Action Research

What is Action Research?

Action Research is a process
in which participants examine their
own educational practice
systematically and carefully, using
the techniques of research.
(Watts, 1985, p.118)

Action Research is based on the
following assumptions:

 Teachers and principals work best on
problems they have identified for
themselves;

 Teachers and principals become
more effective when encouraged to
examine and assess their own work
and then consider ways of working
differently;

 Teachers and principals help each
other by working collaboratively; and

 Working with colleagues helps
teachers and principals in their
professional development.

(Watts, 1985, p.118)

Although there are many types of
research that may be
undertaken, action research specifically
refers to a disciplined inquiry done by a
teacher with the intent that the
research will inform and change his or
her practices in the future.

Implicit to the term action research is
the idea that teachers will begin a cycle
of posing questions, gathering
data, reflection and deciding a course
of action.

What is Not Action Research?
 Action research is not usually comes
to mind when we hear the word
“research.”

 Action research is not a library project
where we learn more about a topic
that interests us.

 It is not problem-solving in the sense
of trying to find out what is wrong, but
rather a quest for knowledge about
how to improve.

What is Not Action Research?
 Action research is not about doing
research on or about people, or
finding all available information on a
topic looking for the correct answers.
It involves people working to improve
their skills, techniques, and strategies.

 Action research is not about learning
why we do certain things, but rather
how we can do things better. It is
about how we can change our
instruction to impact students.

Similarities and Differences
between
Action Research and
Formal Quantitative
and
Qualitative Research

Action Research Formal Research
Systematic inquiry. Systematic inquiry.
Goal is to solve Goal is to develop
problems of local and test theories
concern. and to produce
knowledge
generalizable to
wide population.
Little formal Considerable
training required to training required to
conduct such conduct such
studies. studies.

Intent is to identify Intent is to
and correct investigate larger
problems of local issues.
concern.
Carried out by Carried out by
teacher or other researcher who is
local education not usually
professional. involved in local
situation.
Uses primarily Uses primarily
teacher- professionally
developed developed
instruments. instruments.

Less rigorous. More rigorous.
Usually value- Frequently value-
based. neutral.
Purposive samples Random samples
selected. (if possible)
preferred.
Selective opinions Selective opinions
of researcher often of researcher
considered as never considered
data. as data.
Generalizability is Generalizability
very limited. often appropriate.

Types of Action Research
 Individual Teacher Research – usually
focuses on a single issue in the
classroom.

 Collaborative Action Research – may
include as few as two teachers or a
group of several teachers and others
interested in addressing in a
classroom or department issue.

 School-wide Research – focuses on
issue common to all.

Types of Action Research
 District-wide Research – far more
complex and utilizes more resources,
but the rewards can be great. Issues
can be organizational, community-
based, performance-based or
processes for decision making.

History of Action Research
 1940: The idea of using research in a
“natural” setting to change the way
that the researcher interacts with that
setting was traced back to Kurt
Lewin.

 Kurt Lewin – credited for coining the
term “action research” to describe
work that did not separate the
investigation from the action needed
to solve the problem.

History of Action Research
 Stephen Corey - the first to use
action research in the field of
education.

 1950: Action research was attacked
as unscientific, little more than a
common sense and the work of
amateurs (McFarland & Stansell, p.
15).

 1970: Saw again the emergence of
action research.

Steps in Action Research
Within all the definitions of action
research, there are four basic themes:
empowerment of participants,
collaboration through participation,
acquisition of knowledge, and social
change. In conducting action
research, we structure routines for
continuous confrontation with data on
the health of a school community.

Steps in Action Research
These routines are loosely guided by
movement through five 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

Identify
the
Problem

Next Gather
Steps Data

Evaluate Interpret
Results Data

Act on
Evidence

Identify a Problem Area
Teachers often have several
questions they wish to investigate;
however, it is important to limit the
question to one that is meaningful and
doable in the confines of their daily
work. Careful planning at this first stage
will limit false starts and frustrations.

Identify a Problem Area
There are several criteria to consider
before investing the time and effort in
“researching” a problem. The question
should:
 be a higher-order question- not a
yes/no
 be stated in common language,
avoiding jargon
 be concise
 be meaningful
 not already have an answer

Gather Data
The collection of data is an
important step in deciding what action
needs to be taken. Multiple sources of
data are used to better understand the
scope of happenings in the classroom
or school.

Gather Data
There are many vehicles for
collection of data:
Interviews Portfolios Journals
Diaries Videotapes Audio Tapes
Photos Memos Case Studies
Surveys Field Notes Checklist
Questionnaires Logs of Meetings
Individual Files Self-assessment
Records – tests, report cards, attendance

Interpret Data
Analyze and identify major
themes. Depending upon the question,
teachers may wish to use classroom
data, individual data or subgroup data.
Some of the data are quantifiable and
can be analyzed without the use of
statistics or technical assistance.

Act on Evidence
Using the information from the
data collection and review of current
literature, design a plan of action that
will allow you to make a change and to
study that change. It is important that
only one variable be altered.

Evaluate Results
Assess the effects of the
intervention to determine if
improvement has occurred. Is there is
improvement, do the data clearly
provide the supporting evidence? If no,
what changes can be made to the
actions to elicit better reults?

Next Steps
As a result of the action research
project, identify additional questions
raised by the data and plan for
additional improvements, revisions and
next steps.

Guide Questions
1. What was my concern?
2. Why was I concerned?
3. What could I do?
4. What could help me?
5. What did I do?
6. How can I evaluate my work?

Benefits of Action Research
1. Focus on school issue, problem or
area of collective interest.
2. Form of teacher professional
development.
3. Collegial interactions.
4. Potential to impact school change.
5. Reflect on own practice.
6. Improved communications.

Sample #1
Studying the Effects of Time-Out on a
Student’s Disruptive Behavior by
Means of a Single-Subject Experiment

Ms. Wong, a third-grade teacher, finds
her class continually interrupted by a student
who can’t seem to keep quiet. Distressed, she
asks herself what she can do to control this
student and wonders if some kind of time out
activity might work. Accordingly, she asks:

Would brief periods of removal from the
class decrease the frequency of this student’s
disruptive behavior?
What might Ms. Wong do to get an
answer to her question?
This sort of question can best be
answered by means of a single-subject A-B-A-B
design. First, Ms. Wong needs to establish a
baseline of the student’s disruptive behavior.
Hence, she should observe the student carefully
over a period of several days, charting the
frequency of the disruptive behavior.

Once she has established a stable
pattern of the student's behavior, she should
introduce the treatment – in this instance, time-
out, or placing the student outside the
classroom for a brief period of time –for several
days and observe the frequency of the
student’s disruptive behavior after the
treatment periods. She then should repeat the
cycle.
Ideally, the student’s disruptive behavior
will decrease and Ms. Wong will no longer
need to use a time-out period with this student.

The main problem for Ms. Wong is being
able to observe and chart the student’s
behavior during the time-out period and yet still
teach the other students in her class. She may
also have difficulty making sure the treatment
(time-out) works as intended (e.g., that the
student is not wandering the halls). Both of
these problems would be greatly diminished if
she had a teacher's aide to assist with these
concerns.

Sample #2
How Can I Improve My Students to
Improve in English?
By Ma Hong
I am a teacher of English in China, I have
been teaching for two years. I undertook my
professional learning within a traditional
context, which emphasized that teachers
should help their students learn correct answers
and achieve a high standard of language
proficiency.

This involved using pedagogies that put
the responsibility for success on the teacher’s
teaching, rather than on the student’s learning.
Using this approach also meant that my
students and I were exhausted at the end of
each day. I wondered what I could do about
the situation.
In 2003, I heard from my colleague, Tao
Rui about the action research approaches she
was developing under the guidance of Moira
Laidlaw at the Guyuan Teacher’s College,

so I asked Moira to help me develop new
pedagogies. Under Moira’s guidance I began
my formal action inquiry within the context of
my class 40 English major students aged 15-18,
of which 98% had failed the entrance
examination for senior middle school. I met
them for a two-hour class three times a week.
This report sets out the action-reflection
steps I took to develop my inquiry.

What was my concern?
The level of proficiency of 80% of the
students in spoken and written English was
unsatisfactory. They had limited vocabulary,
could not pronounce even simple words,
understood little when I used English as my
teaching medium, and could not use the basic
grammar they had learned in junior middle
school. I wanted to help them develop
confidence, show more initiative and become
more motivated to learn English.

What was my concern?
I decided to monitor the progress of the
whole class, focusing especially on three
students. Ma Jie, Ma Fei, and Yu Jinghu, whose
level of proficiency was representative of the
low achievers. I felt that if I could help them, I
could help others also.

Why was I concerned?
Three reasons drove my inquiry. The first
was my desire to help the whole class to
concentrate more on their learning, rather than
spend time chatting and wasting time. The
second reason was to improve my own
teaching methods. The students were still in a
traditional mode of learning passively, waiting
to be told what to do, and were unwilling to
answer questions in public for fear of losing face
if they made a mistake.

Why was I concerned?
I seemed to be doing the work for them,
rather than enabling them to practice and
think themselves. Third, I could empathize with
the experience of being a less able student
because I had also had that experience at
school and had achieved my current position
through sheer hard work and determination. I
knew how important it was for all students to
feel cared for by their teacher.

What could I do?

I wanted to:

 Create a friendly, well-disciplined, united
class spirit;

 Help students develop confidence in
themselves; and

 Encourage them to take more responsibility
for their learning.

What could help me?

I could observe lessons given by Moira,
and colleagues Li Peidiong, Tao Rui, and
others. I could ask them to observe my lessons
and offer critical feedback.

What did I do?

1. To overcome students’ anxieties about
speaking in front of the class, I divided the
whole class into eight groups. Each group
nominated a leader who was proficient
and confident and proactive. One found
that many students became more
confident and proactive. One of my special
participants, Ma Jie, one day volunteered
to answer a question for the fist time.

What did I do?

2. I developed strategies to encourage
students to take the initiative about their
learning, and to ask questions as well as
offer answers.

3. I paid particular attention encouraging
effort. I praised them publicly and wrote
encouraging comments in their books.
When less able students answered correctly
I got the whole class applaud them.

What did I do?

3. I also encouraged them to regard mistakes
as opportunities for learning. It took a long
time to persuade them that I was genuine
about this, because our culture regards
making mistakes as loss of face. This one of
the most difficult aspects of my new
pedagogies, but students responded well.

What did I do?

4. I also encouraged my students by taking
interest in their family stories. Many less able
students come from rural environments,
where opportunities for schooling are rare.
We talked about how hard their parents and
families worked to make them come to
college, and how important it was for them
to succeed. I showed that I was prepared to
work as they were.

What did I do?

4. We developed good relationships, and soon
the spirit of the class became one of
collaborative working through a respectful
atmosphere.

5. I aimed to make my teaching more
interesting. Rather than teaching the rules in
action. Students were asked to listen to the
stories, and work out the rule for themselves.

What did I do?

5. I set them short exercises, and organized
them into groups to share their learning.
Because of these were new methodologies
for me, I asked them for feedback, and they
said that they found this way of learning
interesting and enjoyable. I shifted the
emphasis from learning rules to practicing
language. I varied the exercises according
to student’s ability.

What did I do?

6. I expressed my pleasure and gratitude to my
students. I thanked the group leaders for
helping others. They in turn took their duties
seriously, and checked with their peers
whether they had understood that the task
and volunteered extra help when
appropriate. I valued this aspect particularly,
because it met my own values of the need
for moral teaching and the value of hard
work and care for others.

How can I evaluate my work?

I used the following strategies to get
feedback on the effectiveness of my work.
 I kept field notes about when students
volunteered to speak. I noted much increased
activity and confidence among all the students.
 I invited group leaders to keep journals, and
asked their permission to access their journals
for evidence about my influence. The journals
contain comments such as:

“ I made progress in dictation this time.”


I have more time to reflect on the record
what happens in class and make an instant
evaluation of my teaching. Though I now do
less speaking in class. I spend more time
preparing, and I ask myself questions such as,
“What do I want my students to learn?” “Which
way would be better for them to learn? How
can I help them learn?”.


Interestingly, out of this research a new
problem has arisen. Students who were more
proficient in English seem less motivated than
before. I am wondering whether it is because of
the attention I have paid to the lower-achieving
students. So my next research question will be
about developing differentiated teaching
methodologies that enable all to learn
according to their individual learning strengths.

Workshop
Make an action research
individually. Use the following guide
questions.
1. What was my concern?
2. Why was I concerned?
3. What could I do?
4. What could help me?
5. What did I do?
6. How can I evaluate my work?

Action Research

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