This is a graded discussion 5 points possibledue oct 14 week 4

This is a graded discussion: 5 points possible
due Oct 14
Week 4 - Discussion
11 unread reply.11 reply.
Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and
you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates.
Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and
the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum
Grading Rubric under the Settings icon above for guidance on
how your discussion will be evaluated.
Share Your Peer Reviewed Study
Action research is a form of inquiry in which a problem is
identified and a series of actions are planned as a way of
gaining deeper understanding of the range of possible solutions.
The purpose of this discussion is to promote reciprocal sharing
of the study you reviewed with others in your community of
practice (your peers in this course) who would value the
knowledge you have gained through the peer review process of
the study.
There are two parts to this discussion.
Part 1: Share the process and results of the action research study
you peer reviewed in EDU 694 or ECE 660. At a minimum:
· Describe the purpose of the study by writing a statement that
completes the following sentence, “The purpose of this study
was to…” (two to three sentences).
· Post the research question(s) - Include definitions of key
technical terms, if necessary (one to three sentences).
· Outcomes/Results or the “so what?” of the study - Answers to
the research questions. (three to four sentences)
· Assuming you would conduct another cycle of this study, w hat
specific modifications or adjustments would you make, and
why? (three to four sentences)
· Explain why this study is important for teachers and other

educational practitioners to read about. (two to three sentences)
Part 2:
· Attach a link to your Folio.
· In one paragraph, reflect on your experience with the redesign
of the Week Three Assignment in terms of challenges you
encountered and how you overcame those challenges. Also
include how your assessment promotes learning and innovation
skills and how it could be used as a tool for ongoing evaluation
of student progress.
Guided Response: Respond to at least two peers. In your
replies, take on the role of a teacher listening to the
presentation. Ask questions about your peer’s action research
study and offer an additional resource for consideration that
supports an alternative viewpoint. Though two replies is the
basic expectation, for deeper engagement and learning, you are
encouraged to provide responses to any comments or questions
others have given to you, including the instructor. Responding
to the replies given to you will further the conversation and
provide additional opportunities for you to demonstrate your
content expertise, critical thinking, and real-world experiences
with this topic.
Copyright
Gail Burnaford and Tara Brown
Teaching and Learning in 21st Century Learning Environments:
A Reader
Editor in Chief, AVP: Steve Wainwright
Sponsoring Editor: Cheryl Cechvala
Development Editor: Cheryl Cechvala
Assistant Editor: Amanda Nixon
Senior Editorial Assistant: Nicole Sanchez-Sullivan
Production Editor: Lauren LePera
Senior Product Manager: Peter Galuardi

Cover Design: Jelena Mirkovic Jankovic
Printing Services: Bordeaux
Production Services: Lachina Publishing Services
ePub Development: Lachina Publishing Services
Permission Editor: Karen Ehrmann
Video Production: Ed Tech Productions
Cover Image: Stockbyte/Jupiterimages/Thinkstock
ISBN-10: 1621781496
ISBN-13: 978-1-62178-149-3
Copyright © 2014 Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
GRANT OF PERMISSION TO PRINT: The copyright owner of t
his material hereby grants the holder of this publication the righ
t to print these materials for personal use. The holder of this ma
terial may print the materials herein for personal use only. Any
print, reprint, reproduction or distribution of these materials for
commercial use without the express written consent of the copy
right owner constitutes a violation of the U.S. Copyright Act, 17
U.S.C. §§ 101-810, as amended.Preface
A Reader prepares readers to enter the field of education ready t
o address the needs of 21st-
century learners. The book is intended to serve as a bridge betw
een coursework that participants have taken, and the ongoing pr
ofessional development that graduates are encouraged to pursue
upon course and program completion.
The text presents excerpts from leading voices in education, pro
viding insight on crucial topics such as differentiation for diver
se learners, curriculum and instruction, professional growth and
leadership, and skills for digital age learning. The authors integ
rate theory, research studies, and practical application to provid
e readers with a set of tools and strategies for continuing to lear
n and grow in the field of education. Finally, embedded video in
terviews with practicing educators offer a real-
world perspective of important topics.

Textbook Features
A Reader includes a number of features to help students underst
and key concepts:
Voices From the Field feature boxes: Provide personal stories fr
om educators based on real experiences in the field, giving read
ers a sense of what it really means to be an educator in the 21st
century.
Tying It All Together feature boxes: Provide guidance to assist
students in synthesizing the information presented within each c
hapter.
Videos: Provide real-
world perspectives from practicing educators on key topics in 2
1st-century education.
Critical Thinking and Discussion Questions: Are found at the en
d of each article. These questions prompt students to critically e
xamine the information presented in each excerpt and draw conn
ections to their own experiences.
Accessible Anywhere. Anytime.
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xtbooks at their fingertips. The eTextbooks are instantly accessi
ble on web, mobile, and tablet.
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NOTE: You will need iOS version 7.0 or higher.
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ed to access Constellation on the web.
NOTE: You will need a tablet or phone running Android version
2.3 (Gingerbread) or higher.
About the Authors
Gail Burnaford
Gail Burnaford holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction fro
m Georgia State University, and is currently Professor in the De
partment of Curriculum, Culture and Educational Inquiry at Flor
ida Atlantic University. Prior to moving to Florida, she directed
the Undergraduate Teacher Education and School Partnerships
Program at Northwestern University’s School of Education and
Social Policy.
Dr. Burnaford is the author of four books and numerous articles
on topics related to teacher learning, professional development,
arts integration and curriculum design. She has served as Princi
pal Investigator on multiple program evaluations focused on art
s integration partnerships, including those funded through the U
.S. Department of Education’s Professional Development Grants
. Dr. Burnaford has acquired eLearning Certification and teache
s courses including research in curriculum and instruction, educ
ational policy, documentation and assessment, and curriculum le
adership in hybrid, online and face-to-
face learning environments. Her current research focuses on fac
ulty’s use of iPads in teaching and the nature/impact of faculty f
eedback on student work.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the many people who we
re involved in the development of this text. Special thanks are d

ue to Cheryl Cechvala, sponsoring editor and development edito
r; Amanda Nixon, assistant editor; Nicole Sanchez-
Sullivan, senior editorial assistant; and Lauren LePera, producti
on editor. Thanks also to the following Ashford faculty and advi
sors for their helpful advice and suggestions: Amy Gray, Stephe
n Halfaker, Kathleen Lunsford, Andrew Shean, Melissa Phillips,
Tony Valley, Gina Warren, and Laurie Wellner.
Finally, the authors would like to thank the following reviewers
for their valuable feedback and insight:
Paula Conroy, University of Northern Colorado
Graham Crookes, University of Hawaii

Tara Brown
Tara M. Brown is an Assistant Professor of Education at the Uni
versity of Maryland, College Park. She holds a doctorate degree
from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and is a forme
r secondary classroom teacher in alternative education.
Tara’s research focuses on the experiences of low-
income adolescents and young adults served by urban schools, p
articularly as related to disciplinary exclusion and dropout. She
specializes in qualitative, community-
based, participatory, and action research methodologies. Her mo
st recent research is entitled Uncredentialed: Young Adults Livi
ng without a Secondary Degree. This community-
based participatory study focuses on the social, educational, and
economic causes and implications of school dropout among pri
marily Latina/o young adults living in mid-sized, post-
industrial city.
Chapter 4
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
1.
Outline the nature, purposes, benefits, and limitations of action
research and how it differs from other types of research.
2.
Understand how educational practitioners can use action researc
h to solve real-life problems of practice.

3.
Identify the steps of the action research project and understand
how to implement them in a systematic way.
4.
Understand how collaboration with colleagues, students, and oth
er stakeholders can strengthen the action research process.
5.
Explain how the results of action research projects can contribut
e to knowledge on teaching and learning.
Chapter Introduction
A new, fourth-
grade teacher was anxious to use action research in the school w
here she had been hired. She had conducted a successful project
in her field placement, which had given her great insight into st
udent learning and her own practice. However, in her new schoo
l, she found herself overwhelmed by state mandates in preparing
students for the state assessment. She knew the value of action
research but wondered how she could possibly carry it out given
the new pressures she was under.
Action researchis the systematic study of a real-
life problem, in context, with the goal of intervening into that p
roblem. As action researchers, teachers typically identify and st
udy a problem of practice in their classroom and use the knowle
dge generated from the study to improve student outcomes. Acti
on research is a cyclical process of gathering information, analy
zing and drawing conclusions from the data collected, devising
an action plan, and then repeating the cycle to continually enhan
ce practice (McNiff & Whitehead, 2006; Stringer, 2004, 2007).
Unlike other forms of research, action—
and not simply knowledge production—
is the primary goal of the research.
The term action research is often attributed to German psycholo
gist Kurt Lewin. Although Lewin was not the first to use researc
h to intervene into a specific problem, he was the first to organi
ze a widely accepted theory on the action research (Herr & And
erson, 2005). Initially, action research was used to improve wor

ker productivity, and Lewin used it to address two specific work
place issues: (a) discrimination against minority workers and (b
) worker productivity. Guided by organizational theory, Lewin b
elieved that workers’ and managers’ behaviors could be changed
through action research, leading to improved working condition
s and increased productivity.
In the United States, action research among educational practiti
oners is grounded in the work of John Dewey, who stressed the i
mportance of human experience in generating knowledge. Dewe
y argued that classroom research would benefit from merging ed
ucators’ everyday experiential sources of knowledge with forma
lized research practices as a way to more deeply understand and
improve student academic performance. Teacher research, like
other forms of action research, declined in popularity in the Uni
ted States in the mid-
to late 1950s due, in large part, to criticisms among academic s
cholars that it was not rigorous. However, with the recent focus
on the role of teachers in school reform, action research has see
n a marked resurgence in teacher preparation programs and K–
12 schools.
Positivistic and “hard” scientists have considered action researc
h to be a less valid and scientific form of research, and they hav
e negatively critiqued its overall value. Because action research
ers seek a particular outcome—
for example, improved student motivation—
it is thought that they cannot be objective. In reality, no researc
h is bias-
free and the value of any research project depends on the goals
of the researcher(s). From its inception, the objective of action r
esearch in education has been to improve student outcomes and
to professionalize teaching. Rather than depending on university
-
based researchers, teachers can use their own research to “gener
ate new ideas, knowledge and theory” (McNiff & Whitehead, 20
06, p. 63) and contribute to “official” knowledge about educatio
nal practice. The rigor with which the researchers carry out the

work is what determines how useful the research will be in meet
ing those goals.
This chapter focuses on the uses of action research for teachers
and other school-
based practitioners. It begins with a general discussion of action
research and an overview of the action research process. The o
verview is followed by four sections that provide more in-
depth examinations of the steps in the action research process, i
ncluding choosing a topic and designing a study, collecting and
analyzing data, developing an action plan, and sharing research
findings. This is followed by examples of action research projec
ts, which further explicates the roles of teachers and students. T
he final section describes how practitioner-
researchers can disseminate their findings to broader audiences.
This chapter gives those who are new to research a sense of the
purposes, processes, and possibilities of action research projects
through descriptions of research activities, examples of project
s that have been implemented in schools, and critical thinking q
uestions. However, to become a truly competent researcher, one
must learn by doing and continually practice and improve one’s
skills. As readers implement their own research projects, this ch
apter can be used as resource to guide them through the process.
Voices From the Field: Getting Started on an Action Research P
roject
Kathy was a high school language arts teacher. She taught “Intr
oduction to 20th Century Literature” for 11th and 12th graders.
In a discussion with her students about what would help them be
tter understand literary concepts, the group identified “not unde
rstanding the content of the texts” as a major concern. Kathy kn
ew that students often did not fully understand; however, becaus
e they rarely asked questions in class or came after school for h
elp, she had the impression that some were uninterested in the t
exts. She realized that she had been mistaken and was thrilled th
at her students shared her concern about their lack of understan
ding and wanted to do something about it.
Kathy decided to conduct an action research project on “questio

n asking” and “help seeking” and the role of the teacher and the
students in supporting and encouraging help-
seeking behaviors. She reflected on the question: What do I nee
d to know in order to better understand student behavior, and ho
w can I and other students better support and encourage help see
king? Kathy determined that she needed to know why students
were not seeking help and what would make them more comfort
able in doing so. Her next step was to figure out how to get this
information.
4.1 Research in Professional and Public Life, by Ernest T. Strin
ger
Introduction
Stringer began his educational career as a K–
12 classroom teacher and a school principal in Australia. He als
o worked with Aboriginal staff at Curtin’s Centre for Aboriginal
Studies to create community development programs to improve
the experiences of the native people of Australia. More recently,
Stringer has been a visiting professor at universities in New Me
xico and Texas, teaching graduate classes in action research and
community engagement. Stringer’s approach to action research
is aligned with pedagogical approaches adopted by Brazilian ed
ucator Paulo Freire. That is, his work is aimed at empowering in
dividuals and groups to identify and accomplish useful goals, an
d assess their progress through the development of new skills an
d knowledge.
The following excerpt is from Stringer’s book, Action Research,
one of many books and articles he has written on the action res
earch process, particularly in the field of education. Although m
any practitioners may perceive formal research as outside their
purview, Stringer points out that research is a natural extension
of their everyday activities. That is, practitioners are always inq
uiring into problems of practice, usually in informal ways. In th
e excerpt, Stringer defines research and its purpose and introduc
es the basic steps of action research—
the “‘look, think, act’ routine” (p. 8). This is an iterative cycle t
hrough which practitioner-

researchers observe what is happening, devise and implement an
intervention plan, and then repeat the cycle. In this way they ar
e continually learning about and improving their practice.
Excerpt
The following is an excerpt from Stringer, E. T. (2007). Researc
h in public and professional life. In Action research (3rd ed., pp
. 1–18). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Research: Methodical Processes of Inquiry
Research is systematic and rigorous inquiry or investigation that
enables people to understand the nature of problematic events o
r phenomena. Research can be characterized by the following:
· A problem or issue to be investigated
· A process of inquiry
·
Explanations that enable individuals to understand the nature of
the problem
Research can be visualized as nothing more than a natural exten
sion of the activities in which we engage every day of our lives.
Even for simple problems—
Where are my blue socks? Why did the cake burn?—
we ask questions that enable us to analyze the situation more ca
refully. (I wore my blue socks yesterday; I probably put them w
ith the laundry. Perhaps I overheated the oven, or maybe I left t
he cake in the oven longer than I should). Tentative analysis ena
bles us to understand the nature of the problem and to work tow
ard a potential solution. (I looked in the laundry, and the socks
were there. Next time I baked a cake, I lowered the temperature
of the oven and did not burn the cake.)
Formal research is an extension of these day-to-
day inquiries. The success of scientific research can be ascribed
to its insistence on precise and rigorous formulation of descript
ion, observation, and explanation. The meticulous association of
what is observed and what is explained provides explanations w
hose power and efficacy enable us to predict and control many f
acets of the physical world. The outcomes of scientific research
are embodied in the technical achievements that continue to tran

sform our modern world. The miracles of construction, manufac
ture, communication, and transport that have now entered the da
ily lives of those living in wealthy nations are testament to the h
uge advances in knowledge that have resulted from science.
Less successful, however, have been the attempts of the social a
nd behavioral sciences to emulate the accomplishments of the p
hysical sciences. Despite a profusion of theory, the application
of scientific method to human events has failed to provide a me
ans for predicting and controlling individual or social behavior.
Teachers, health workers, and human service practitioners often
find that the theoretical knowledge of the academic world has li
mited relevance to the exacting demands of their everyday profe
ssional lives. The objective and generalizable knowledge embod
ied in social and behavioral research often is only marginally re
levant to the situations they encounter in their daily lives and ha
s little application to the difficulties they face.
Action research, however, is based on the proposition that gener
alized solutions may not fit particular contexts or groups of peo
ple and that the purpose of inquiry is to find an appropriate solu
tion for the particular dynamics at work in a local situation. A l
esson plan, a care plan, or a self-
management plan that fits the lifeworld of a middle-
class suburban client group may be only tangentially relevant in
poor rural or urban environments or to people whose cultural li
ves differ significantly from the people who serve them. Genera
lized solutions must be modified and adapted in order to fit the
context in which they are used.
The wheel provides a good metaphor to understand the nature of
this process. Wheels provide a general solution to the problem
of transporting objects from one place to another though there a
re many different purposes to which they are put. Consider the d
ifferent purposes, parameters, and processes required to use whe
els for the following objects:
· A jumbo jet
· A small, single-engine aircraft
· A truck

· A child’s tricycle
· A skateboard
* * *
A Basic Routine
Action research is a collaborative approach to inquiry or investi
gation that provides people with the means to take systematic ac
tion to resolve specific problems. Action research is not a panac
ea for all ills and does not resolve all problems, but provides a
means for people to “get a handle” on their situations and formu
late effective solutions to problems they face in their public and
professional lives. The basic action research routine provides a
simple yet powerful framework—look, think, act (Table 4.1)—
that enables people to commence their inquiries in a straightfor
ward manner and build greater detail into procedures as the com
plexity of issues increases. The terms in parentheses in Table 4.
1 show how the phases of the routine relate to traditional resear
ch practices.
Table 4.1: A basic action research routine
Phase
Description
Look
· Gather relevant information (Gather data)
· Build a picture: Describe the situation (Define and describe)
Think
· Explore and analyze: What is happening here? (Analyze)
·
Interpret and explain: How/why are things as they are? (Theoriz
e)
Act
· Plan (report)
· Implement
· Evaluate
The “look, think, act” routine is but one of a number of ways in
which action research is envisaged. Kemmis and McTaggart (19
99), for instance, present action research as a spiral of activity:
plan, act, observe, reflect. Different formulations of action rese

arch reflect the diverse ways in which the same set of activities
may be described, although the processes they delineate are sim
ilar. There are, after all, many ways of cutting a cake.
Although the “look, think, act” routine is presented in a linear f
ormat throughout this book, is should be read as a continually re
cycling set of activities (see Figure 4.1). As participants work t
hrough each of the major stages, they will explore the details of
their activities through a constant process of observation, reflec
tion, and action. At the completion of each set of activities, they
will review (look again), reflect (reanalyze), and re-
act (modify their actions). As experience will show, action resea
rch is not a neat, orderly activity that allows participants to proc
eed step-by-
step to the end of the process. People will find themselves work
ing backward through the routines, repeating processes, revising
procedures, rethinking interpretations, leapfrogging steps or sta
ges, and sometimes making radical changes in direction.
Figure 4.1: Action research interacting spiral
In practice, therefore, action research can be a complex process.
The routines presented in this book, however, can be visualized
as a road map that provides guidance to those who follow this l
ess traveled way. Although there may be many routes to a destin
ation, and although destinations may change, travelers on the jo
urney will be able to maintain a clear idea of their location and
the direction in which they are heading.
The procedures that follow are likely to be ineffective, however,
unless enacted in ways that take into account the social, cultura
l, interactional, and emotional factors that affect all human acti
vity. “The medium is the message!” . . . [T]he implicit values an
d underlying assumptions embedded in action research provide a
set of guiding principles that can facilitate a democratic, partici
patory, liberating, and life-enhancing approach to research.
Source: Stringer, E. T. (2007). Action research, 3rd Edition. Th
ousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Summary

Stringer defines formal (scientific) research as systematic and ri
gorous investigation for the purpose of better understanding the
nature of a particular topic or problem, and he describes this as
a natural extension of everyday inquiries and problem solving.
What distinguishes formal research is the systematic processes t
hat investigators use to observe, explain, and provide evidence
of the problem or issue under investigation. Stringer also highli
ghts the collaborative nature of action research and urges resear
chers to include in a meaningful way all of those affected by the
issue under study as part of the investigation. For example, rath
er than merely serving as research “subjects,” students might als
o participate in conceptualizing the problem to be investigated.
According to Stringer, formal research has produced much theor
etical knowledge in the field of education. However, teachers an
d other practitioners often find that this knowledge is of little us
e or has limited applicability to their immediate contexts and ev
eryday experiences. On the contrary, in action research, practiti
oners select the specific problems they wish to address, and the
y investigate and create interventions into these problems in the
ir natural setting. This significantly increases the applicability o
f the research to the everyday experiences of teacher-
researchers and their students. As Stringer points out, interventi
ons into problems of practice must take into consideration conte
xtual factors and the particular populations being served.
In the latter part of the excerpt, Stringer provides a model for u
nderstanding the iterative, three-
step process of conducting action research. He calls this the “‘lo
ok, think, act’ routine” (p. 8). In the first “look” step, the resear
cher observes what is happening in the context and gathers infor
mation for the purpose of defining and describing the issue unde
r study. Next, in the “think” step, the researcher analyzes the sit
uation and comes up with explanations for how and why things
are occurring as they are. In the third “act” step, the researcher
devises, implements, and evaluates the outcomes of an intervent
ion plan. The researcher will then repeat the process: observe th
e effects of intervention, explain the reasons for those effects, a

nd devise a subsequent action plan to enhance the intervention.
Researchers can cycle through these steps indefinitely, continua
lly improving their practice.
Critical Thinking Questions
1.
In order to solve problems of practice, Stringer suggests that pr
actitioners, at least in some cases, conduct formal research rathe
r than investigating and intervening into these problems informa
lly. What are the fundamental differences between everyday inf
ormal inquiries and formal research? What are the advantages of
the latter compared with the former in addressing problems of p
ractice? Can you think of a problem you might encounter in a sc
hool or classroom for which formal research might not be an eff
ective means to understand the problem and find a solution? If y
es, what is it? In what ways would formal research be ineffectiv
e, and what would be an effective approach?
2.
Stringer points out that educational practitioners often do not fi
nd conventional forms of educational research helpful in finding
solutions to the specific challenges they face in their schools a
nd classrooms, because theories developed from this research te
nd to be generalized and not specific to particular contexts and
populations. Action research, in which those directly affected b
y the topic under study choose the focus, conduct the study, and
assess the outcomes, can be more applicable to a practitioner’s
specific needs. If this is the case, what is the value of more gen
eralized research on educational topics? In what ways can teach
ers use this research to inform their own practice?
3.
Stringer is a strong advocate of collaborative research and of in
cluding in the research process those affected by the topic under
study. He suggests that practitioner-
researchers consider action research as a community effort, whi
ch can include teachers, administrators, students, and parents. T
hink of a possible problem for investigation in your academic di
scipline or grade level of interest. It can be an issue that is of pa

rticular interest or concern to you or one that has gained attenti
on at the national level. List all the constituencies that are affec
ted by the problem and how they are affected. Next, think of wa
ys that members of each constituency could contribute a deeper
understanding of and solutions to the problem.
4.2 Embarking on Action Research, by Catherine M. Brighton
Introduction
Catherine Brighton is an associate professor in the Department
of Educational Leadership Foundations and Policy and the direc
tor of the Institutes on Academic Diversity at the University of
Virginia. Prior to becoming a university professor, Brighton wo
rked in K–
12 education in North Carolina as an assistant principal, a curric
ulum coordinator, a teacher of gifted students, and a classroom t
eacher. Brighton’s areas of focus include teacher change and sc
hool reform, and differentiated curriculum, instruction, and asse
ssment. She is particularly interested in the impact of practition
er action research on teacher practice.
In the following excerpt, Brighton describes how a middle-
school mathematics teacher investigates and intervenes into stud
ent disengagement. In doing so, Brighton outlines the action res
earch process, which begins with identifying an issue of concer
n and developing a systematic plan for learning more about that
issue. Next, the teacher-
researcher collects and analyzes various forms of data that will
help her to better understand the issue or problem. She looks for
patterns or similarities in the data and uses the information gat
hered from the study to draw conclusions that will guide her in
changing her practice in ways that increase student engagement.
Finally, the results of the research are shared with others at the
school and district levels. This is an example of what Brighton c
alls “first-
person” research, when the researcher’s own practice is the focu
s of her research. Ultimately, in this article, Brighton shows ho
w classroom teachers can use action research, focused on their o
wn practice, to improve student outcomes.

Excerpt
The following is an excerpt from Brighton, C. M. (2009). Embar
king on action research. Educational Leadership, 66(5), 40–44.
Janice Templeton, a 6th grade math teacher at Marshall Middle
School is worried about her students. Marshall’s students come
from a wide range of ethnic and economic backgrounds and pres
ent highly varied academic needs. Some of Janice’s learners rea
dily engage with math content, but others are singularly uninter
ested in studying math and aren’t mastering basic concepts. The
se disengaged students are predominantly female, black, or Engl
ish language learners.
Janice worries that this pattern of disengagement fits in with the
underrepresentation of females and minority groups in high-
level math at the high school and college levels. She’s been refl
ecting on reasons for this problem and the steps she, as a middle
-
grade teacher, could take to stem the attrition of underrepresent
ed students from math classes. But she feels unclear on what ste
ps or changes will be most productive.
It might seem that this teacher is in an unenviable position beca
use she’s unsure what to do next. In fact, as a teacher who has i
dentified a specific area of classroom practice that warrants add
itional inquiry, Janice is in an excellent position to embark on a
n action research study. Action research is a reflective, systemat
ic inquiry that focuses on a relevant problem in teaching or tea
ming for the purpose of enacting meaningful change to address t
hat problem.
Action research is distinct from other research designs in that it
emerges from stakeholders themselves. Like other types of empi
rical research, action research has clear procedures that practiti
oners must follow, albeit more fluidly, to arrive at sound conclu
sions. Let’s look at how Janice’s action research project explori
ng how to better serve her underachieving students used tools c
ommon to action research and progressed through the seven basi
c steps of the action research process.
Step 1: Identify a Focus

Action research can be done by one practitioner or in collaborat
ion with others. . . .
· First-
person action research usually involves one teacher studying his
or her own classroom to better understand his or her own behav
iors, attitudes, practices, or context. The goal is often personal c
hange.
· Second-
person action research is collaborative and aims to better unders
tand the issues or phenomena of a group. The goal of second-
person action research is often to improve the dynamics of a gro
up of interrelated individuals, such as a teacher team.
· Third-
personaction research studies a phenomenon or issue more globa
lly to develop a generalization about the issue’s causes or the ef
fect of solutions across varied settings.
With any of these models, the first step is simple: Identify an ar
ea of teaching or learning that you are concerned about. You sh
ould then become more familiar with this topic, focus on a speci
fic issue that is causing problems with your practice, and specif
y the research question that will guide the study.
Janice’s focus emerged over several months as she watched spec
ific groups of students disengage. She noticed many girls hesitat
ing to answer questions aloud during discussions and avoiding e
xploration and risk taking in independent assignments. She noti
ced that many students who had attended Eastside Elementary—
many of whom were black, Hispanic, or from low-
income families—
seemed to completely tune out each day’s lesson. She watched t
he pattern of decreasing homework completion, increasing apath
y toward class activities, and escalating off-
task behaviors spread in segments of her classes.
To gain more insight into the concept of math disengagement, J
anice read articles from education journals, spoke with other mi
ddle school math teachers, and joined online discussion groups.
She attended an institute on differentiating instruction in mixed-

ability classrooms, which gave her practical ideas for how to set
up a classroom more focused on authentic tasks.
Through this information gathering, Janice gained a wider view
of the issue and formulated two questions: Why do students fro
m underrepresented groups frequently disengage from studying
math? and What specific strategies increase students’ willingnes
s to study math?
She enlisted the help of other math teachers within her district.
Because she noticed that students who had come from Eastside
Elementary were particularly disengaged, Janice contacted 5th g
rade teachers there for their insights. She invited teachers from
the high school to join the discussion. Most colleagues she cont
acted were eager to participate, and a core group agreed to meet
every two weeks to investigate the issue of math disengagement
and demographics, which gave Janice’s inquiry elements of sec
ond-person action research.
Step 2: Develop a Plan of Action
The teacher formulates a plan, laying out what actions and meas
urements to take and what data to gather at various points—
and who will do which tasks. Because the lineup of specific task
s may change as any project gains traction, this plan should incl
ude both tasks tied to specific classroom practices and goals con
nected to examining the issue in general.
Janice created a time line detailing when—
over the course of a five-
week unit on probability and statistics—
she planned to collect information about students’ perceptions o
f math and mastery of math concepts and when she anticipated t
hat students with differing readiness levels would need to have
guidance and support embedded in lessons. She knew that some
students easily transferred data from numerical to graphical repr
esentations, for example, whereas others struggled mightily. So
she planned lessons for both groups.
To create differentiated lessons tied to the same overarching lea
rning goals, Janice looked over the 13 skills and objectives for t
his unit listed in the state standards and extracted four generaliz

ations to guide the unit:
· Data can be represented in multiple forms.
·
The functions of fractions, decimals, and percents are interrelat
ed.
·
Specific sampling strategies increase how well any findings can
be generalized to a population from a smaller sample.
·
Researchers can make effective predictions by following system
atic procedures of probability and sampling.
Janice used these foundational principles to develop lessons that
she hoped would increase student engagement and understandin
g of math.
The research team discussed how to begin the unit in an authent
ic manner, pointing out situations in which students might need
to understand probability and statistics, such as in reporting spo
rts players’ achievements. Participants identified skills within t
he unit for which students’ readiness levels varied widely, so th
at some would need more support and others would need opport
unities to extend their learning. Together they designed a preass
essment that enabled Janice to gather data on her students’ attit
udes, experiences, and familiarity with the skills she was about
to teach.
To make this assessment nonthreatening, they designed it as a p
uzzle and gave it to students to complete well in advance of beg
inning the unit. Students matched puzzle pieces containing key
vocabulary with pieces containing appropriate definitions and m
atched word problems with their corresponding solutions. Stude
nts also identified their favorite hobbies and interests.
The first differentiated lesson Janice developed focused on unde
rstanding, creating, and using tree diagrams to determine probab
ility in a given situation. The lesson involved group work and of
fered students a choice of participating in one of three groups c
onnected to their reported interests. One activity situated the qu
estion within the context of race cars. This group designed a tre

e diagram for all the possibilities (and therefore the probability)
of race cars with various body styles, colors, and accessories.
Another posed a scenario from the fashion industry (“Calculate
the probability of two models wearing the same combination of
fashion accessories when each is provided the same limited opti
ons for headwear, shirts, and shoes”). A third tapped into studen
ts’ interests in pets.
Members of the research team were committed to observing Jani
ce teach this lesson and other newly designed lessons within the
unit, and they helped her determine how to assess what student
s had learned through these lessons.
Step 3: Collect Data
At key points in the project, the teacher gathers the data identifi
ed in the action plan. As with other types of research, the findin
gs will be stronger if the researcher examines multiple types of
data.
Janice collected student artifacts from all her learners, includin
g preassessments of students’ math skills, interest inventories, a
nd work samples. Other artifacts included exit cards (containing
each student’s answer to an ungraded question used to check fo
r understanding) and student products created as part of an end-
of-
unit performance assessment. As the unit progressed, she discus
sed these artifacts with her research team. Her colleagues helpe
d her use insights she gained from examining student work to sh
ape how she embedded students’ interests within subsequent les
sons.
Janice also used her personal reflections as data. While she plan
ned and taught the new lessons, she kept a reflective journal not
ing which students showed increasing engagement and skill (and
which strategies fed such improvement) and which learners still
languished. After the tree diagram lesson, she wrote,
It was invigorating to have students work actively in teams of th
eir choosing. The noise in the room was productive but lively, a
nd students seemed much more invested in the study of math tha
n they have been in recent days! The topics seemed to align wel

l with their interests, and they all got involved. However, I have
the nagging sense that some students aren’t as challenged as th
ey could be, so I need to go back to the team and get new ideas t
o extend the learning for those who are ready to go.
Janice noticed patterns in content and activities that students pr
eferred. She found herself brainstorming additional ways she co
uld tap into these preferences throughout the year.
Peer observations and student interviews rounded out the data g
athering. Janice’s team members visited her classroom, observe
d her guiding the newly developed lessons, noted students’ resp
onses, and shared their observations, which Janice recorded. Th
ese alternative perspectives to her recollections of how lessons t
ranspired strengthened the validity of her findings.
Through informal focus group sessions, she also collected and a
cted on student feedback about the new instructional approaches
. Feedback revealed that although many students liked working i
n groups (and she noted which ones those were), others yearned
for the opportunity to work on tasks by themselves.
Step 4: Organize the Data
Only a highly systemized method of organizing the volume of d
ata gathered during an action research project will reap the proj
ect’s full benefits, This organizational system must be efficient,
practical, and protective of sensitive or confidential informatio
n about specific students. Janice used only the students’ initials
and school identification number when she shared test scores du
ring her team’s sessions. She created a spreadsheet with cells su
ch as pre-
test score, interest areas, proficiency level, exit card score, and
post-
test score to reveal patterns across students and class sections. S
he calculated average scores for classroom tasks and plotted the
m on a chart, noting where clusters of students formed to inform
her flexible grouping configurations.
Step 5: Analyze the Data and Draw Conclusions
This step of the process is ongoing as the teacher researcher con
tinues to collect data. Use whatever analytic methods are approp

riate to the research question(s)—
both qualitative and quantitative—
to interpret data. This step may require additional collaboration
with guidance counselors, assessment specialists, or others with
in the school district who have expertise.
Janice and her team put their heads together to analyze the indiv
idual data components and discern a pattern across data sources.
They laid out student work samples and discussed what these ar
tifacts brought to light in combination with Janice’s self-
reflections and peer observers’ notes. This closer look at the dat
a indicated that tapping into students’ interests increased their
willingness to engage in math activities and consequently their
achievement on the probability and statistics unit’s post-test.
Engaging students was the first step: Once a tie-
in to their interests got learners actually attending to what Janic
e was teaching, they followed a series of steps that led to the en
d result of more solid learning. Students who were more activel
y involved in lessons during the unit were more willing to ask q
uestions of one another and the teacher when they encountered d
ifficulty, and those who asked such questions and posed alternat
ive answers or ways to solve whole-
group questions subsequently showed greater understanding of c
ontent as measured by exit cards, performance assessments, and
pencil-and-
paper tests. Also, students who had the chance to work in small
groups on a shared task were more willing to discuss their math
ematical thinking.
The team concluded that designing new lessons and strategies to
tap into students’ interests increased all students’ understandin
g of the math topics under investigation, including formerly resi
stant or struggling learners. They believed the project supported
the hypothesis that students must first be engaged before they a
re willing to persist and achieve.
Step 6: Disseminate Findings
Janice and her team first shared their preliminary findings with
the administrators at Marshall Middle School. They discussed th

e overarching principles of tapping into students’ interests to bo
ost their zeal for math and punctuated these insights with anecd
otes from Janice’s journal and her peers’ observations of these p
rinciples in action.
To put a human face on how the project threaded math skills int
o students’ life pursuits in a way that ignited learning passion, t
hey described José, a quiet young man, largely uninterested in
math in September. When Janice created probability lessons for
mulated around his passion for race cars, José opened up and sh
ared with his classmates in math. For one marketing project, stu
dents collected survey data on classmates’ perceptions and displ
ayed their findings in an appropriate format. José selected the to
pic of students’ interest in competitive racing. When faced with
the challenge of skewed results, he successfully tackled the sop
histicated technique of purposeful sampling.
School leaders were intrigued and suggested that the team share
its findings at a professional learning community meeting that
was investigating curriculum reform within the district.
Step 7: Develop a New Plan of Action
Ideally, the action research process results in the discovery of n
ew information about improving learning conditions. Once this
new information is acquired, the action researcher makes decisi
ons about how to change practices to include this new learning
—
or whether to launch additional investigation. Janice and her tea
m elected to revise additional math units to incorporate more av
enues for students’ interests.
Action Research and Teacher Growth
The action research process facilitates meaningful teacher chang
e. The first two steps Janice Templeton took—
identifying a problem and developing a plan of action to investi
gate it—
were necessary precursors to deep changes in her approach and
effectiveness with learners like José.
Janice moved beyond harboring an intuition that something need
ed to shift to capture tuned-out learners to reaching data-

supported conclusions that ultimately changed her conceptual fr
ameworks about teaching. She not only helped students in one s
chool district cultivate a taste for math but also grew in her und
erstanding of how to confront achievement gaps.
All names in this article are pseudonyms.
Source: Brighton, C. M. (2009). Embarking on action research.
Educational Leadership, 66(5): 40–
44. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculu
m Development.
Summary
According to Brighton, action research, which has clear steps, is
prompted and conducted by stakeholders who are directly affec
ted by the issue under study. Its purpose is to improve the practi
ces of educators or other practitioners. In this article, Brighton
provided a concrete example of the classroom-
based action research process, which often begins with a teacher
’s concern about her or his students as related to academics or s
ocial interactions. The next step in the process is to learn more
about the issue of concern, which includes paying closer attenti
on to and documenting the phenomenon (e.g., disengagement) in
the school or classroom context and understanding it more deep
ly through literature, Internet resources, discussions with collea
gues, and professional conferences.
As Brighton describes, after gaining a broader and more comple
x understanding of the problem, the teacher then develops an int
ervention. During implementation, the teacher collects data, whi
ch will provide insight into how changes in instructional practic
e can effectively address the problem. In the case described, the
teacher specifically incorporates students’ interests and choices
into her mathematics instruction. The teacher enlists her collea
gues to observe and document her teaching and student response
s and to help analyze the data. Multiple forms of data, including
classroom observations, student work and feedback, and a refle
ctive journal, helped the teacher-
researcher gain a complex understanding of engagement among
her students. She found that incorporating students’ interests int

o her math lessons increased their classroom engagement and, in
turn, their understanding of mathematical concepts. As a result,
she and her colleagues incorporated this strategy into their teac
hing. Ultimately, action research provided a means for improvin
g instructional practice and student outcomes and enhancing the
teacher’s professional growth.
1.
Much research on teaching and learning has been conducted by
outside researchers—often university researchers—who use K–
12 classrooms as “research sites.” As Brighton points out, what
distinguishes action research is that it is prompted and conducte
d by stakeholders who are directly affected by the problem or is
sue under study. In what ways might educational practitioners b
e better positioned than university researchers to study problem
s in their own setting? What challenges related to conducting re
search in your own school or classroom might arise, and how ca
n they be addressed?
2.
Teachers often make changes to their practice and try out new i
deas, informally, in order to address academic or social challeng
es they see among their students. According to the article, how
and why would it be advantageous for teachers to engage in a m
ore formal and systematic process of addressing instructional an
d learning problems in the classroom?
3.
Identify a specific problem related to student learning that you
have experienced in your own classroom or that is common in y
our discipline or grade level. For example, many students experi
ence challenges in the transition from concrete to abstract thinki
ng in mathematics in elementary school. Drawing from the exam
ple in the article, develop a plan for learning more about the nat
ure of the problem in classroom context. What would you want t
o examine more closely in a classroom? How might you docume
nt your observations? What other types of data could you collec
t to give you additional insight into the problem?

Previous section
Next
section4.3 The Process Begins, by Dorothy Valcarcel Craig
Introduction
Dorothy Craig is a full professor in the Department of Educatio
nal Leadership at Middle Tennessee State University. Before be
coming a university instructor, Craig was a K–
12 classroom teacher, teaching kindergarten through sixth grade
. She worked with migrant students in rural and urban schools, t
eaching English as a second language. Craig also served as a cu
rriculum writer for a K–
12 school district. Her current research interests include literacy
learning, the use of educational technology and online learning,
and action research.
In the following excerpt, Craig provides two helpful rubrics to i
dentify a suitable problem or topic for an action research projec
t. The first helps practitioner-
researchers to determine whether a potential topic is worthy of i
mmediate action, should be pursued at a later date, or should be
abandoned altogether. The second outlines potential sources, bo
th inside and outside of schools and classrooms, from which to i
dentify research problems and topics. Finally, Craig addresses h
ow to narrow and refine a research topic. Overall, this excerpt h
elps practitioner-
researchers to determine the value and enhance the feasibility of
an action research topic.
Excerpt
The following is an excerpt from Craig, D. V. (2009). The Proce
ss Begins. In Action research essentials (pp. 29–
54 ). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-
Bass.Identifying Problems Suitable for Action Research
People who are already working in the classroom or other envir
onment are aware of abundant problems and critical issues that

might be considered as a focus for action research. Graduate stu
dents—who are not already in the classroom—
find it a bit more difficult to determine which problem or critica
l issue is worth pursuing. In both cases, the interests of the rese
arch typically drive problem selection. Because the classroom is
also an environment where naturally occurring events take plac
e, numerous problems arise that might be suitable for action res
earch. Also present in the classroom environment are outside inf
luences—
such as school improvement goals, the need to improve test scor
es, new program implementation, and systemwide goals—
that may require research. Researchers must remember, however
, that not all problems will demand that an action plan be put in
place to achieve improved conditions.
When deliberating on problems for research, be sure to consider
the following points.
·
Is the topic of interest to the researcher, and if so, will pursuing
the problem via action research enhance knowledge, build resea
rch skills, and contribute to improvement? It is very important t
hat graduate students consider this question first and foremost.
The degree of interest must be considered first. If the problem e
xists but is of little or no interest to the researcher, it should not
be pursued. Lack of interest will have a negative impact on crit
ically evaluating the data, keeping the research on track, and co
mpleting the study. The same holds true to some degree for teac
hers and practitioners. However, the nature of teaching and the
structure of schooling may in some cases demand that a teacher
or practitioner pursue a study that is not of great interest but is
critical to improving practice and effecting change.
·
Can the researcher provide a convincing explanation for the cho
ice of problem? If not, a different problem should be selected.
·
What impact will the findings have on the teaching and learning
process, and will the findings lead to change and improvement?

There is no point in pursuing action research if the findings wil
l have little effect on improving the environment.
·
Are there adequate resources in place to support the action resea
rch, and are there others who deem the problem important enoug
h to pursue? For example, if the research requires resources that
are beyond the scope of the researcher, it will become burdenso
me and may not be effective. The action research process promo
tes collaboration, so if resources are scarce, consider teaming u
p with another researcher, administrator, or colleague.
·
Is the problem integrated and related to existing goals or objecti
ves? Although pursuing a problem related to schoolwide or depa
rtmental goals is always a good idea, there may be times when a
problem specific to one particular learning environment is so c
onsistent that it demands a solution. In cases such as this, action
research is a natural process, as a solution is within the realm o
f possibility for the practitioner.
For teachers, more often than not, it is difficult to determine wh
ich of many problems is worth pursuing through the research pr
ocess. Full-
time graduate students have an equally difficult quandary becau
se they may not be operating in the practicing environment on a
regular basis. Table 4.2 provides a simple rubric that may help
with problem identification and determining if the problem shou
ld be pursued immediately, be placed on hold for the time being
, or discarded as a potential action research project.Table 4.2: P
roblem identification rubric
Criterion
Take immediate action
Place on hold
Discard
Interest
High degree of interest Excellent potential to enhance knowledg
e
Interest sparks the development of skills

Inquiry will contribute to improvement
Some interest
Good potential to enhance knowledge
May help with developing research skills
May assist in promoting improvement
Little interest
Explanation
Problem choice can easily be explained and supported
Researcher feels comfortable explaining problem selection to co
lleagues and administrators
Researcher is passionate about the problem
Problem choice can be explained
Researcher is somewhat comfortable providing an explanation
Researcher has trouble explaining why this problem should be s
elected
Impact
Findings have great potential for contributing to the existing bo
dy of knowledge
Findings have potential to effect change and improve practice
Findings have potential to inform those in decision-
making positions
Findings have some potential for adding to the existing body of
knowledge and effecting change.
Finding may have some potential for adding to the existing body
of knowledge
Resources
The research does not require resources that are beyond the rese
archer’s environment
The research may require resources outside the researcher’s env
ironment
Pursing this problem will require more resources than are availa
ble
Existing goals
The problem is related to existing goals and objectives
Findings may be beneficial to specific environments and may be
applied to other situations to improve practice

The problem is somewhat related to existing goals and objective
s
Findings may be beneficial to others in the same environment
The problem has little relationship to specific classroom goals o
r schoolwide or systematic goalsSources for Problems or Resear
ch Topics
* * *
Even if the problem is easily identifiable, there are several exce
llent sources of help in refining research topics. Consider the te
acher or practitioner who is in the process of identifying a probl
em. Several problems have the potential to develop into an actio
n research project. To help narrow the problem, consider a brief
literature review. Conducting a preliminary review of literature
via an Internet search can help by prioritizing a list of topics. N
ew ideas may be gathered in addition to a variety of sources that
may be consulted later when developing the action research pla
n. Discussions with colleagues—
and in the case of graduate students, with peers, professors, and
administrators—
may reveal information and opinions that aid problem identifica
tion and determining the potential for the research to improve pr
actice. Observations in the classroom or work environment lead
to additional insights and may prompt pursuing a specific proble
m whose findings may affect universal change among similar en
vironments. Considering other researcher projects is also a way
to view a problem from multiple perspectives. The process in its
elf provides the researcher with another practitioner’s viewpoint
on a similar problem or situation.
One of the greatest resources for help with problem identificatio
n and selection is professional conference sessions that focus on
practitioner research. Formal research presentations conducted
by other researchers may spark interest in a particular problem
or topic. For graduate students, professional conference sessions
provide a wealth of ideas and research possibilities that may be
adapted to a more specific situation. National trends and critica
l issues noted by professional organizations may also be present

in local classrooms. The need to address the trends and issues a
t the individual or systemic level may prompt the need for an ac
tion research study in order to improve the situation at hand. Ex
amining existing problems or revisiting old problems is always
worthwhile, for a more specific focus for action research may e
merge. Finally, examining test scores, classroom grades, student
products, writing samples, and other classroom artifacts may he
lp in prioritizing and determining which problem or issue to pur
sue for action research.
Whether you are just beginning the research process or a season
ed researcher, look to the environment first; however, keep in m
ind that there are other sources to assist with problem identifica
tion, topic selection, and refining focus. Table 4.3 provides an o
verview of the sources discussed.Table 4.3: Sources for selectin
g problems and research topics
In the classroom or work environment
Outside the classroom or work environment
School or system goals
Brief review of literature
School improvement plans
Professional literature
Specific problems related to teaching and learning
Conference presentations
Curriculum development or content
Professor or peer research
Professional development initiatives
Professional organizations
Specific methods or materials
Websites and blogs related to practice
Programs implementation
Professional workshops
Testing and student achievement
National trends and critical issues
Student products and artifacts
National initiatives
Observations

National data related to practice
Discussions and dialogue with colleagues
Discussions with professors and peers
Existing or revisited problems
Informal interviews with colleagues
Researcher interests
Researcher interests
Team or school interests
Previous studies completed that relate to a specific problem or i
ssue
Observations
* * *Narrowing the Focus
In typical research studies, once a problem, issue, or concern ha
s been identified, the researcher faces the task of narrowing the
focus of the inquiry. The process of refining a broad problem in
to a specific focus flows naturally in action research because th
e researcher draws on expertise and observations while working
in the classroom environment. The events of the classroom occu
r on a continuum such that the practitioner researcher is general
ly aware of the events that led to the current situation, the event
s or activities that contributed to the problem, and behaviors tha
t preceded the problem. Even if the problem or concern is identi
fied at the beginning of the school year, the researcher has reso
urces in the form of conversations with colleagues, cumulative r
ecords, previous school improvement plans, and results from sta
ndardized tests that may be reviewed and examined. The data-
rich environment provides the means to construct a timeline or c
ontinuum of events that led to or contributed to the identified pr
oblem, which in turn guides the researcher in refining and narro
wing the focus of any action research study.
* * *
The disconnection between home and school and lack of parenta
l communication is too broad a topic in that it does not lead the
researcher to a specific research question. However, after exami
ning the available sources of data, the researcher may see a patt

ern emerge that will help narrow the focus. For example, the stu
dent contact information may reveal that every parent or guardia
n who has a student enrolled in the fifth grade also has e-
mail either at home or at work. In addition, discussions and info
rmal conversations with fourth- and sixth-
grade teachers may reveal that parents respond a little better to
e-
mail than to other contacts. Finally, the researcher may discover
, after attending one or two PTA meetings, that attendance recor
ds indicate that most parents provide an e-
mail address instead of a phone number. Based on available data
sources, the researcher may draw the conclusion that communic
ating with parents electronically, via e-
mail and an electronic newsletter, may help build a stronger con
nection between home and school. The problem now has a good,
strong focus from which specific research questions could be d
esigned.
Source: Craig, D. V. (2009). Action research essentials. Reprod
uced with permission of John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Summary
Craig points out that as an environment in which “naturally occ
urring events take place” (p. 31), the classroom is a context in
which multiple problems that are suitable for action research ca
n arise. However, action research, as an intervention, is not appr
opriate for all classroom-
based problems. Thus, Craig outlines a series of criteria for dete
rmining the value and feasibility of research topics. As she desc
ribes, suitable topics must be of interest to the researcher, be rel
evant to existing instructional or learning goals, and have potent
ial to lead to the improvement of the teaching and learning envir
onment. Practitioner-
researchers must also be sure that there are adequate resources t
o support the investigation of the topic. For example, although i
t may affect student learning, family poverty is likely outside th
e purview of classroom teachers.

Once identified, the next step is to refine the issue or problem t
o arrive at a researchable topic. For example, Craig points out t
hat “The disconnection between home and school and lack of pa
rental communication is too broad a topic” (p. 37), because this
problem has multiple dimensions. She offers multiple suggestio
ns for narrowing the focus of a broad research focus, including:
(a) conducting a literature review and Internet search that includ
es prior research on the topic, (b) discussing the issue with colle
agues, (c) conducting classroom observations, (d) examining stu
dent products and records, (e) attending conferences on practitio
ner action research, and (f) considering topics identified as sign
ificant at the national level. For example, increasing the represe
ntation of racial or ethnic minorities and females in science, eng
ineering, mathematics, and technology is a national priority, wh
ich teachers in these disciplines may want to address. As Craig
describes, assessing the value and refining focus of problems of
practice is essential to identifying an appropriate and feasible to
pic for an action research project.
1.
Craig asserts that any topic pursued for an action research proje
ct should be of high interest to the teacher researcher. She conte
nds that interest promotes the development of skills. Drawing o
n what you know about K–
12 student learning, in what ways do you believe that interest an
d skill development are related? According to the article, what t
ypes of skills do teachers learn through the action research proc
ess, and how are they valuable to the work of teachers?
2.
Craig points out that educational trends and issues that are of co
ncern at the national level can be valuable topics for action rese
arch projects. Identify such a trend or issue within your academi
c discipline or grade level. What do you currently know about t
his topic (e.g., the nature of related problems and their implicati
ons for learners and for society), and from what sources can you

learn more?
3.
It is important to refine and narrow a broad or general topic so t
hat it is feasible for an action research project. Consider the top
ic you identified for Question #2. Using Craig’s example of narr
owing the topic of disconnection between home and school, thin
k of ways to refine your topic so that it is feasible for an action
research project at the school or classroom level. Once you have
a more focused topic, identify sources of data that a teacher co
uld collect in her or his classroom or school to learn more about
the topic.
Previous section
Next section4.4 Phase 2: Collecting Data, by Emily F. Calhoun
Introduction
Emily F. Calhoun is the director of the Phoenix Alliance in Sain
t Simons Island, Georgia, which supports school districts and st
ate and regional agencies in improving student achievement thro
ugh staff development. Prior to joining the Phoenix Alliance, Ca
lhoun was a elementary- and secondary-
level classroom teacher, a curriculum consultant, a district lang
uage arts coordinator, and coordinator of the Georgia League of
Professional Schools. Calhoun focuses on helping educational p
ractitioners to study the effects of curriculum and instruction on
student learning. As a longtime advocate of action research, sh
e has conducted extensive studies on the school-
based action research process, particularly in the area of literac
y learning.
The following excerpt is taken from Calhoun’s book, which is i
ntended for educational practitioners who want to learn more ab
out students’ academic and social experiences in order to impro
ve their schooling outcomes. It explains how to conduct action r
esearch at both the classroom and schoolwide levels. The excerp
t focuses on identifying data that will help the researcher learn

more about his or her chosen topic. She discusses the use of thre
e specific types of data—
existing archival data, conventional sources, and inventive data
—
to understand student performance and its relationship to the sc
hool environment. This approach enables researchers to gain a
multifaceted understanding of the problem under study.
Excerpt
The following is an excerpt from Calhoun, E. F. (Ed.). (2002). P
hase 2: Collecting Data. In How to use action research in the sel
f-renewing school (pp. 50–
70). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculu
m Development.
Your selection of a focus area and a clear, shared statement of it
are important first steps in action research. Next, if it has not b
egun already, is the data-
gathering phase. Somebody (task force, facilitation team, or enti
re school staff) decides what data will be collected in the area u
nder investigation and how the data will be collected, from who
m, and how often. Collection of baseline data is only the beginn
ing—
action research is a formative study of progress, requiring regul
ar and frequent data collection so that changes and trends can be
seen. For vital areas of interest, such as the effect of the new m
athematics curriculum on students’ achievement and attitude in
mathematics or grades being made by at-
risk students, data collection may occur as often as biweekly for
a year or more.What Data Do We Collect?
The first task in the data-
collection phase is to decide what data will be collected. This d
ecision has two substantive aspects: (1) What data do we collect
about the learner? and (2) What data do we collect about the le
arning environment provided by the school? First, let’s consider
data about the student as learner.
The big question is, What sources will provide the faculty with i

nformation about student learning? How are students doing in th
e academic, social, and personal domains of our focus area?
In the academic domain, we need to find out how well students
are learning how to learn. For example, are they learning how to
explore the world of mathematics and use the concepts of the di
scipline to solve new problems, and are they learning how to tea
ch themselves mathematics? In terms of productivity in mathem
atics, what do grades indicate about student performance, and w
hat do standardized test scores indicate?
In the social domain, we need to know whether students know h
ow to use the social system for support as learners. In the perso
nal domain, we need information on how students feel about ma
thematics, and how they feel about themselves as students of ma
thematics. What is their academic self-
esteem in relation to mathematics?
As the faculty inquires into student learning in their area of inte
rest and gathers information in response to these questions, they
will use student data from a variety of sources.
Once the faculty has identified data sources that provide a pictu
re of how students are performing, then faculty members need t
o develop a picture of how their school influences student learni
ng in their focus area. The big data-
collection question here is, What sources will provide informati
on about the learning environment of the school? Here are a few
questions a faculty can ask as they generate possible sources of
information.
· How do schools affect learning?
·
What experiences are sanctioned and provided by our school as
an organization to enhance student learning?
· What is happening in curriculum and instruction—
or, more specifically, what are we teaching and how are we teac
hing it?
· What do our actions look like?
· What are we doing as a learning community?
Again, keeping the collective attention firmly on what the facult

y can control and on what has been shown to pay off in terms of
student learning, the faculty and facilitation team will need to s
elect multiple data sources as they inquire into the experiences t
hey are providing for students.
During the first action research cycle, the question of what data
we collect to inform us about student learning is primary. In fac
t, a complete cycle can be conducted to answer this question, fol
lowed immediately by a second cycle, during which the faculty l
ooks at the experiences the school provides for students in the f
ocus area. When student learning and the experience of schoolin
g are investigated separately, the first two cycles function as ne
eds assessment: the first cycle assesses student learning in the f
ocus area, and the second cycle assesses the learning environme
nt in the focus area. However, if the faculty spends too much ti
me studying on-
site data without taking any action to improve student learning,
the energy of the faculty can dissipate. My recommendation is t
o gather information on some aspects of both these questions du
ring the first action research cycle: What is the status of student
learning? and What is the status of schooling in our focus area?
During recurring cycles of Phases 2–
4, the faculty can collect additional information in response to e
ach question.Identifying Sources of Data for Action Research
What sources of information will help us develop a schoolwide r
esponse to the two major data-collection questions—
how are students performing in our area of interest and what ex
periences of schooling might affect that performance?
The facilitation team and faculty seek data sources that will pro
vide an accurate picture of the student behavior they wish to inf
luence. Where do they start? To get action research and collecti
ve study going, it’s a good idea to use existing archival data sou
rces immediately, conventional data sources next, and then more
inventive and elaborate data sources (see Table 4.4). These thre
e categories of data sources provide a useful framework to scho
ol faculties as they develop their data-
collection schedule. The categories serve as a bank of ideas; the

y can stimulate reflections about why we collect information fro
m a particular source; and they can serve as a filter to prevent a
data-
collection overload that overwhelms the faculty, thus preventing
collective action.Table 4.4: Sources of data for action research
Existing archival sources
Conventional sources
Inventive sources
Student grades
Surveys
Exhibits
Attendance
Simple interviews
Portfolios
Referrals
Number of books read
Expositions
Retentions
Writing samples
Videotapes
Number/percentage of students in special programs
Variety of materials used
Standardized test results
Observations
Journals
Think about these three sources on a continuum, with existing s
ources at one end and inventive sources at the other. The depth
of information increases as one moves across the continuum fro
m existing sources to inventive sources. Generally, in data colle
ction, organization, and analysis, the time investment increases
as one moves from existing to conventional and from conventio
nal to inventive.

1.Existing Archival Sources. Existing sources of data are those i
tems currently available in the files or archives of the school or
of individual staff members. Data about the school population c
an be gathered and organized directly from these records. Some
examples are student grades, discipline referrals, standardized t
est results, and demographics. The collection of data from these
sources requires little effort and time from the faculty, but info
rmation from them provides the faculty with an immediate pictu
re of the educational climate of the school.
Within the category of existing, archival sources are several ind
icators of student behavior that we call fate-
control variables. These indicators of student behavior are so cri
tical to student learning that each member of the school faculty
needs to have a clear, schoolwide picture of them, because they
provide a rough map of the academic and social climate of the s
chool. Variables such as attendance, referrals, grades, and cours
es taken indicate how many students are present or absent for in
struction, how many students are moving successfully or unsucc
essfully through school, andhow many students are making use
of the educational opportunities being offered. We call them fat
e-
control variables because they have so much influence on the fa
te of each student who enters our school.
* * *
2. Conventional Sources. Conventional sources of data are items
that require communication, observation, or follow-
up with members of the population and that often require instru
mentation to standardize the information collected. Therefore, t
he collection of data from these sources requires the selection o
r development of data-
collection instruments. Examples of conventional data sources a
re surveys, interviews, observations, samples of student work, j
ournals, and logs of performance. Information from these source
s can be easily acquired and organized in a brief span of time.
With existing data sources, we gather information from school a
rchives and staff records; with conventional data sources, we ga

ther information directly from individuals, from samples of thei
r work, and from documents that require study. We seek informa
tion from these sources when we want to know more about the b
ehaviors and attitudes of students in our area of interest.
* * *
Avoid overreliance on perceptual data sources. I am addressing
the overuse of surveys and attitudinal measures specifically bec
ause it is so common. I have seen faculties select excellent stud
ent learning goals, then (1) identify as their primary data source
a survey of themselves with student achievement and attitude a
bout school as the content or (2) develop and administer three lo
ng surveys to parents, students, and staff. The goals focused on
student learning, yet no behavioral data on student learning wer
e collected. Part of the faculty’s picture of student learning was
missing in both cases because the data did not include any direc
t indicators of student performance, such as grades, quality of w
riting, skill in problem-
solving, or standardized test results. Using surveys or questionn
aires to collect perceptions about what is and beliefs about how
oneself or others operate provides useful information to pour int
o our decision-
making funnel; however, what individuals and groups are actual
ly doing (the behavioral part of the picture) provides even more
useful information.
* * *
3. Inventive Data Sources. Inventive data sources are usually ex
amples of products or performance. We use these sources when
we want even more in-
depth information about performance than we can gain from exi
sting and conventional sources. For student products and perfor
mances, these items are directly linked to the learning goals of t
he school; their purpose is to provide the student and the larger
school community with an accurate and more direct measure of
what students know and how they think, as individuals. These it
ems require the development of criteria for analyzing the produc
ts and performances and a greater investment of faculty time in

the collection, organization, and analysis phases. Examples of i
nventive data sources related to student products and performan
ces include portfolios, exhibits, and videotapes. Many of us ass
ociate these data sources with “authentic assessment.”
For collecting data about faculty products and performances, the
sources used are directly linked to the goals of the schoolwide i
nitiative; their purpose is to provide the individual and the facul
ty with an accurate and more direct (than surveys and perceptua
l data) measure of staff performance in terms of the actions or i
nnovations being implemented. Examples of inventive data sour
ces related to staff products and performances include units and
materials developed to support an instructional strategy and vid
eotapes of instruction.
Source: Calhoun, E. F. (2002). How to use action research in th
e self-
renewing school. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision a
nd Curriculum Development.
Summary
In this excerpt, Calhoun discusses the process of identifying app
ropriate data sources for investigating and enhancing student lea
rning through action research. At the outset of an action researc
h project on student learning, Calhoun suggests two small studie
s (e.g., each cycling once through the “look, think, act” routine,
as described by Stringer): one on the status of student learning
and one on how the school contributes (or does not contribute) t
o learning. These initial investigations serve as needs assessmen
ts, providing baseline data on these two phenomena and the rela
tionship between them.
To understand student learning as it pertains to the research topi
c and the factors that have an impact on learning, Calhoun sugg
ests that practitioners collect data in the academic, social, and p
ersonal domains. The academic domain pertains to how well stu
dents are learning how to learn, which includes their ability to a
pply disciplinary concepts to solve new problems. The social do
main pertains to students’ use of social support systems, includi

ng help seeking. Finally, the personal domain refers to how stud
ents feel about and identify with academics. Within the three do
mains, researchers can collect three types of data. The first is ex
isting archival data, which includes test scores, grades, disciplin
e and attendance records, and demographic information. Within
this data, Calhoun asserts that school staff members should “hav
e a clear, schoolwide picture” (p. 53) of what she calls “fate-
control variables” (p. 53). These variables, such as data on atten
dance, grades, and disciplinary infractions, provide a broad pict
ure of the school’s academic and social climate.
Practitioner-
researchers should also collect data from conventional sources,
such as observations, interviews, student work, journals, and pe
rformance logs. Unlike archival data, researchers must develop
data collection instruments (lists of questions to be asked and to
pics to be investigated) to collect these data. Calhoun also sugg
ests using inventive data sources, which include student product
s and performances related to curricular innovations linked to sp
ecific learning goals. It is vital that practitioner-
researchers develop specific criteria to guide the analysis of the
se data. For example, what counts as evidence of student unders
tanding and the effectiveness of the curriculum or instruction? F
inally, data should capture both behaviors and perceptions. In c
ollecting various forms of data on different aspects of learning,
the practitioner-
researcher will get a more complex understanding of the proble
m under study and how it can it can be addressed.
1. In the field of K–
12 education, significant emphasis is currently placed on archiv
al academic data, particularly standardized test scores, in efforts
to reform schools and improve student outcomes. Calhoun sugg
ests that practitioner-
researchers also use data from the personal domain in order to u
nderstand students’ learning challenges and how to intervene int

o them. In what ways are emotions and identity related to acade
mic outcomes? In conducting research on a topic pertinent to yo
ur academic discipline or grade level, what types of data within
the personal domain could you collect to better understand stude
nt performance? What insights might you gain from this data?
2.
Calhoun believes that all staff should be familiar with their scho
ol’s archival data on what she calls “fate-
control variables,” which pertain to student attendance, course t
aking, test scores, grades, and behavior. She asserts that these f
actors have a great deal of influence on students’ success and fa
ilure. How could these factors, both individually and in combina
tion, affect the fate of a student both in and beyond school? Can
you think of any other factors—inside or outside of school—
that have a similarly important influence?
3.
Calhoun points out the importance of collecting data from both
behavioral and perceptional sources. Identify a specific problem
of practice or student learning within an academic discipline or
grade level that is of interest to you. What types of data could
you collect from both sources that would give further insight int
o the problem? From whom would you collect the data, and how
?4.6 Giving Voice: Interpretive and Qualitative Data Analysis,
by Ernest Stringer
Introduction
The following excerpt is taken from Ernest Stringer’s book, Act
ion Research in Education. Unlike Action Research, previously
excerpted, this book is designed specifically for educational pra
ctitioners. Stringer explains that although many educators may i
nitially believe that it is outside the scope of their work, researc
h is a useful tool for improving schools as learning and working
environments. Unlike other forms of research, action research i
s particularly well suited to the work of educators who are conc
erned with practical outcomes. As Stringer explains, in addition
to solving problems, educational practitioners also improve thei

r knowledge and skills and enhance their professionalism.
In the following excerpt, Stringer discusses the data analysis pr
ocess, which he describes as reflecting on and making judgment
s about the information gathered and distilling it into a set of id
eas that can be applied to the problem(s) under study. Researche
rs must evaluate their data and determine which are most pertin
ent to the study. That is, which data will help them to better und
erstand the issue they are examining, and how. To do this, Strin
ger explains the use of “epiphanic moments (Denzin, 1989b)—
illuminative or significant experiences” (p. 97) to guide analysi
s. Unlike analysis intended to develop generalized theories of h
uman behavior, the form of interpretive data analysis described
by Stringer focuses on individuals’ and groups’ subjectivities an
d meaning-
making processes in context, otherwise known as an emic persp
ective. This approach is effective in understanding how to inter
vene into problems of practice in particular settings and with pa
rticular individuals and groups. Because it is focused on meanin
g making, interpretive analysis is suited to qualitative data such
as interviews, observations, and work products, rather than gra
des, attendance records, test scores, and other forms of quantitat
ive data.
Excerpt
The following is an excerpt from Stringer, E. T. (2004). Giving
Voice: Interpretive and Qualitative Data Analysis. In Action res
earch in education (pp. 96–
122). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
The diagram shown in Figure 4.3 signals the move from data gat
hering to data analysis. In terms of the simple Look-Think-
Act of action research, the Think component indicates the need
for participants to reflect on the information they have gathered,
and transform the sometimes large and unwieldy body of infor
mation into a relatively compact system of ideas and concepts t
hat can be applied to solutions to the problem at hand.
The process or data analysis requires participants to sift through

the accumulated data to identify that information most pertinen
t to the problem they are investigating. This process of distillati
on provides the material for an organized set of concepts and id
eas that enable them to achieve greater insight, understanding, o
r clarity about events of interest. The intent is to accomplish co
mmon-
sense solutions to problems by finding concepts and ideas that
make sense to the stakeholders involved. One of the essential fe
atures of action research is the move to directly engage the expe
rience and perspective of all participants to ensure that the sens
e made of the data is common to all.
This differs from common research practice in which researcher
s analyze data in isolation from the research context and subject
s and formulate categories and schema that appear to make sens
e when applied to a particular theory. In much research, therefor
e, theoretical formulations often dominate proceedings by inscri
bing academic perspectives into the process and silencing the vo
ices and perspectives of other participants. Though there is still
a need for objective research that engages these types of practic
e, action research tends to focus on a more phenomenological ap
proach to analysis.Figure 4.3: Reflection in action research
This chapter, therefore, first presents an approach to data analys
is that seeks to preserve participant perspectives by using epiph
anic moments (Denzin, 1989b)—
illuminative or significant experiences—
as primary units of analysis. The ultimate intent is to give voice
to those participants and provide a body of ideas and concepts t
hat clearly mesh with important elements of their experience an
d provide the basis for action. The second process presented is a
more traditional form of qualitative analysis categorizing and c
oding data that distills large amounts of data into a more manag
eable body of ideas. The purpose of this process is to reveal patt
erns and themes within the data that expose the key features of
events and settings.
Teachers rarely have time during the busy and demanding routin

es of everyday life in their classrooms to stand back and reflect
on their work. Having the luxury to sit back, talk about, and refl
ect on their classroom practices often provides them with opport
unities to gain significant insights into their professional life. I’
ve frequently seen teachers’ eyes light up in the course of interv
iews or focus group dialogues as they see themselves or aspects
of their work in new ways. Merely having time to focus their att
ention in a systematic way is illuminative.
This does not always happen immediately, however. The student
s in the sexual harassment study, . . . for instance, required an e
xtended period of reflection and analysis to identify the nature a
nd key features of their experience of harassment. The Barrios J
untos group . . . also needed to work through a systematic proce
ss of data analysis to reveal the key features of parent experienc
es in parent-
teacher conferences. In each case, however, the process of data
analysis enabled participants to extend their understanding of th
e issue investigated—
providing concepts and ideas that enabled them to devise effecti
ve actions related to the problems they investigated. Data analys
is, for them, was not just a technical research routine, but the m
eans to inform their actions.Data Analysis (1): Analyzing Epiph
anies
The processes of inquiry described in this book largely emerge f
rom the history of research in the academic disciplines. While a
ction research has much in common with the general methodolo
gies of naturalistic inquiry/qualitative research, its purposes are
distinctly different. Traditionally, research has sought to provid
e scientific, objective theories of human conduct and conceptual
schemes to explain how and why people act as they do. Action
research, however, uses these types of theory as background inf
ormation—
choosing to focus instead on the ways people purposefully const
ruct their own social worlds. The intent is to understand the ong
oing, experienced reality of people’s lives rather than seeking a
n objective truth that explains observed events. We, therefore, e

mploy modes of inquiry that make the world of lived experience
directly accessible to an audience, capturing the voices, emotio
ns, and actions of those studied and focusing on those life exper
iences that shape the meanings persons give to themselves and t
heir own experiences.
The intent of action research is to provide an approach to data a
nalysis more clearly focused on processes and outcomes resonat
ing with people’s own meaningfulness and supplying the basis f
or effecting positive change in their lives. Action research, ther
efore, employs processes that engage the concepts and ideas peo
ple naturally use to observe, describe, and interpret their own ex
periences (Spradley, 1979a; Spradley and McCurdy, 1972). This
represents an approach to research having the clear intention to
learn from and with people, rather than studying them. Denzin (
1989b) has suggested that the focus of interpretive research on
meanings persons give to themselves and their life experiences r
equires researchers to capture the voices, emotions, and actions
of those studied. The following analytic procedures enable parti
cipants to enter each other’s worlds and to understand the event
s, actions, activities, behavior, and deeply fell emotions that rep
resent the ongoing reality of human experience (Denzin, 1996).
The intent of these procedures is to enable researchers lo accura
tely and authentically represent people’s lives in non-
authoritative, non-colonizing, and non-
exploitive ways. They employ processes that not only maintain
people’s voices, but also capture the concepts, meanings, emoti
ons, and agendas that can be applied to problems affecting their
personal, institutional, and professional lives. Recent research e
xperience (Genat, 2002) suggests the need for voices of the part
icipants, their structures of meaning, their interpretive processe
s, and their conceptual frameworks to dominate the process of d
ata analysis. The procedures are based on a process of interpreti
ve analysis suggested by Denzin (1989b) and focus on epiphanie
s—
illuminative moments that mark people’s lives. By exploring an
d unpacking these epiphanies, we seek to reveal features and ele

ments of experience, often not apprehended in the normal cours
e of events that provide significant insight into people’s lives.
Epiphanies and Illuminative Experiences
As noted previously, epiphanies are illuminative moments of cri
sis, or transformational, turning point experiences, which result
in significant changes to people’s perceptions of their lives (De
nzin, 1989b). Epiphanies take a variety of forms—
from the devastating experience that enters a person’s life but o
nce, through cumulative epiphanies that emerge over time, to mi
nor epiphanies that are significant but not highly momentous. E
piphanies can be either positive or negative. They may include t
he experience of exhilaration at passing (or failing) a particularl
y significant examination, the sense of wonderment (or frustrati
on) emerging from a difficult learning process, or a sense of inj
ustice emerging from an unfair or distressing comment from a te
acher, colleague, or administrator.
Epiphanies may vary in intensity, from the life-
changing experience of complete failure or triumphant success,
to less calamitous events that have significant, but not dire, effe
cts on people’s lives. They emerge as moments of human warmt
h or hurt, or they can be moments of clarity that add new dimen
sions to a person’s life experience and invest them with new wa
ys of interpreting or understanding their lives. An epiphany may
emerge instantaneously—the “ah-
ha” experience, or the “light bulb” that enables a person to say,
“so that’s what is going on”—
or it may emerge gradually through a cumulative sense of aware
ness after an ongoing process of experience and reflection.
Rhonda Petty reveals how she came to understand the concept “
epiphany.” She writes (Petty, 1997) “When I first read Denzin’s
(1989b) definition and description of epiphanies, I associated t
hem with psychotic behavior or life-
threatening diseases. My interpretation was too narrow. As Den
zin wrote, epiphanies are turning-
point experiences, interactional moments that mark people’s liv

es and can be transformational. My own experience demonstrate
s, however, that epiphanies can stem from the unlikeliest of sou
rces—
a book, a conversation, or the click of a telephone.” Epiphanies
can emerge from seemingly minor events and may be best thoug
ht of as significant experiences that are set aside from the hum-
drum, routine events that have little impact. They are experienc
es that are in some way distinct and are cause for particular com
ment or response from those involved.
Interpreting Epiphanies and Illuminative Experiences
Interpretive data analysis first identifies epiphanic or illuminati
ve experiences in the lives or research participants, then deconst
ructs or unpacks those events to reveal the elements of experien
ce of which they are built. We deconstruct those events using te
rminology, concepts, and structures of meaning derived from pa
rticipant accounts. By starting with events significant from the
participants’ perspectives, and building understanding of events
in their terms, we seek not only to give voice to the participant
s, but to create understandings that emerge from, resonate with,
and are consistent with the world as they know and understand i
t. We seek emic (insider) constructions that are true to their wor
lds and their purposes.
We seek not only accounts of individual experience, but to unde
rstand the experience of different groups since individuals will i
nterpret events according to their membership in a particular gr
oup. Teachers, parents, and students, for instance, are likely to s
ee an issue from quite different viewpoints. We seek to formulat
e joint accounts providing insight into the perspective and exper
ience of each stakeholding group.
Figure 4.4 shows how data related to the perspectives of teacher
s, students, and parents is analyzed and used as the basis of a re
port on a school issue. Researchers:
· Review information acquired from stakeholders in the data-
gathering phase.
·

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