Action Research

WHAT? Where? Who?

Why? How?

By Cindy,Christy,Diana,Katy,Caren,Michelle,

WHAT?

Action Research History

•Traced back to the early works of John Dewey in the 1920s and Kurt Lewin in the 1940s,

•Stephen Corey and others at Teachers College of Columbia University introduced the term action research to the educational community in 1949.

•Corey (1953) defined action research as the process through which practitioners study their own practice to solve their personal practical problems.

Action ResearchPhilosophy• Teacher-as-researcher, • educational reform,• encourages teachers to be collaborators in revising

curriculum, • improving their work environment, professionalizing

teaching, developing policy.

• can be used as an evaluative tool, which can assist in self-evaluation whether the "self" be an individual or an institution.

Teacher research has its roots in action research.

What? Who?In COBB County

http://www.cobbk12.org/departments/CCSD/CCSDAccountability/researchprocedures.htm

For Cobb County go to this website.Look on the right side for “Research

Application” then on the next page, “Research Application”.

Who?

Major players for Permission:

• Principal• Parents• District Office

Resources:

•Colleagues

•Credible Organizations

•Journals

•Educational Data Base

Who benefits from teacher research?

• teacher researcher• classroom teachers• students• school community• parents• district/ county• administrators• field of educational study

Who incurs the risk?

• teacher researcher• students• agency providing funding

How?

More about each step.

How…Procedures for Action Research• Step 1 - Identifying issues and developing questions

-Your research topic should reflect an issue of importance to you as a teacher

• Step 2 - Learning more about your issue-You should read credible journals and study your topic of interest to gain further knowledge. This information will guide the strategies you implement in your research. -Use at least 3 resources.

• Step 3 - Developing a strategy for your study -You will need to figure out all of the steps of your strategy. What will you DO? What steps do you need to take before implementing the strategy? This also includes how you will collect data and who will be involved. See: Action Research Project Planner

Procedures (con’t)• Step 4 - Gathering and analyzing data

-Once you've identified your intervention strategy, you will need to think about what overt, observable behaviors you can measure to determine impact. -You will need to gather baseline data in order to compare to the study results. -You will also need to determine a timeline for collecting data. Consider the validity and reliability of your study.

• Step 5 - Taking action and sharing your results-Compare results with your original action research question. This is the time to reflect on the results and the process, and how your findings can impact others.

• Step 6 – Personal reflection-Think about the action research process.

What…..issues are related to teacher research

• Every day class room activities• Reflect on things to improve• Examples:• Writing workshop• Word studies• Readers workshop• Guided Reading• Motivation

Sharing the Research Project

Ways to share learning• Power Point

presentation • Grade level meetings• Staff development• Vertical team meetings• School newsletters• School websites• School-wide meetings

Audience• Administration• Classroom teachers• Support staff• Specialist teachers• Parents• District

Who’s involved in designing the research projects?

• Individual teachers• Other teachers• Administration• Data administrator

Classroom Based vs. School Based Research Projects

Classroom Classroom based research projects deal with a limited amount of participants centered around a particular topic in a given classroom and is carried out by the individual teacher.

SchoolSchool based research projects would impact the entire school population as it relates to a specific topic and is carried out by the entire school.

What…..are differing opinions about Action Research?

• “Some educational leaders avoid action research simply saying it isn’t worth the effort” (Glanz 2003).• Lack of time (to many other responsibilities)• Impractical (saying it’s for college professors)• Ignorance (saying they lack the knowledge)

• “Research….can contribute enormously to the work of educational leaders” (Glanz 2003).

• …”believe that such an undertaking is important” (Glanz 2003).

References

ERIC Identifier: ED355205 Publication Date: 1993-03-00 Author: Johnson, Beverly Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Teacher Education Washington DC.

Teacher-As-Researcher. ERIC Digest. Cobb County District PageGlanz, J.(2003). Action research:an educational

leader’s guide to school improvement. Norwood, Mass. Christopher- Gordon Publishers,Inc.