chapter4.actionresearch (1)

8/11/2019 Chapter4.ActionResearch (1)

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REAMBLE

Chapter 4: Action Research

Chapter 4:Chapter 4: ACTION RESEARCHACTION RESEARCH

This chapter focus on understanding what is action research and how it is used in

qualitative research. The rationale for using action is discussed and who are the

people are often involved in action research. There are many several models of action

research but in this chapter focus will be one approach that consists of six steps.

Different types of action research are identified as well the issue of ethics is discussed.

1

CHAPTER LEARNING OUTCOMES

When you have completed th! chapte"# you $ll %e a%le to&

Define what is action research

Justify the use of action research

Describe the steps involved in action research

Differentiate between the types of action research

Discuss the role of ethics in action research

CONTENTS

Chapter 1: Introduction to Qualitative Research

Chapter 2: Qualitative Data Collection Techniques

Chapter 3: Ethnography

Chapter 4: ction Research

Chapter !: Case "tudy

Chapter #: $ther Qualitative %ethods

Chapter &: Qualitative Data nalysis

Chapter ': Coding Qualitative Data

CHAPTER O'ER'IEW

Preamble

What is action research

What is not action research

Why action research

Who gets involved in action

research

!ction research models

"ase study# $athematics

Types of action research

%thics

&ummary

'ey Terms

(eferences


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)ave you reflected or though about your teaching )ave you as*ed yourself

whether what you have doing in the classroom is really helping all students learn +s

there another way of doing things !ction research is a qualitative research method

that encourages the practioner ,or teacher- to be reflective of his or her own practice

with the aim of improving the system ,$ciff/ 100-. !s schools are increasingly

being held publicly accountable for student achievement/ action research may provide

a way for helping schools understand better their problems and to ma*e more

informed decisions about their practice that can lead to desired outcomes.

Action Research

THEOR( PRACTICE

Pe"!onal Te!t One)!

Theo"e! and Pe"!onal

*ele+! Theo"e! n the

Cla!!"oom

,-u"e ./0 Acton Re!ea"ch %"d-e! theo"y and p"actce

!ction research is becoming increasingly popular in education ,or for that

matter any social organisation-. !ction research is based on the belief that the teacher

,or practioner- is the best 2udge of his or her teaching ,or practice-. %ach teacher hashis or her own personal theories of educational practice. !ction research helps the

teacher to bridge the gap between theory and practice ,see 3igure .1-. )ere teachers

have the opportunity to test some of their personal theories in the classroom using

action research.

!ccording to 4us*ey ,5666-/ educational problems and issues are best

identified and investigated where the action is/ i.e. at the classroom and school level.

7y bringing research into these settings and engaging those who wor* at this level in

research activities ,i.e. teachers-/ findings can be applied immediately and problems

solved more quic*ly. !ction research in education has also been called several

different names such as#

classroom research/

5

WHAT IS ACTION RESEARCH?


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self-reflective inquiry/

teacher research/

teacher self-evaluation, teacher as researcher.

1u"t Le$n is generally considered the 8father of

action research9. )e was a 4erman social and experimental

psychologist who was concerned with social problems

especially in addressing conflicts/ crisis and bringing about

change within organisations. )e first coined the term

:action research; in his 10< paper Action Research and

Minority Problems. )e was interested in using action

research to investigate into conditions in organisations that

would lead to social action/ )e proposed a process whichwas a spiral of steps involving planning/ action and fact=

finding about the result of the action.

!nother proponent of action research was E"c T"!t

,1011=100>-/ an %nglish social psychologist who was

engaged in applied social research. )e and ?ewin

emphasised on the importance of professional=client

collaboration and were proponents of the principle that decisions are best

implemented by those who help ma*e them.

The main reason for action research is for teacher to engage in the

improvement of their own teaching. !ction research leads the teacher to come to their

own understandings about their own teaching. $ost importantly/ action research see*

to change some of the beliefs teachers have about how students learn and to improve

the quality of education.

Ca"" and 1emm!,10@


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Ferrance (2000)defnes action research as a process in which

participants examine their own educational practice systematicallyand careully, using the techniques o research.

First, action research is not problem-solving or consulting in the sense thatyou are trying to fnd out what is wrong,but rather a quest for knowledgeabout how to improve. Even thoughthe word research is used, it is notabout doing research on or aboutpeople, or fnding all availableinormation on a topic loo!ing or thecorrect answers. For example, it is not alibrary pro"ect where you investigate

about a problem or issue# neither is itinterviewing people to fnd out why. $t involves people %yourstudents& wor!ing to improve your s!ills, techniques, and strategies,that is to improve practice.

'econd, actionresearch is not about learning why we do certainthings, but rather how we can do things better. $t is about howwe can change our instruction to impact students.

Third/ the main ocus o action research is on turning the

people involved into researchers %(9)rian, *++&. eoplelearn best, and more willingly apply what they have learned,when they do it themselves. he teacher or practioner asresearcher spends refning the methodological tools to suit thedemands o the situation, and collecting, analysing, andpresenting data on an ongoing, cyclical basis.

Fourth, the researcher ma!es no attempt to remain ob"ective,

but openly acknowledges his or her bias towards thesub"ects or participants

Fith, action research has a social dimension whereby theresearch ta!es place in real-world situations, and aims to

solve real concerns.

I! acton "e!ea"ch

!mla" to

p"o%lem !olvn-9

WHAT IS

N

ACTION RESEARCH?

LEARNING ACTIVITY

a- What is meant by the statement that :action research is the

bridge between theory and practice;

b- 7ased in the definitions given/ provide your definition of

action research

c- (elate one example you are not happy about your teaching.


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$n short, action research is any systematic inquiry conducted by teachers/principals/ school counsellors/ or other sta*eholders in the teachingAlearning

environment to gather information about how their particular school operates/ how

they teach/ and how well their students learn. This information is gathered with the

goals of gaining insights/ developing reflective practice/ effecting positive changes in

the school environment/ and improving student outcomes and the lives of those

involved ,%3&T%$/ 500


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!ction research is conducted by individuals who want to change their practice.

ou are concerned that things are not going as you wish. 3or example/ the curriculum

for teaching reading is not helping children who did not attend preschool and hence

you want to implement a new approach in teaching reading to children who do not

have preschool experience. ou want practical solutions to your problem. ou mayhave read about how other9s have solved the problem but not sure whether it will

wor* for your group of pupils because you *now that practice is often influenced by

context.

What is the difference between teaching and action research on teaching

When doing action research you will need to adopt a more systematic approach to

ma*ing observations and *eeping records than may presently be the case. !t various

stages in a pro2ect/ your findings can be communicated to colleagues through

- specifies five phases of the research cycle ,see

3igure .>-. The first step is identification of a problem followed by collection of

information about the problem. Then the data is analysed to find potential solutions

and based on the analysis/ one possible solution or intervention is implemented.

,-u"e

./> Su!man)! Acton Re!ea"ch Model 2043>8

?ater the data on the outcome of the intervention is studied and reviewed to

find out how well was the plan was carried out and whether the outcomes was

successful or not. The Problem is reassessed and cycle starts again and continues toevolve until an adequate solution is found.

C8 ACTION RESEARCH MO=EL *( 1EMMIS AN= McTAGGART

@

LEARNING ACTIVITY

What types of person will be involved in action research

7riefly describe the action research model proposed by

4erald &usman ,10@>-.


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!ction research is essentially a series of cycles of (%3?%"T+B/

P?!+4 and !"T+B. 'emmis and $cTaggart ,10@@- developed a concept for

action research. They proposed a spiral model comprising four steps# planning/ acting/

observing and reflecting ,see 3igure .-.

,-u"e ./. Ca"" and 1emm!)! Acton Re!ea"ch Model 2043?8

The diagram shows the four steps in actionH the movement from one critical

phase to another/ and the way in which progress may be made through the system.

!ction research is all about what happens in the classroom. Teachers are encouraged

to be researchers investigating what is happening in their classrooms.7asically it is an approach to improve your own teaching practice. ou start

with a problem you encounter in your teaching practice. +t could be a concern that

students do not spend enough effort in reviewing course materialsH or they have great

difficulty learning a particular topic in the course. 3aced with the problem/ the action

researcher will go through a series of phases ,reflect/ plan/ action/ observe- called the

!ction (esearch "ycle to systematically tac*le the problem.

+n practice/ things rarely go perfectly according to plan first time round.

Isually you discover ways to improve your action plan in light of your experience

and feedbac* from the students. Bne cycle of planning/ acting/ observing and

reflecting/ therefore usually leads to another/ in which you incorporate improvements

suggested by the initial cycle. Pro2ects often do not fit neatly into a cycle of planning/

0

Pha!e 0

Pha!e ;


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action/ observation and reflection. +t is perfectly legitimate to follow a somewhat

dis2ointed process if circumstances dictate.

E


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hase !

@UESTION (OUR PRESENT PRACTICE 2Re+lect on you" p"actce8

7efore you begin/ you should as* yourself the following questions ,7arrett and

Whitehead/ 10@C-#

1. What ! you" conce"n9 K +s there something

8bugging9 you that you are not happy about ouare mathematics teacher teaching primary > pupils.

!bout one=third of pupils in your class are not able

to do :fractions;. +t is already the end of the first

semester.

5. Why a"e you conce"ned9 K These one=third of

pupils who are ill=equipped with :fractions; s*ills

will find it difficult to cope when they proceed to

the second semester.

>. What do you thn: you could do a%out t9

+ can do something about it. + have read extensively

about peer=tutoring which wor*s quite in

mathematics teaching.

0/ PLAN&

+ will reduce the amount of content to be covered. 7rea* it down into smaller

manageable bits. Pupils are bro*en up into groups of three with one good pupil ,i.e.

tutor- assigned to help the other two pupils ,i.e. tutee- in the group.

;/ ACT&

+ begin the lesson with teaching the whole class about :fractions;. Then/ pupils wor*

in their groups on the problems given to them. The good pupil is told to help the other

two wea* pupils in his or her group. $y role is that of a facilitator attending to

questions and issues raised by students.

>/ O*SER'E&

11

CASE ST"DY!

ACTION RESEARCH IN RIMARY MATHEMATICS

TEACHING


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E$ou have to decide #hat "ind of evidence you need to collect to help you ma"e some

%udgement about #hat is happeningG. + 2oin the different groups and listen to their

conversations. + record as much of their conversations as possible which is 2otted in a

2ournal. + *eep notes of my impressions.

./ RE,LECT&

The lesson is lively but not all students are as*ing questions. They are not discussing

with other. &ome tutors did not *now what to do and how to help their groups mates.

This is not what + had in mind. E$ou have to chec" that your %udgement about #hat

has happened is reasonable, fair and accurateG.

hase #!

0/ RE'ISE PLAN&

+ have to train pupils on the process of peer tutoring and strategies for

fulfilling their role of tutor or tutee.

+ have to device a structured tutoring procedure in which tutors present

material previously covered by the teacher/ and provide feedbac* to the tutee.

;/ ACT&

Tutor:The purpose of this lesson is to understand fractions as part of a

#hole& 'Tutor states the learning ob%ective&( $ou #ill practice #riting a

number as a fraction by loo"ing at the parts and the #hole in differente)amples&

Tutor:*oo" at Picture +& Tell me ho# many small squares there are in the

picture&

Tutee:our small squares

Tutor:.ood/ This is the number of small parts in the #hole figure& 0rite that

number in the square at the bottom of the fraction sheet&

Tutor:1o#, ho# many of those small squares are shaded2

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Tutee:3ne small square&

Tutor:.reat/ This is the number of shaded squares in the #hole figure& 0rite

this number on the top in the shaded square of the fraction sheet&

Tutor:1o# #e #ant to name this fraction by using the number of shaded

squares and the number of small squares& 0hat are the numbers2

Tutee: and 4

Tutee:That is correct/ To name the fraction #e say out of 4& The bar divides

the parts on the top #ith the #hole on the bottom& Another #ay is to say it is

that shaded square out of 4 squares means 5, or one fourth&

>/ O*SER'E&

(ecord their interactions by placing a tape=recorder in each group. &tudents are really

en2oying themselves. There is greater group discussion and consensus in decision

ma*ing.

./ RE,ELECT&

Wea* pupils when grouped with a good pupil benefits from the peer tutoring process

which results in mastery of s*ills in fractions. + also realises that tutors tended to drill

their tutees to master the concept of fractions. Peer tutoring should move beyond

drillings s*ills. &hould + aim for this sort of learning more often and with otherclasses + am worried about practical difficulties such as too much noise.

&

here are di0erent types o action research depending uponthe participants involved. 1ccording to Ferrance %2333&, a plan oresearch can involve a single teacher investigating an issue in hisor her classroom, a group of teachers wor!ing on a commonproblem, or a team of teachersand others ocusing on a school- or

district-wide issue. 'he identifed the ollowing types o actionresearch4

1>

TY ES O$ ACTION RESEARCH

LEARNING ACTIVITY

What is the first step in action research

Describe what is done at the :act; stage of the process;

c- Discuss the role of :reflection; in action research.


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A) ndividual !eacher "esearch$ndividual teacher research usually ocuses on a single issue in

the classroom. he teacher may be see!ing solutions to problems oclassroom management, instructional strategies, use o materials,or student learning. eachers may have support o their supervisoror principal, an instructor or a course they are ta!ing, or parents.he problem is one that the teacher believes is evident in his or herclassroom and one that can be addressed on an individual basis.

he research may then be such that the teacher collects dataor may involve loo!ing at student participation. (ne o thedrawbac!s o individual research is that it may not be shared withothers unless the teacher chooses to present fndings at a sta0

meeting, ma!e a ormal presentation at a conerence, or submitwritten material to a listserv, "ournal, or newsletter. $t is possible orseveral teachers to be wor!ing concurrently on thesame problem with no !nowledge o the wor! o others.

*8 Colla%o"atve Acton Re!ea"ch

5ollaborative action research may include as ew as two teachers ora group o several teachers and others interested in addressing aclassroom or department issue. his issue may involve oneclassroom or a common problem shared by many classrooms. heseteachers may be supported by individuals outside o the school,

such as a university or community partner.

#) $chool-%ide Action "esearch'chool-wide research ocuses on issues common to all. For example,a school may have a concern about the lac! o parental involvementin activities, and is loo!ing or a way to reach more parents toinvolve them in meaningul ways. (r, the school may be loo!ing toaddress its organi6ational and decision-ma!ing structures. eams osta0 rom the school wor! together to narrow the question, gatherand analyse the data, and decide on a plan o action. 1n example oaction research or a school could be to examine their state testscores to identiy areas that need improvement, and then determinea plan o action to improve student perormance. eam wor! andindividual contributions to the whole are very important, and it maybe that problem points arise as the team strives to develop aprocess and ma!e commitments to each other. 7hen theseobstacles are overcome, there will be a sense o ownership andaccomplishment in the results that come rom this school-widee0ort.

&) &istrict-%ide Action "esearch

1


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8istrict-wide research is ar more complex and utili6es moreresources, but the rewards can be great. $ssues can beorgani6ational, community-based, perormance-based, or processesor decision-ma!ing. 1 district may choose to address a problemcommon to several schools or one o organi6ational management.8ownsides are the documentation requirements %communication&to !eep everyone in the loop, and the ability to !eep the process inmotion. 5ollecting data rom all participants needs a commitmentrom sta0 to do their air share and to meet agreed-upon deadlinesor assignments. (n the positive side, real school reorm and changecan ta!e hold based on a common understanding through inquiry.he involvement o multiple constituent groups can lend energy tothe process and create an environment o genuine sta!eholders.

)ecause action research is carried out in real-worldcircumstances, and involves close and open communication amongthe people involved, the researchers must pay close attention toethical considerations in the conduct o their wor!. 9ichard 7inter%*++:& lists a number o principles4

;

o this might be added several more points4

8ecisions made about the direction o the research and theprobable outcomes are collective

9esearchers are explicit about the nature o the research

process rom the beginning, including all personal biases and

interests

1C

ETHICS


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here is equal access to inormation generated by the processor all participants

he outside researcher and the initial design team mustcreate a process that maximises the opportunities orinvolvement o all participants.

!ction research

!ct

Bbserve

(eflect

Plan

?earning by doing

Practitioners

"ycle

"hange

%thics

1

chapter4.actionresearch (1)

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