methods of research chapter 10 action research.pps

8/16/2019 Methods of Research Chapter 10 Action Research.pps

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ir. PANCHITO M. LABAY

FORD Fellow, Professor 5


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What is Action Research?

----It is RESEARCH, because it follows the researchprocess, that is, starting with a problem, planning forgathering data or designing methods in gathering data,gathering information (theories etc., gathering of findingsand interpreting data for results, presenting data orfindings for immediate AC!I"#.

----It is more on the $AC!I"#% that should be done tosol&e problems, to find solutions with immediateapplicabilit' to the cited problem for immediate action. ore)ample, 'ou want to better understand wh' 'ourstudents are not performing well in the classroom. *ou

want to impro&e the da'-toda' learning process of thechildren.----Research here is the method in finding immediatesolutions to the problem and Action is the b'-product forimplementation, for a change.


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Peculiarities of Action Research?Action research is+Cyclic similar steps tend to recur, in a similar seuence

Participative the clients and informants are in&ol&ed aspartners, or at least acti&e participants, in the researchprocessQualitative it deals more often with language than withnumbers andReflective critical reflection upon the process and outcomesare important parts of each c'cle.

The Action Research Cycle

/. Identification of problem area0. Collection and organi1ation of data2. Interpretation of data3. Action based on data4. Reflection


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Phases of Action Research Phase I 5roblem Identification6 !his is alwa's 'our starting

point. Ha&e time to in determining the right focus of 'our researchuestion7h' do 'ou want to do it8 Is it an important and practicalproblem, something worth 'our time and effort, something thatcould be beneficial to 'ou, 'our students and others8

Is the problem stated clearl' and in the form of a uestion8 Is itbroad enough to allow for a range of insights and findings8 Is itnarrow enough to be manageable within 'our timeframe and 'ourdail' wor98

Phase II 5lan of Action or Action 5lan6 *our plan will be thesolution to the problem, which can be a new strateg', process,methodolog'. etc.7ill 'ou de&elop and implement a new strateg' or approach toaddress 'our uestion8 If so, what will it be8 7ill 'ou focus 'ourstud' on e)isting practices8 If so, which particular ones8 7hat isan appropriate timeline for what 'ou are tr'ing to accomplish8


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Phase III :ata Collection7hat t'pes of data should 'ou tr' to collect in order to answer'our uestion8How will 'ou ensure that 'ou ha&e multiple perspecti&es8

7hat resources e)ist and what information from others might beuseful in helping 'ou to frame 'our uestion, decide on t'pes ofdata to collect, or to help 'ou in interpreting 'our findings8In action research, the literature review is defined by the collecteddata, unlike in conventional research, wherein the literature review

is cited first.Phase IV Anal'sis of :ata7hat can 'ou learn from the data8 7hat patterns, insights, andnew understandings can 'ou find87hat meaning do these patterns, insights, and newunderstandings ha&e for 'our practice8 or 'our students8Phase V 5lan for uture Action7hat will 'ou do differentl' in 'our classroom as a result of thisstud'87hat might 'ou recommend to others8How will 'ou write about what 'ou ha&e learned so that the

findings will be useful to 'ou and to others8


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PROBLE

*our personal reflection about what 'ou ha&e obser&ed falls under $Results ; :iscussion%. !his part is regarded as the best wa' for us to

understand and learn the problem as applied in our dail' acti&ities.

If the /st c'cle of the research did notwor9, re&isit and re&ise the plan

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•Action research is a practical wa' for indi&iduals to e)plorethe nature of their practice and to impro&e it.•Action research encourages practitioners to become9nowledge-ma9ers, rather than merel' 9nowledge-users.•Action research bridge the gap between theor' and practice.•Action research uses action as a means of research plannedchange is implemented, monitored and anal'sed.•

Action research started from encountered problems thenproceeds through a process of planning, action and reflectionupon action. !his can be thought of as an action-reflection


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#OI$% ACTIO$ RE&EARC'&tartin( )ith so!e *ey +uestions,>arrett and 7hitehead (/?@4 as9 si) uestionswhich should help 'ou start 'our inuir'6/.7hat is 'our concern80.7h' are 'ou concerned8

2.7hat do 'ou thin9 'ou could do about it83.7hat 9ind of e&idence could 'ou collect tohelp 'ou ma9e some udgement about what ishappening8

4.How would 'ou collect such e&idence8B.How would 'ou chec9 that 'our udgementabout what has happened is reasonable, fairand accurate8


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What can I investi(ate throu(h action research?•Action research can be used to in&estigate practical, e&er'da'issues6•


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The Case of .ere!y

Gerem'=s third-grade teacher watched him out of the corner of here'e. !hough he sat uietl' reading, she 9new that he could, andoften did, erupt into loud, emotional displa's. "n this particular da',the eruption came ust after recess. Ine)plicabl', Gerem' umped up,swept papers off his des9, and with a loud roar, tipped the des9 o&er.!he teacher managed to get him out of the classroom and into the

safet' of the nurse=s office while his classmates patientl'straightened his des9 and gathered his scattered belongings. Still, inspite of their practiced efficienc', a half-hour passed before theteacher could get the class settled and wor9ing again.

!otall' frustrated with the repeated loss of teaching time and themonths it ta9es to complete Speical Education referrals, the teacherdecided to tr' what she learned in an Action Research class she did alittle Action Research proect on Gerem'.

irst, the +uestion6 in this case, it was simple. What upsets.ere!y8

E/a!ple, Pro"le! pupil


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#e)t0 -ata collection6 it was a little tougher to decide how tocollect information that might respond to the uestion. It wastempting to thin9 of the problem as originating in the home, on thepla'ground, or within his ps'chological ma9e-up. >ut true as that

ma' ha&e been, 9nowing it didn=t do much for the classroom.5erple)ed, the teacher decided to ma9e brief notes about whathappened immediatel' before each disruption. !hen, -ata analysis6 Se&eral disruptions later, the teacher spread

the collected data, that is the notes, across her des9, reading themo&er and o&er, loo9ing for patterns. Suddenl', she had it. !he fin-in(s6 Gerem' erupted when she passed out papers as9ingstudents to wor9 on new concepts.

!he action plan6 entl' confronting Gerem' with the $e&idence,6led to information that earlier $interrogations% had not re&ealed.Gerem' tearfull' confessed that he alwa's felt afraid e that couldnot do the new assignment. !ogether, the' wor9ed up a plan.7hen the teacher passed out wor9 on new concepts, she promised

to hand Gerem' a $fun% paper to wor9 on.


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Gerem' agreed to practice patience. !hereafter, the teacher fistgot the rest of the class wor9ing well, then went to Gerem'=sdes9 and helped him with the new concept until the' both felt

that he understood what to do. And it wor9ed !he disruptionsdiminished significantl' until, finall', the teacher withdrew herrecommendation for a Special Education referral.


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or larger situations, ta9e this e)ample6 A middle schoolteacher, sitting in her staff lounge casuall' thumbing through amaga1ine. She found an article citing research which allegedthat high school dropouts ma9e their decision to uit schoolduring their middle school 'ears. !he teacher could not get the

allegation out of her mind, repeatedl' as9ing herself, $How doesthat happen8% $7hat do we do8% She, too, decided toimplement an action research process.

irst, the +uestion6 After considerable struggle andconsultation, she chose6 1What can this school -o to !a*ethe transition for! ele!entary to !i--le school 1userfrien-ly8%

E/a!ple, &chool !ana(e!ent


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#e)t, -ata collection6 the teacher constructed a simple sur&e'as9ing about &arious student e)periences during students=transition time which she administered to her own si)th grade

class. Startled b' the students= response, the teacher enlistedthe help of the school counselor. !ogether the' sur&e'ed twoschoolwide randoml' selected groups, one group consisting of $at-ris9% students, the second of $a&erage% students with thegroups matched for gender and ethnic representation.

!hen -ata analysis6 the teachers read through the sur&e's tofind patterns in the responses and listed rubrics for the patterns(often called themes. !hen the' again read through thesur&e's to tall' responses that fit under each pattern, a tall'the' could graph.

!he fin-in(s6 A significant number of students in both groupsfelt o&erwhelmed b' the social challenge of being relati&el'anon'mous in a large school setting.


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!he action plan6 the teacher, the counselor, and the principalshared the information with the facult' who were, in turn,stunned. Student responses such as, $#one of the teachers seem

to 9now m' name,% and $#o one spea9s to me% tugged at theirheart strings. !he group not onl' faced up to the challenge b'de&eloping multiple plans that responded to re&ealed studentinformation, the' $commissioned= additional sur&e's that 'earand subseuent 'ears to chec9 their success in responding to the

findings from the initial sur&e'.

5arents were impressed with the school=s growing ActionResearch efforts, as9ed for the school=s cooperation in sur&e'ingparents about the same issue. E&entuall', other middle schoolsas9ed for information and adusted their own transition plansaccordingl'.

ill i i h


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'o) you )ill )rite your action researchpaper2thesis?

!he thesis ma' be most effecti&el' and economicall' presented in

a non3tra-itional for!at. !herefore, ustif' the format used. Aneffective approach is to or(anise the thesis aroun- thecontri"ution to *no)le-(e which the stud' pro&ides. !his ma'include !etho-olo(ical contri"utions, un-erstan-in( of thesyste!, and practical i!plications. A possible format might

include the following.>egin with an intro-uctory chapter that pro&ides some conte)t.•Set the scene of the stud' b' describing the situation and thereason wh' 'ou are doing this research wor9.•E)plains the need for the stud', for e)ample b' identif'ing urgentneeds for action or shortcomings in e)isting theor' or practice.•A little historical conte)t is sometimes useful, to the e)tent that ithelps to e)plain wh' the stud' was done.•5re&iew the original contribution which the thesis ma9es.•If there is rele&ant content literature it ma' be summarised in thischapter.


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>' the end of chapter /, aim to ha&e identified the need forresponsiveness in 'our research design. *our argument will thenflow logicall' into the second chapter, on methodolog'.

In chapter 0, the !etho-olo(y chapter0 e)plain the approachta9en.•"utline and ustif' 'our approach. *ou ma' also use a paradigmhere.

•Remember that triangulation method or a combination of uali-ual can be used in action research. So, e)plain and ustif' each.•Carefull' sets out the reason for each step and clearl' describeshow rigour is achie&ed.•In ustif'ing the methods, don=t be afraid to include some trade-

offs that 'ou applied, li9e its local rele&ance o&er national orglobal. 7hat is important here is the responsi&eness of themethod to the problem.


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!hen, the chapter for !a4or fin-in(s. Come up withseparate chapters for each. In each of these chapters, clearl'present the conclusions 'ou ha&e reached, the dialectic from

or indicate arguments to resol&e the disagreements of resultsand findings, which the' were deri&ed. In doing so, cite therele&ant confirming and disconfirming literature, and the statusof 'our conclusions.

Remember 6An effecti&e thesis flows from chapter to chapter, so that there

are no unpleasant surprises for a reader. It is useful for eachchapter to begin with a sentence or two which pre&iews what isto come. At the end of each chapter a brief summar', in one ortwo sentences, can restate thechapter=s contents.


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Than* you so!uch for "ein(

a part of !ylife as Colle(eProfessor of

this course inthis Colle(e5

When you encountere-pro"le!s or -ifficulties0 !y

a-vice is666


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Wa(

*an("i"iti)5

methods of research chapter 10 action research.pps

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