relevant, or problematic

That’s fine — Action research is intimate, open-

ended, unforeseen Action research is done to benefit

you and the students

Validity

Degree to which data collection methods measure what they are supposed to measure

Reliability

Degree to which a test consistently measures whatever it measures expressed numerically, usually as

coefficient high coefficient (near 1.00)

indicates high reliability no test is perfectly reliable

Reliability in Qualitative Action Research

Degree to which data would be consistently collected same techniques utilized

repeatedly same techniques used by different

researchers

Generalizability

Degree to which behavior of one group can be used to explain the behavior of a wider group

Generalizability is not the goal of action research. Instead, it is to: understand what is happening in

your school or classroom determine how to improve things

in that context

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Ongoing Analysis & Reflection

Is your research question still answerable and worth answering?

Are your data collection techniques catching the kind of data you want and filtering out unwanted data?

Conduct interim analysis Avoid premature action

Analysis & Interpretation

Data analysis summary of data technique determined by type of

data Data interpretation

finding meaning in the data

Organizing Qualitative Data

Reading/Memoing record initial thoughts

Describing include context, actions,

interactions Classifying

develop themes

Data Analysis Techniques Identify themes

work inductively Code surveys, interviews,

questionnaires try to find patterns, meaning

Analyze interviews annotate and identify themes

Ask key questions

Data Analysis Techniques Concept map

Data Analysis Techniques Display findings

matrixes, charts, concept maps, graphs, figures, audiovisual media

State what’s missing avoid making unwarranted assertions

Analyzing & InterpretingQuantitative Data

Descriptive statistics shorthand way of giving lots of

information about a range of numbers

Analyzing & InterpretingQuantitative Data

Descriptive statistics central tendency

mean (average)median (middle) mode (most frequent)

variabilitystandard deviation (spread)

Qualitative Data Interpretation

Extend the analysis raise questions note implications that might be

drawn, without actually drawing them Connect findings with personal

experience Seek advice of “critical” friends

take time to build relationships

Qualitative Data Interpretation

Contextualize findings in literature Turn to theory

link to broader issues provide rationale, sense of meaning

Action Planning for Educational Change

Developing Action Plans

Reflect: “Based on what I have learned from this investigation, what should I do now?”

Steps to Action

Summarizing findings Recommending action Determining responsibilities Sharing findings with colleagues Ongoing monitoring (data

collection) Creating timeline Developing resources

Levels of Action Planning Individual

curriculum development, implementation instructional & assessment strategies classroom management strategies/plans community involvement

Team teachers, administrators, parents

Schoolwide

Action Should Be Ongoing

Taking action is a regular part of teaching based on formative feedback often intuitive and informal

Reflection What were the intended and

unintended effects of your actions? What educational issues arise from

what you have learned about your practice?

Challenges Facing Teacher Researchers

Lack of resources Resistance to change Reluctance to interfere with others’

professional practices Reluctance to admit difficult truths Finding a forum to share what you

learned Making time for action research

Writing Up Action Research

Format and Style

Format: general pattern of organization and arrangement

Style: rules of grammar, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and word processing

APA Style Manual

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association most widely accepted by colleges,

universities, journals

Outline, Action Research Report

Area-of-focus statement Related literature Definition of variables Research questions Description of intervention or innovation

Outline, Action Research Report

Data collection Data considerations Data analysis and interpretation Action plan

Conclusion

This Concludes my presentation. Thank you for your attention.

No action without research; no research without action.”

—K. Lewin, cited in Adelman, 1993, p. 8

Mills Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All...

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