Teacher Action ResearchA Model for Professional Development

Sylwia BielecOctober 14th, 2011

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Plan for the Day

✤ Exploring Action Research

✤ My Research Question

✤ Planning

✤ Resources available to you

What is Action Research?Think, Pair, Share

© Todd Berman - Creative Commons license

Action Research is...

Asking questions

Reflecting

Taking action, doing something

Trying something new and seeing

how it works

Following something over

time

Having a plan

Changing things if they

don’t work

“Action Research is the systematic study of attempts to improve educational practice by groups of participants...

... by means of their own practical actions and by means of their own reflection upon the effects of those actions.”

(Ebbutt, 1985)

“Action Research is a fancy way of saying: let’s study what’s happening in our [classroom] and decide how to make it a better place.”

(Calhoun, 1994)

Why Action Research?

✤ Develops a problem-solving ethos (Sirotnik, 1987; Joyce, 1991)

✤ Encourages the emergence of reflective practitioners

✤ Allows progress to be made on school wide priorities

✤ Builds a professional culture in the educational arena. (Sagor, 2000)

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QuestionWhat is my concern in

my practice?

QuestionWhat is my concern in

my practice?

PlanWhat am I going to do about it?

ActImplement the change or action that you planned

Observe & CollectHow do I find out if I made a

difference? What evidence can I gather to help me decide how it is going, what

happened?

ReflectSo what? What next?

Should I share this information?

QuestionWhat is my concern in

my practice?

PlanWhat am I going to do about it?

ActImplement the change or action that you planned

Observe & CollectHow do I find out if I made a

difference? What evidence can I gather to help me decide how it is going, what

happened?

ReflectSo what? What next?

Should I share this information?

Action Research Spiral - Kemmis (1983)

How do I decide on a focus?

✤ A problem from your classroom

✤ A puzzle or dilemma about the learning of a particular student or group of students

✤ A question you have about your teaching

✤ A situation that has arisen in your classroom

✤ How to develop and support particular learning qualities

(Rigsby, 2005)

How do I define the problem?

(Rigsby, 2005)

Teacher’s First Question or Puzzle

Action Research Version

Version with Hypothesis and

Strategy

How do I define the problem?

(Rigsby, 2005)

Teacher’s First Question or Puzzle

Action Research Version

Version with Hypothesis and

Strategy

How am I going to cope with the wide spread of literacy

levels in my classroom?

What can I do to help my struggling students learn to

read?

What happens when I give my struggling students materials

that are appropriate to their level AND

interests?

How do I define the problem?

Teacher’s First Question or Puzzle

Action Research Version

Version with Hypothesis and

Strategy

My students are using their cel

phones in class and its very distracting.

How can I get my students to focus

more on their schoolwork during

class time?

What happens when I integrate cel phone use strategically into classroom activity to meet learning goals?

Sources of data

Interviews

Portfolios

Diaries

Field Notes

Audio recordings

Photographs

Journals

Samples of student work,

projects, performances

Video recordings

Case studies

Self-assessment

Records - tests, report cards, attendance

Anecdotal records

Checklists

What are you going to do with it?

Data collection needs to be strategic and purposeful.

Ask yourself: How will I know if it’s working?

© Kathy Cassidy - Creative Commons license

© Kathy Cassidy - Creative Commons license

References✤ Ferrance, Eileen. (2000). Action Research. found at http://www.lab.brown.edu/pubs/themes_ed/act_research.pdf on October 7th, 2011

✤ Field, Teresa. Action Research. found at http://www.sitesupport.org/actionresearch/index.html on October 7th, 2011

✤ Rigsby, Leo. (2005). Action Research: How is it defined? found at http://gse.gmu.edu/assets/media/tr/ARRigsbyppt.htm on October 7th, 2011

✤ Queen’s University. Action Research: Who, What, Why, So what? found at http://resources.educ.queensu.ca/ar/guide.htm on October 7th, 2011

✤ McNiff, Jean & Whitehead, Jack. (2005). Action Research For Teachers: A practical guide. London, David Fulton Publisher.

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