Assignment #4 - Action Research in Practice

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Read: Action Research  http://www.learningdomain.com/MEdHOME/QUALITATIVE/Action.Res.BOOK.pdf

Post:  What are the benefits of action research?  What experiences do you have conducting research that could help you in this process?  What questions do you have?

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What is Action Research?
It seems to be natural and intuitive to see problems in one's practice and try to fix them.  People may conduct portions of action research without knowing it.  My definition of action research is implementing smart change.  It involves a process in which a teacher identifies a problem affecting her practice, investigates it, comes up with a plan to change it, tries out her plan, and evaluates how it went.  

Benefits of Action Research
Empowerment of participants, collaboration through participation, acquisition of knowledge, and social change are common themes of action research identified by Eileen Ferrance in her booklet "Action Research" (2000).  These four outcomes are also benefits of action research.

First, participants feel empowered because they are working on something they care about. Just as we encourage our students to investigate what interests them, teachers who care about an issue and want to do something about it will have intrinsic motivation.  Action research is usually not an assignment forced upon them. They are eager to do it because figuring it out will make their jobs and lives better.  

Second action research invites collaboration among teachers and administration.  Working together inspires collegiality within the school, and gathering concrete data together adds validity to their unified effort.

Acquisition of knowledge is another benefit.  Most teachers are naturally curious and love to learn.  They may feel excited about solving a problem.  Action research may confirm their theories, or they may discover something new.

Finally, and most importantly, action research leads to social change.  Action research is used in many fields, but in education, where children's lives, and our future is at stake, implementing smart change is crucial.  Improvement is always our goal, and action research is the plan to get us there.

Five Cyclical Phases of Inquiry
1. Identification of problem area
2. Collection and organization of data
3. Interpretation of data
4. Action based on data
5. Reflection


What experiences do you have conducting research that could help you in this process?

As teachers we are constantly involved in inquiry.  We identify problems, collect data, and take action.  The problem may concern the class, for example the class is unusually distracted at a certain time everyday.  Or the problem may be specific to a child, such as, Johnny still only knows 20 sight words after extensive practice.  

When I served as vice principal of our small school part of my job was to collect data to assess progress as a school, and students' individual progress.  Data can be collected in many ways, such as interviews, focus groups, assessments, and student work samples.

I have taught in many different situations.  I have taught different ages, subjects, in different locations, and with different goals.  The variety of my teaching experiences helps me to analyze what has worked in different situations and has led me to ask "Why?"  
These experiences could help me in the action research process because I can draw on a range of methods, activities, and ideas when acting on the data I've collected.