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Action ResearchNot traditional educational research often
research tests theory not practicalTeacher research in classrooms and/or
schools/districts for the purpose of: Improving teachingInvestigate areas of concernTesting educational theoryEvaluating and implementing an educational planMeet the challenges within classrooms and
schools
Action research is used to describe an approach to classroom research
A few reasons to do action research…Help you build a reflective practice based on
proven ideas or techniquesAllow you to try new ideas and reliably assess
their effectivenessIt will help you build confidence in your
managerial or instructional decisionsIt will contribute to the professional culture
of teaching at your schoolIt can create meaningful and lasting change
in order to improve student achievement
Levels of Action Research Individual for classroomGroup of teachers for departmentTeachers, administrators, and other
stakeholders to affect change in larger school community
Action Research HistoryKurt Lewin(1946) credit with development of
concept of action researchEvolved and influenced by Kemmis(1983),
Ebbutt (1985), Elliott (1991), Hopkins (1985) and others…
Conducting Action Research StepsIdentify the question, issue or problemConduct a literature reviewDefine a solutionApply the solution and collect the dataAnalyze your findingsReport your findingsTake ACTION
How to Get Started.. Identify the Question, Issue or Problem
Decide on a FOCUSFind your professional self…some guiding
questions may be… What are your broad interests in teaching? What are your specific interests? What questions are manageable? What are you passionate about?
Is there a problem or question that you would like an answer to or as a future teacher, administrator, policy maker, researcher and how will an answer to your question or idea help you do a better job?
Literature Review
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2d7y_r65HU&feature=related
What is a Literature Review?A “lit review” done early in the research
process is the review of the research literature related to the problem or question posed?
Once the problem or question has been identified, information is needed about the problem so that it can be placed in the proper context and the research can proceed…
Sources of InformationStudies published in books, journals, periodicals,
technical reports, and academic theses and dissertations available either in print or online through the library’s electronic sources.
Note: one distinction made between references is whether they are primary or secondary sources.
A primary source is a report, book, article written by the person who conducted the research.
Secondary sources are written by someone at least one step removed from the research.
Assembling and Summarizing InformationOnce you locate and review the sources from
the literature search, then you must consider the question “What should I do with this information?”
First, you need to determine if the content of the source is relevant to your research problem or question? Try to stay focused…
If is not relevant, delete it!
Interpreting and Using InformationOnce you review your sources, you can skim
them to get an overview.From this overview, you can make a decision
on whether this information is relevant to your research problem or question…
Writing the ReviewNow the information that you have reviewed and synthesized can be put into the review of the literature…
For your literature review… it should be from 10 to 15 pages with a minimum of 10 references.
Referencing When information is reported from a source,
it must be adequately referenced. Please use APA format.
Referencing can be done in a number of ways, a reference list is limited to references sited in your report…please use References for your report.
A bibliography may also include references for background information or further reading
Conducting Action Research Steps
Identify the question, issue or problemConduct a literature reviewDefine a solutionApply the solution and collect the dataAnalyze your findingsReport your findingsTake ACTION
Conducting Action Research Steps Further Defined
At this point,
You have identified the question, issue or problem
Conducted a literature review searchReviewed the available literature and written
a Literature Review on your question of interest
What have you discovered?
Conducting Action Research Steps Further DefinedDefine a solutionApply the solution and collect the dataAnalyze your findingsReport your findingsTake ACTION
What do we mean by Define a Solution Next Step?Research Design
Quantitative or Qualitative?Action research is defined as research
conducted at the local level, conducted by a practitioner, focused on solving a particular problem it can be either…
Research MethodsSampling proceduresData collection procedures
The Nature of Educational Research
Research is empirical.Research is systematic.Research should be valid.Research should be reliable.Research can take on a variety of forms.
Research is empirical
Educational research is characterized as empirical, because empiricism is the concept that all knowledge is derived from sense experience.
Information takes the form of data, which can include test scores, field notes, responses to questionnaire items, etc…
Research is systematicBased on the scientific method, there are five
steps1. Identify the problem2. Review the information3. Collect data4. Analyze data5. Draw conclusions within the framework of
your study
Research should be validValidity is when something should be based
on fact or evidence
Internal validity is the extent to which results can be interpreted accurately
External validity is the extent to which results can be generalized to a population, situations and conditions..in action research we are not concerned about this area…
Research should be reliableReliability of research concerns the
replicability and consistency of the methods, conditions, and results.
Research can take on a variety of forms
Basic and applied researchThe primary purpose of basic research is the
extension of knowledgeThe primary purpose of applied research is
the solution of an immediate, practical problem…
Action ResearchOne type of applied research is action research
…this is what we are doing!
Action research is often conducted by teachers, administrators or other educational professionals for solving a specific problem or for providing information for decision making at the local level.
Action research is less rigorous in terms of design and methodology then other educational research…
Research MethodsDescribe your sampling and data collection
proceduresIdentify your instrument, test, interview,
questionnaire, survey…How will you measure? What about validity and reliability?How will you analyze the data? Important to
think about ahead of time, if you are using human subjects you need to go through an institutional review board.
Data CollectionMeasuring instruments must be identified and/or
developedIf the data is descriptive in nature, you must take
field notesYou can collect data by doing interviews or
observationsIf you conduct a survey, you need to determine
what measuring instruments you will use, i.e. questionnaires, standardized tests
Think ahead…about preparing the data you collect for analysis
Next StepDefining your solution……Collecting your data……..