About classroom Action Research

1. Teacher Professional Development
Classroom Action Research
Madan Rijal
M.Ed. in Mathematics
Kathmandu University
School of Education
Instructor : Mr. Amrit Bahadur Thapa
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2. OUTLINES
 Action Research
 Classroom Action Research (CAR) and its importance

 Steps in Conducting an Action Research Study
 Criteria for evaluating action research report
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3. Action Research
 Kurt Lewin (Social-psychologist) in 1946
 Groups processes consisted of 4 steps:
1. Planning 3. Observing
2. Acting 4. Reflecting
 Later spread from social to education sector
 Slowed during 1950s but again reemerged in 1970s in Great
Britain, USA and Australia
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4. Interacting Spiral
- Stringer (2007)
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This model contains three phases : Look, think and act.

5. Classroom Action Research
 A method of finding out what works best in own classroom to improve
students learning.
 A kind of research begins with a question (questions) about
i) classroom experiences ii) issues or challenges
 CAR fits in the center of a continuum ranging from personal reflection
at one end to formal educational research at the other.
 It helps teachers to explore and examine aspects of teaching and
learning and to take action to change and improve.
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6. Why do Classroom Action Research (CAR)?
 A very effective way of improving teaching,
(different approaches, reflective practices, develop confidence)
 CAR provides a means of documenting teaching effectiveness,
 CAR provides a renewed sense of excitement about teaching.
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7. Who is it for?
For any teacher who wants to :
• Take action to improve student learning
• Understand more about teaching and learning
• Develop teaching skills and knowledge
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8. Seven Step process of CAR
(Bell, 1993; Sagor, 2000; and Hubbard and Power, 1993)
• Step 1 : Identify a question or problem
• Step 2 : Review Literature
• Step 3 : Plan a research strategy
• Step 4 : Gather Data
• Step 5 : Make sense of the data
• Step 6 : Take action
• Step 7 : Share own findings
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9. Step 1 : Identify a question or problem
This question should be something related to student learning in classroom.
Eg:
a) Would a different types of assignment enhance student understanding?
a) Would a strict attendance policy result in better performance?
a) Would more time spent in co-operative learning groups help students
understand concept at a higher level?
a) ….
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10. Step 2 : Review Literature
• Need to gather two types of information
1. Background literature (Cross and Steadman, 1996; Woolfolk, 2000)
provides background information on learning, motivation and
classroom management topics
2. Data (ERIC database, http://ericir.syr.edu)
provides references to a huge number of published and unpublished
manuscripts.
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11. Step 3 : Plan a research strategy
CAR study may take many forms such as
i) Pretest – Posttest design
ii) Comparison of similar classes
iii) Descriptive case study of a single class or student
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12. Step 4 : Gather Data
CAR tends to rely largely on existing data such as
i) Scores,
ii) Teachers evaluations
iii) final course grades
iv) Review (for adult students)
v) Peer observation
vi) Teacher diary
vii) Learner feedback
viii) Lesson evaluation
ix) Recording lessons
x) Reflecting on learners’ work
xi) Surveys
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13. Step 5 : Make sense of the data
Means analyze own data and looking for findings with practical significance.
i) For quantitative data : simple t-tests, correlations, tables and graphs
and others
i) For qualitative data : recurring themes, citing supporting evidence
Practical significance, rather than statistical
significance, is the goal.
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14. Step 6 : Take action
 Use findings to make decisions about teaching
strategies or
 In case of equally effective findings according to
teachers’ preference or that of the students.
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15. Step 7 : Share own findings
Findings can be shared with peers in many ways
 General meeting
International conference for teacher-researchers
(http://www.educ.ubc.ca/ictr2001)
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16. References
Mettetal, G. and Cowan, P. (2000), Assessing learning through classroom research: The
Supporting Teachers As Researchers Project (STAR). Classroom Leadership
Online, 3 (8) at http://www.ascd.org/readingroom/classlead/0005/1may00.html
Bell, J. (1993). Doing your research project, 2nd edition. Philadelphia: Open University
Press.
Hubbard, R.S. and Power, B.M. (1993) The Art of classroom inquiry. Portsmouth, NH :
Heinemann.
Sagor, R. (2000). Guiding school improvement with action research. Alexandria, VA :
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
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17. References
Cross, K.P. and Steadman, M.H. (1996). Classroom research: Implementing the
scholarship of teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Woolfolk, A. (2000). Educationalpsychology, 8th edition. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn
and Bacon.
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