Geoffrey E. Mills Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 3eGeoffrey E. Mills Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 3e Copyright

•Geoffrey E. MillsGeoffrey E. MillsAction Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 3eAction Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 3e

•Copyright ©2007 by Pearson Education, Copyright ©2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.Inc.

Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458All rights reserved.zAll rights reserved.z

Chapter 2: Deciding on an Area of Focus

How do you know your AR area of focus is worth studying?




Introductions

Who are you?

What is your quest (to borrow from Monty Python)?

How did you do on the “test”?

Anyone dabble at ERIC?




Deciding on an Area of Focus

After today’s session you should be able to:

Select an appropriate area of focus

Do reconnaissance

Review related literature

Write an action plan




Area of Focus

Every teacher and administrator who undertakes an action research project starts at the same place: making explicit a question or problem to investigate, or defining an area of focus




Clarifying a General Idea and Area of Focus

The “general idea” is a statement which links an idea to action and refers to a state of affairs or situation one wishes to change or improve on.

Taking time in the beginning of the action research process to identify what you feel passionate about is a critical step.




Criteria for Selecting an Area of Focus

The area of focus:Involves teaching and learning.

Is within your locus of control.

Is something you feel passionate about.

Is something you would like to change or improve.




Reconnaissance

Preliminary information gathering.

Time to reflect on your own beliefs and to understand the nature and context of your general idea.




Reconnaissance

Gaining insight into your area of focus through self-reflection.

The theories that impact your practice

The educational values you hold

How your work in schools fits into the larger context of schooling and society




Reconnaissance Activity

Work with a partner to gain insight into your area of focus through descriptive activities.

What evidence do you have that this is a problem?

Which students are affected?

How is the content currently taught?




Reconnaissance

Gaining insight into your area of focus through explanatory activities.

Once you have adequately described the situation you intend to investigate, try to explain it.

Focus on the why?




Review of Related Literature

At this point in the action research process you should make an initial foray into the professional literature in order to better understand the problem on which you are focusing.




Review of Related Literature

At the end of the review of related literature process you should have a better understanding of your own problem and how it has been tackled by other researchers.

You should be able to talk about “promising practices.”




Searching Online Resources

Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)Education IndexPsycINFODissertation AbstractsReaders’ Guide to Periodical LiteratureACTFL (www.actfl.org)Foreign Language Annals




Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)Established in 1966 by the National Library of Education.

ERIC is used by more than 500,000 people each year.

ERIC provides access to more than 1.1 million bibliographic citations




ERIC

Best starting point for ERIC is online at:http://www.eric.ed.gov




ERIC Searching

The basic ERIC search prompts you to search using keywords, author only, title only, or ERIC document number (ED)

The advanced ERIC search offers the same features as the basic search with the addition of searching using ISBN number, journal name, source institution, sponsoring agency, publication types, ERIC Thesaurus descriptor, publication date, and full-text availability.




Education Index

The Education Index is an electronic index of educational periodicals with abstracts dating back to 1983.

In addition to article abstracts, the database includes citations for yearbooks and monograph series, videotapes, motion picture and computer program reviews, and law cases.




Foreign Language Annals

http://www.actfl.org/i4a/pages/Index.cfm?pageid=3617




Dissertation Abstracts

Dissertation Abstracts contains bibliographic citations and abstracts from all subject areas for doctoral dissertations and master’s theses completed at more than 1,000 accredited colleges and universities worldwide.




Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature

Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature is an index similar in format to the Education Index.

Instead of professional publications, however, it indexes articles in nearly 200 widely read magazines. These articles will generally be nontechnical, opinion-type references.




Searching the Internet and the World Wide Web

The resources you can find on the web are almost limitless.

Be prepared to sift through piles of cyberspace junk to find the diamond in the rough!




UnCover Periodical Index

http://www.unm.edu/~brosen/uncover.htm

UnCover is a database with brief descriptive information about articles from more than 17,000 multidisciplinary journals




NewJour

http://gort.ucsd.edu/newjour/

This site provides an up-to-date list of journals and newsletters available on the Internet on any subject.

Direct links are provided to available journals.




Education Week

http://www.edweek.org/

Full text articles from Education Week, a periodical devoted to educational reform, schools, and policy, are available at the site.




CSTEEP: The Center for the Study of Testing, Evaluation,

and Educational Policyhttp://www.csteep.bc.edu

The web site for this educational research organization contains information on testing, evaluation, and public policy studies on school assessment practices and international comparative research.




National Center for Educational Statistics

http://www.nces.ed.gov/

This site contains statistical reports and other information on the condition of U.S. education.

It also reports on education activities internationally.




Developing Educational Standards

http://www.edstandards.org/Standards.html

This site contains a wealth of up-to-date information regarding educational standards and curriculum frameworks from national, state, local, and other sources.




U.S. Department of Education

http://www.ed.gov

This site contains links to the U.S. government’s education databases (including ERIC).

It also makes available full text reports on current findings in education.




Membership in Professional Organizations

Perhaps the best way to access current literature is through membership in a professional organization:

ASCD

ACTFL

IRA




Visiting a University Library

Perhaps a statement of the obvious!

The “education” librarian at a university library is usually very skilled in searching education databases. Don’t be afraid to ask for help




Evaluating Your Sources

An initial appraisal of a source includes:Date of publication

Location of source. For example, did you find your source in a refereed or nonrefereed journal?

A refereed journal is one where articles are reviewed by a panel of experts in the field and are seen as more scholarly and trustworthy than articles from nonrefereed or popular journals.




Evaluating Your Sources

You also need to verify that the information presented in a particular source is objective and impartial.

Does the author present evidence to support the interpretations made?




Analyzing, Organizing, and Reporting the Literature

Make an outlineAnalyze each reference in terms of your outlineAnalyze the references under each subheading for similarities and differencesGive a meaningful overview of past researchDiscuss the references least related to your problem first and those most related to your problem just prior to the statement of the hypothesisConclude the review with a brief summary of the literature an its implications




Literature Matrix

A helpful way to keep track of the literature you are reading and to provide a visual overview of similarities and differences is to use a literature matrix.




The Action Research Plan

Write an area of focus statement

Define the variables

Develop research questions

Describe the intervention or innovation

Describe membership

Describe negotiations




The Action Research Plan

Develop a timeline

Develop a statement of resources

Develop data collection ideas




Writing an Area of Focus Statement Activity

The area of focus statement identifies the purpose of the study.

“The purpose of this study is to….”




Define the Variables

Write definitions of what you will focus on in the study.

A variable is a characteristic of your study that is subject to change.

Definitions may come from the literature but it is important that you own your definition.




Develop Research Questions

Develop research questions that breathe life into the area of focus statement and help provide a focus for your data collection plan.

These questions will validate that you have a workable way to proceed with your investigation.




Describe the Intervention or Innovation

Describe what you are going to do to improve the situation you have described.

This is a statement about what you will do in your classroom to address the teaching/learning issue you have identified.




Describe the Membership of your Action Research

GroupDescribe the membership of your action research group and discuss why its members are important to the success of the investigation.




Describe Negotiations that Need to Be Undertaken

Do you need permission from an administrator? Parents? Students? Other teachers?

It’s very frustrating to get started with an inquiry only to have it squashed by uncooperative colleagues!




Develop a Timeline

In developing a timeline you will need to decide who will be doing what, when.




Develop a Statement of Resources

Describe what resources you will need to enact your plan. This is akin to listing materials that you need for a particular lesson.

There is no point undertaking a study that you do not have the resources to complete.




Develop Data Collection Ideas

Give a preliminary statement of the kinds of data you think will provide evidence for your reflections on the general idea you are investigating.




For Further Thought

What general ideas do you have for an area of focus?

Complete the following statement: “The purpose of this study is to….”

Documents

Geoffrey E. Mills Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 3eGeoffrey E. Mills Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 3e Copyright