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Improving Teaching and Learning through Action Research
REL AppalachiaKentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC)
June 19, 2015Hazard, Kentucky
Overview of Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Appalachia
Michael Flory, Alliance Researcher, REL Appalachia
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Please Tweet!
• To tweet during this event:– @REL_Appalachia
• Use hashtag: – #ActionResearchKY
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What Is the REL Program?
• Authorized by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002.• Charged with helping to build a more evidence-reliant
education system.• Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of
Education Sciences (IES).
REL Appalachia’s Mission
• Meet the applied research and technical assistance needs of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
• Bring evidence-based information to policy makers and practitioners:– Provide support for a more evidence-reliant education system.
– Inform policy and practice for states, districts, schools, and other stakeholders.
– Focus on high-priority, discrete issues and build a body of knowledge over time.
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How We Work: Research Alliances
• What is a research alliance?– A partnership between education stakeholders and REL Appalachia.
• What is the purpose of a research alliance?– Develop and carry out a research and analytic technical assistance
agenda on priority topics.
• Who are the education stakeholders in an alliance?– Schools, local education agencies, state education agencies, regional
cooperatives, and other organizations (e.g., colleges and universities).
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Kentucky College and Career Readiness Alliance (KyCCRA)
• Member organizations:– Southeast/Southcentral Educational Cooperative (SESC).
– Central Kentucky Educational Cooperative (CKEC).
– Green River Regional Educational Cooperative (GRREC).
– Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC).
– Northern Kentucky Cooperative for Educational Services (NKCES).
– Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative (OVEC).
– West Kentucky Educational Cooperative (WKEC).
– Kentucky Department of Education (KDE).
– Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE).
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KyCCRA Goals and Topics
• Goals– Understand the use and effectiveness of strategies to prepare students
for college and careers.
– Understand and increase student engagement in schools.
• Topics– Dual enrollment/dual credit programs.
– Student engagement.
– College and career readiness interventions.
– Educator effectiveness.
– Data use.
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Introduction to Today’s Workshop
Bernadette Carpenter, Instructional Lead, KVECAbbie Combs, Educator Effectiveness Lead, Appalachian
Renaissance Initiative (ARI), KVEC
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KVEC Schools and Districts Engaging in Action Research
• Purpose: Why conduct action research?• Benefits:
– Professionalize teaching and learning.
– Empower teachers.
– Enhance motivation and effectiveness of school faculty.
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Workshop Goals
• Learn about what action research is and its relationship to data-based decisionmaking.
• Learn the steps in the action research process.• Practice developing an action research plan around a specific
problem of practice.• Become familiar with resources to support action research in
the classroom.
Overview of Action Research
Patricia Kannapel, Alliance Coordinator,REL Appalachia
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References for this Presentation
• Lewin, K. (1946). Action research and minority problems. Journal of Social Issues, 2(4), 34-46.
• Mertler, C. (2006). Action research: Teachers as researchers in the classroom. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
• Mills, G. (2000). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
• Rust, F. O’C., & Meyers, E. (2006). The bright side: Teacher research in the context of educational reform and policymaking. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 12(1), 69-86.
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What is Action Research?
• “Action research” coined by psychologist Kurt Lewin (1946).• Seeks to involve ordinary people in research to solve
problems.• Used in many fields, including education.
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What is Action Research?
• Various definitions in the educational literature, including:– “…the essential activity of a reflective teacher, as a viable means
for teachers to question the impact of their practice on student achievement and as a way of bringing teachers’ voices into the discourse around education policy” (Rust & Meyers, 2006, pp. 73);
– “…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 well their students learn” (Mills, 2000, pp. 6).
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Data-Based Decision Making and Action Research
Data-based decision making
Action research
Collaborative inquiry
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The Action Research Process
Step Mills (2000) Mertler (2006) ARI Cycle (2014)
1 Identify focus area Identify/limit topic Identify focus/research question
2 Collect data Review literature Collect/analyze evidence (learn more about the issue)
3 Analyze/interpret data Develop research plan Develop action plan
4 Develop action plan Implement plan/collect data
Implement/monitor plan
5 Analyze data Communicate results
6 Develop action plan Continue reflection
7 Communicate results
8 Reflect on the process
A Sample Action Research Project:OneNote Close Reading and
Annotation
Rachel Holbrook, Ed.D., English Language Arts Teacher,Johnson County Middle School
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ARI Action Research Cycle
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STEP 1: Identify Area of Focus and Research Question
• Problem of practice: Effective reading strategies to improve comprehension of informational and literary text.
• Research question: Does the use of Microsoft Surface Pro 3 and OneNote software for close reading accompanied by annotation improve students’ reading comprehension?
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STEP 2: Collect and Analyze Evidence
• Research reviewed:– Personal connections facilitate valuable outcomes that result from
reading and interacting with the text (Brown, 2007).
– Linking personal experience with texts helps students make connections between existing literacy skills and those necessary for success in disciplines outside English/language arts (National Council of Teachers of English, 2007).
• Data reviewed: All students performed poorly (less than 70% success rate) on initial evaluation using Achievement First annotation rubric.
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STEP 3: Develop a Plan of Action
• Strategy: Implement close reading strategy accompanied by explicit instruction on annotation for each major teaching unit.
• Resources: Use Microsoft Surface Pro 3 and OneNote software as tools for enhancing close reading and annotation.
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STEP 3: Develop a Plan of Action
• Students: All students inDr. Holbrook’s 7th grade language arts class completed a selected reading strategy and annotations using traditional paper and pencil as well as digital tools (Surface Pro 3, OneNote).
• Timeline: October 2014 – April 2015.
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STEP 4: Implement and Monitor the Plan
• Evaluation plan: Monitor student progress using Achievement First annotation rubric.
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STEP 5: Communicate Results
• Findings: – Increase in overall interaction with text.
– Increase in textual comprehension.
– Increase in ability to make inferences.
• Dissemination: Findings shared with interdisciplinary team members, administrators, attendees at Action Research Summit.
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STEP 6: Continue Reflection
• Implications for practice: – Introduce to students early in school year. Before using
Microsoft Pro 3, introduce students to OneNote using Office 365.
• Strengths/limitations of strategy: – Improved student skills, enthusiasm, and responsibility.
– Surface 3 is fragile, limited to single student use at one time, and difficult for students to record voices. Students still needed hard copies of material.
• Next steps for teaching practice: – Obtain multiple devices, seek alternate devices to allow access
to OneNote.
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Sample Project: Table Discussion
• At your tables, discuss Rachel’s project:– How closely did the steps in this project align with steps in the ARI
Cycle?
– Do you have questions about particular aspects or steps of the project?
– Which aspects of a project such as this one would you feel comfortable implementing?
– Where would you need additional support? What kind of support?
– What questions do you have about conducting action research?
• Share out: – One key question or comment your group has about action research
or this particular action research project.
Planning an Action Research Project
Michelle Scott, Mathematics Teacher, Pikeville High School
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Problem: Teaching the Same Way to 28 Different Students
Each year I have a classroom of mixed ability students all trying to learn the same topic.• How am I supposed to teach Johnny to find the mean if he can’t divide?• What do I do with Ella, who already knows how to find the mean?• What is the best way to personalize learning for all students with just one
me?
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Planning an Action Research Project: What is the problem?
• Step 1: Identify area of focus and research question:– Problem of practice: Personalized learning in 7th grade mathematics.
– What is the research question?
• Step 2: Collect and analyze evidence (learn about the issue):– What research will you review to learn more about this issue?
– What data will you review (including data on current student performance)?
• In your groups: – Develop a research question and your plan for learning more
about the issue (10 minutes).• Share out.
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Michelle’s Question
• Research question: Will homogeneous, personalized learning stations improve academic performance?
• Learning about the problem: – I researched effective differentiation practices.
– I found information on homogeneous grouping, but mostly for gifted students.
– I learned about personalized learning stations at an ARI summer training and focused my research on this particular topic.
– Research is limited on whole-classroom personalized learning, but one study reported that it worked in the mathematics classroom so I had to try it.
• Questions about Steps 1 and 2?
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Break
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Planning: How will you solve the problem?
• Step 3: Develop a plan of action:– Strategy to address problem of practice.
– Resources/personnel needed.
– Students involved (who and how?).
– Timeline.
• Step 4: Implement and monitor the plan:– Evaluation plan.
• In your groups: – Develop an action plan that addresses the points above (20 minutes).
• Share out.
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Michelle’s Action Plan
• Step 3: Develop a plan of action:– Strategy: Teach first unit as follows:
Monday: Whole group. Tuesday: Practice with some sort of formative assessment. Wednesday–Friday: Personalized learning stations, students grouped
based on formative or summative assessment.– Resources: Khan Academy videos (cycle 1), electronic tablets (cycle 2).
– Students involved: This year’s 7th grade math students were compared with last year’s students, who were demographically and academically similar.
– Timeline: One (9-week) unit.
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Michelle’s Action Plan
• Step 4: Implement and monitor the plan:– Collect assessment data throughout the unit, compare with last year’s
scores.
• Questions about Steps 3 and 4?
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Did You Solve the Problem?
• Step 5: Communicate results:– What findings might result from this project?
– With whom would you share results, and how?
• Step 6: Continue reflection:– What are the implications of your findings for practice?
– What were the strengths and limitations of your research design?
– What are your next steps for teaching practice/action research?
• In your groups: – Consider the findings your research might produce and the
implications of those findings (20 minutes).• Share out.
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Michelle’s Results and Reflections
• Step 5: Communicate results:– Findings: Results of unit tests showed that personalized learning
stations improved academic performance and retention of information more than traditional whole-group instruction.
– Dissemination: Shared at faculty meeting. Invited to elementary school to share findings and discuss how to
implement personalized learning. Will present at Title I conference this summer.
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Michelle’s Results and Reflections
• Step 6: Continue reflection:– Results indicated that personalized learning was effective.
– Implement personalized learning with tablets available for each group, gather data on results.
• Questions about Steps 5 and 6?
Resources, Q&A, and Wrap-up
Patricia KannapelMichael FloryAbbie Combs
Bernadette Carpenter
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Resources
• REL document provided to KVEC earlier this year.– Describes action research,
data-based decisionmaking, andcollaborative inquiry.
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Q&A
• Summary of action research: It’s a process that will take time to learn and put in place!
• Lingering questions.
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Wrap-Up
• Next steps for KVEC teachers.
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Presenters’ Contact Information
• Patricia J. Kannapel, Alliance Coordinator; [email protected]; (502) 581-0324; (502) 645-6423.
• Michael Flory, Alliance Researcher; [email protected]; (703) 861-9557.
• Abbie Combs, Educator Effectiveness Lead, KVEC; [email protected]; (606) 436-3161 X 5083.
• Bernadette Carpenter, Instructional Lead, KVEC; [email protected]; (606) 776-9930.
• Rachel Holbrook, Johnson County Middle School; [email protected]; (606) 789-4133.
• Edie Michelle Scott, Pikeville High School; [email protected]; (606) 432-0185.
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Stakeholder Feedback Survey
Michael Flory
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Cited
• Brown, Matthew D. (2007) I’ll have mine annotated, please: Helping students make connections with text. English Journal, 96(4), 73-78.
• Lewin, K. (1946). Action research and minority problems. Journal of Social Issues, 2(4), 34-46.
• Mertler, C. (2006). Action research: Teachers as researchers in the classroom. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
• Mills, G. (2000). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
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Cited
• National Council of Teachers of English. (2007). NCTE principles of adolescent literacy reform: A policy research brief. Urbana, IL: NCTE.
• Rust, F. O’C., & Meyers, E. (2006). The bright side: Teacher research in the context of educational reform and policymaking. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 12(1), 69-86.
