Action Research Booklet For Teachers

ACTION RESEARCH BOOKLET
FOR
TEACHERS
We could see already that this project was very important. It builds teacher capacity, it helps us, and
it will help us in our profession, especially as classroom teachers (A classroom teacher)

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© 2012 The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. ABN 63 942 912 684, CRICOS Provider No: 00025B
ACTION RESEARCH BOOKLET FOR TEACHERS
This booklet was developed as part of a research study funded by the Australian Development Research Awards.
Identifying strategies to sustain professional learning communities for teachers in remote primary schools in
Papua New Guinea was a study that investigated the use of Action Research as a method that teachers could
use to further their professional learning.
The first version of the booklet (Draft 1) was developed in February 2010 by Dr Eileen Honan from The University
of Queensland, and Dr Patricia Paraide from The National Research Institute, PNG as part of their
responsibilities in the study.
Draft 1 was used by teachers in East Sepik and Western Provinces as part of their participation in our study.
Their comments and feedback about Draft 1 have been incorporated into this final version.
A revised version was developed in March 2011 (Draft 2). Draft 2 was used with staff and students involved in the
DEP(I) program at the Papua New Guinea Education Institute to provide them with information about using
Action Research. We also received valuable comments about Draft 2 from these groups, and we have
incorporated this feedback into this final version.
In addition, we used Draft 2 as the basis for our presentations and discussions with key stakeholders in 2011
about the future use of the booklet.
This last version of the booklet (Final) has been developed and distributed so that teachers in PNG can use it to
further their professional learning.
We acknowledge the generosity of teachers, particularly those in the site schools in Middle Fly and
Ambunti/Drekikir who were involved in the project, teacher educators, Standards Officers, Officers of PNG
National Department of Education, and Provincial Education Officers, who have supported and advised us during
the course of our study. We hope that the booklet is useful in supporting teachers to provide quality education to
all students in PNG.
Dr Eileen Honan, The University of Queensland
Professor Terry Evans, Deakin University
Dr Patricia Paraide, National Research Institute, PNG
Ms Medi Reta, National Research Institute, PNG
Dr Sandy Muspratt, The University of Queensland
Copyright Notice 2012
Unless otherwise indicated, copyright in the content of this publication is the property of The University of
Queensland. All content is protected by Australian copyright law and, by virtue of international treaties, equivalent
copyright laws in other countries.
No material contained within this publication may be reproduced or copied in any way without the prior written
permission of The University of Queensland. The National Research Institute of PNG and teachers of PNG may
reproduce the publication for educational purposes only.

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CONTENTS PAGE
WHAT IS PROFESSIONAL LEARNING? .....................................................................................................4
WHY USE ACTION RESEARCH IN SCHOOLS? ...........................................................................................5
THE ACTION RESEARCH CYCLE................................................................................................................6
USING THE ACTION RESEARCH CYCLE.....................................................................................................7
HOW TO USE THIS BOOKLET...................................................................................................................8
STEP ONE: IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM........................................................................................................9
STEP ONE CONTINUED..........................................................................................................................12
Action Research Template Two ............................................................................................................13
STEP ONE CONTINUED..........................................................................................................................14
Action Research Template Three............................................................................................................1
STEP TWO: DEVELOP AN ACTION PLAN................................................................................................18
Action Research Template Four............................................................................................................20
STEP THREE: TRY IT OUT .......................................................................................................................21
Action Research Template Five...............................................................................................................1
STEP FOUR: LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED...............................................................................................23
Action Research Template Six...............................................................................................................25
STEP FIVE: REFLECT ON WHAT HAPPENED...........................................................................................26
Action Research Template Seven .........................................................................................................27
STEP SIX: USE RESULTS TO UPDATE AND MODIFY PLAN ......................................................................29
Action Research Template Eight...........................................................................................................30
STEP SEVEN: SHARE RESULTS WITH COLLEAGUES AND OTHERS..........................................................31
Action Research Template Nine............................................................................................................32
STARTING A NEW CYCLE .......................................................................................................................33

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WHAT IS PROFESSIONAL LEARNING?
To improve the quality of education in Papua New Guinea, it is important to
improve the quality of teaching. An important part of quality teaching is
ongoing learning, where teachers continually work to improve their teaching to
achieve better outcomes for their students. Research in Papua New Guinea
and in other countries around the world indicates that the best kind of
professional learning:
• involves teachers working as active lifelong learners;
• focuses on improving teacher practice;
• is based on a whole school approach;
• has a focus on student achievement;
• is undertaken when teachers are given time to learn;
• has continued support from head teachers and other key leaders;
• focuses on building individual teachers’ competencies;
• uses an evidence-based enquiry model; and
• requires teachers to use critical reflection on their own teaching.
Action Research is one method that can be used for effective professional
learning.
This booklet is designed to help classroom teachers undertake their own
Action Research projects.

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WHY USE ACTION RESEARCH IN SCHOOLS?
Action Research is:
• One useful method of undertaking effective professional learning.
• A method of undertaking research where the researcher (the teacher)
takes some kind of action to solve a problem.
• One way to link new knowledge with existing knowledge.
• A process that teachers can use to solve their own school problems
without relying on experts.
• A method that teachers can use to research their own professional
practice.
• A method that asks teachers to do reflective practice. This means
teachers asking themselves: What have I done in the classroom? Why
have I done it that way? Why do I do the things that I do?
• Action Research can be used to investigate problems identified in your
SLIP.
Action Research is based on a cycle of action. The cycle is shown on the next
page but also it is explained throughout the booklet.

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THE ACTION RESEARCH CYCLE In Step One you decide which problem you are going to
focus on for the whole cycle.
You write a ‘story’ about the problem.
You collect data about the problem.
In Step Two you decide what
you are going to do to solve the
problem.
You write a detailed plan of
what you will do.
In Step Three you try out your
plan.
In Step Four you collect data to
see if your plan worked to solve
the problem.
In Step Five you reflect on what
you did in Step Three and the
new data you collected in Step
Four.
In Step Six you think about what
you will do next. Will you keep
using the same plan? Modify or
update the plan to try
something new? And then you
move into Step One again or go
Straight to Step Three.
You also might like to add a Step
Seven which is sharing what you
have done with teachers from
other schools.

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USING THE ACTION RESEARCH CYCLE
1. A brief description of what happens in each step of the Action Research
cycle is included on the diagram.
2. Each of the steps in the cycle is explained in this booklet in further detail
with some examples of what to do at each step.
3. In this booklet there are some templates for you to complete so that you
can keep a record of your work in the steps.
4. You may also like to keep your own journal where you write down your
thoughts and reflections about each step of the Action Research process.
5. At each step in the cycle you should be thinking and critically reflecting on
what you have done and why you have done it in that way.

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HOW TO USE THIS BOOKLET
1. The teachers in each school can work together as a whole staff to complete
the templates in this booklet. This means that teachers can support and
help each other as they learn the process.
2. Each teacher can use their own copy of the booklet so that they can keep a
personal record of the process and progress in the project. Teachers might
like to write notes on each page. This means that each teacher can keep a
record of his or her own personal learning.
3. It is a good idea for all the teachers in a school to work together, and it is a
very good idea for the head teacher to be involved.
4. It is a good idea to select ONE problem for all the teachers to investigate.
5. It is important to work through each step of the Action Research cycle to
investigate ways to solve the problem.
6. It is important to work together during meetings to reflect critically on the
Action Research process to improve your own teaching and learning.

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STEP ONE: IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM
• In this step you and your school will decide which problem you are going
to focus on for the Action Research project.
• Avoid problems that you can do nothing about or that you will not have
the required resources to solve.
• You need to make sure that everyone agrees to work on the same
problem.
• Try to think about problems that are related to the teaching and learning
that occurs in your school.
In Template One (on page 11), write a description of the problem with as much
detail as you can about the ‘story’ behind the problem.
On the next page, you will see two examples. We will use these two examples
throughout the booklet.

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Example One:
What is the problem?
How can we support students to understand fraction operations better?
What is the ‘story’ behind the problem?
Students have been having difficulties with addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
of fractions. The majority of students in the school cannot solve fraction problems
during mathematics lessons. This is a common problem in all grades. It is of greater
concern for teachers and students in the upper grades because we feel that by this
level, the students should have acquired sufficient knowledge in fraction operations. We
also feel that there is a knowledge gap in fractions, especially for the current grade 7
and 8 students because the school was closed for two years due to teacher shortages,
so these students missed two years of schooling. We are also concern about their
preparation for the grade 8 national examination and how they will perform in it. We
feel that this is a whole-school problem, therefore, our lower primary school teachers
are involved because they are responsible for building basic knowledge areas at the
lower grades. These knowledge areas are developed further in the upper grades.
Therefore the school is working as a team to address this problem in all grades.
Example Two
How can we support students to improve in their understanding of English texts?
What is the ‘story’ behind the problem?
Students in all grades have been having difficulties in understanding English texts. Most
of them are unable to understand English texts in class activities. We feel that they do
not have sufficient comprehension skills. This is a pressing problem for us because if the
students do not have sufficient reading comprehension skills in the English language, they
will not be able to understand texts in other school subjects. We are also concerned
about this because the grade 8 national examination is in English and we are worried that
they may not perform well in it because of their weak comprehension skills in English.
As a whole staff, we believe that we can address this problem. We know that we do not
have sufficient English reading materials for our students to read for pleasure and
information. Also, our focus on reading for understanding in the English language is
minimal in our language lessons. Consequently, most of our students in all grades have
not developed their reading comprehension skills in the English language well. Therefore,
we have decided to work as a team to identify strategies to improve our students’
comprehension level in the English language.

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Action Research Template One
What is the story behind the problem?

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STEP ONE CONTINUED
COLLECTING DATA ABOUT THE PROBLEM
• What type of information do you need to help you describe and
understand this problem?
• Where will you get this information from?
• How will you collect it?
• Why do you need it?
ISSUES ABOUT DATA COLLECTION
• Data collection involves gathering different kinds of data.
• Do not just rely on one set of data.
• The term “data instrument” refers to the technique or method you will
use to collect the data.
• It is important to use a range of data collection techniques to provide a
more complete understanding of a given problem or research question.
• In Template Two (on page 13), you need to be specific about the
information you provide. The two examples (see page 10) continue
below.
Type of data
required
Where from? How will you collect it?
Why do you need this
data?
Example One
Mathematics test
results and class
exercises.
Mathematics
exercise books,
students' test
papers.
Collect students’
mathematics exercise
books and test papers
and analyse data to
establish students’
strong and weak areas
in fraction operations.
Identify students’
weaknesses and
strengths in fraction
operations so that
appropriate support
can be provided.
Example Two
Information about
students’ reading
comprehension
skills.
Students’ language
exercise books,
class teachers’
language
assessment
records.
Collect students’
language exercise books,
existing language
assessments records.
Identify students’
strengths and
weaknesses in reading
comprehension so that
appropriate support
can be given.

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Action Research Template Two
Type of data required Where from? How will you collect it? Why do you need this data?
STOP – Now go and collect this data

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STEP ONE CONTINUED
AFTER YOU COLLECT THE DATA
You are still working on Step One of the Action Research cycle.
You have already identified the problem.
You have collected some data about the problem.
Now, you will need to analyse this data to find out what it is telling you about
the problem. In Template Three (on page 17), write what the data is telling you
about the problem, and what you want to achieve by solving the problem.
The two examples (started on page 10, and continued on page 12) continue
below.
Example One
Remember, the teachers in this school were concerned about their students’
performance in mathematics – fraction operations. The teachers in the school
have collected data in the form of exercise books and test papers; and they
conducted short interviews with some parents and students about this
problem.
What are the data you have collected telling you about the problem?
We collected data from the students’ mathematics exercise books and test papers and
observed students’ during mathematics lessons. After correcting the exercises and tests
papers, we found that:
1. The majority of students in all classes got most of the problems wrong in the
fraction exercises.
2. Most of the girls scored very low in both the fraction test and exercises.
3. The majority of students who scored low in both the fraction test and exercises
were specifically from two of the six villages that enrol children in this particular
school.
4. The majority of the students had difficulties in the addition and multiplication of
fractions.
We then conducted short interviews with some of the students and some of the parents
to find out what they had to say about the problem.

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The students gave reasons for their low performances in fraction problems:
• Students could not understand the teachers’ explanations of the basic concept of
fraction problems.
• Teachers were speaking too fast.
• Students were not studying enough after school because of insufficient study
space in the home.
• Home duties took priority over class homework.
The parents gave these reasons:
• Students choose to do other activities and not homework after school.
• Students stay out late at night watching DVDs or setting fish traps.
From looking at these data we decided that we should deal with issues that involved
teachers and students only. We could only speak with the parents to support the home
environment. Our first strategy was to give multiplication drills for five minutes at the
beginning and at the end of the mathematics lessons.
We also decided to provide more activities on fractions and make the effort to explain
the problems better, and work with the students on solving fraction problems at a
slower pace.
Parents took the responsibility to be more active in their children’s school needs after
our meeting with them.
What do you want to achieve by solving this problem? What is your target?
We hope that by doing all these, we can support our students so that the majority of
them can understand fraction concepts better.
Example Two
Remember, the teachers in this school were concerned about the students’
weak performance in comprehension in the English language in all grades.
We collected data from the students’ comprehension tests and administered questionnaires
to students and parents. We analysed these data and we found that:
5. Nearly all of students do not have reading books at home. However, they have the
Bible (written in the local language) and old newspapers.

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6. Most of the upper primary students love reading their PDH and MAL textbooks.
These are the only English books currently available in the school.
7. A little more than half the parents and about a quarter of the students stated
that there were no reading books available in school.
8. Most of the grade 3 students cannot yet read in the English language.
9. Nearly all of grade 4 students cannot yet comprehend simple English text.
10. But nearly half the grade 5 students can now read English texts.
11. In the upper grades, only a small number of students can comprehend text in the
English language.
12. The school has no students’ English reading books.
13. In addition, the teachers noted that, apart from PDH and MAL textbooks, there was
little reading material for student use in the school.
After looking at these data, we decided to focus on increasing reading comprehension
activities in all grades by encouraging students to tell stories in English during language
lessons and school assemblies. We also decided to improve the quality of English reading
texts by producing our own big books, and encouraging students to bring reading books
from their homes to be used during lessons. We also sought funding from our LLG
president for a new library building.
We hope that we can improve our students’ reading comprehension level so that by the
end of the year, we can see at least some improvement for all students in their
comprehension levels of English reading materials.

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Action Research Template Three

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STEP TWO: DEVELOP AN ACTION PLAN
You are now moving into the second stage of the Action Research cycle. In Step
Two you will develop a plan to solve the problem you have identified in Step
One.
You should develop this plan using Template Four (page 20). The points below
are designed to help you think about how you can complete this template.
• Imagine at least one possible solution to the problem you wish to solve.
• Make sure that your solution is realistic and achievable within a set time
frame.
• You might need to break down the solution into smaller strategies, or
you might have more than one solution.
• Think about what kinds of data you could collect to show whether your
solution has worked or not.
• Make sure your plan does not interfere with other school events.
The two examples are continued on the next page. Template Four (on page 20)
is for you to complete.

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Examples in Template Four
What can we do to
achieve this
objective/target
(your strategy)
Who will be
responsible for
implementing this
strategy
What local
resources (people
or materials) might
be useful?
When will this
strategy be
implemented
How will you
measure success?
What are your
indicators?
What data will
you need to tell
you if you have
attained your
target?
Where will you
get this data?
Example One
The school decided
to use multiplication
drills before and
after each
mathematics lesson.
Teachers and
students.
Teachers in the
school
End of Term 3 Number of students
who are able to
solve multiplication
problems involving
fractions.
The majority of the
students should be
able to solve with
ease simple
multiplication
problems involving
fractions.
Results of tasks
involving
multiplication of
fractions.
Mathematics
exercise books
and assessment
tasks involving
multiplication
of fractions.
Example TWO
The school decided
to focus on teaching
reading
comprehension skills
in the English
language in all
grades.
Teachers and
students.
Readings books from
homes, produce own
reading texts (big
books) and text
from textbooks.
Start beginning
of Term 2.
we want to see
some improvement
by all students in
their comprehension
levels of English
reading materials.
Students’
comprehension
assessment
results; students
re-telling the
story and
rewriting the
story in their own
words.
Language
exercise books,
class activities
and
comprehension
assessment
tasks.

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Action Research Template Four
What do you want to achieve by solving this problem?
What can we do to
achieve this
objective/target
(your strategy)?
Who will be
responsible for
implementing this
strategy?
What local
resources (people
or materials) might
be useful?
When will this
strategy be
implemented?
How will you
measure success?
What are your
indicators?
What data will
you need to tell
you if you have
attained your
target?
Where will you
get this data?

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STEP THREE: TRY IT OUT
You are now moving into Step Three of the Action Research cycle. In Step
Three you will try to implement the plan you developed in Step Two.
Some hints and tips about using your action plan:
• it is a good idea to try out one idea first rather than trying to do a lot of
new things all at the same time;
• even if your strategy doesn’t seem to work, keep records of what you
did and collect data about it;
• talk to each other about what you are trying to do; and
• use Template Five to keep a record of any questions or problems.

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Action Research Template Five
Keep a record here of questions or problems that you want to talk about later.
Use this Template to focus discussion at a Staff Meeting.

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STEP FOUR: LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED
Now examine what happened during your Action Research using Template Six
(page 25).
The important part of this template and step is describing your results in as
much detail as possible.
The first three columns of this template use information from your Action Plan
(that is, from Template Four).
First, the two examples are continued from before, then Template Six (on page
25) is for you to complete.

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Examples in Template Six
From your Action Plan
(i.e., from Template Four)
Results
What did you do to solve your problem?
What was your strategy? (how/way to solve
the problem
How did you
measure your
success?
What evidence did
you use?
Did this work? Why/Why not?
Example One
The school decided to use multiplication
drills before and after each mathematics
lesson.
Fraction assessment
tasks before and
after the drills
strategy commenced.
Fraction assessment
results (this data
will tell you if the
students have
improved in fraction
operations or not.).
If yes, can we further improve on it? If no,
what else can we do to improve on it?
This strategy worked for many students but
we will continue with this strategy until the
majority of students have mastered fraction
operations.
Example Two
Increased reading time for comprehension
activities in language lessons.
Reading
comprehension
assessment tasks-
compare with
previous performance
results.
Reading assessment
results (this data
will tell you if the
students are
improving in reading
comprehension
skills).
If yes, can we further improve on it? If no,
what else can we do to improve on it?
Increase reading time for reading comprehension
activities worked, however we feel we need to
continue with the current teaching strategies
for students’ continuous improvement in reading
comprehension in the English language.

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Action Research Template Six
What are the results?
Problem:
Results
What did you do to solve your problem?
What was your strategy? (how/way to solve
the problem
How did you
measure your
success?
What evidence did
you use?
Did this work? Why/Why not?

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STEP FIVE: REFLECT ON WHAT HAPPENED
Step Five of the Action Research cycle is very important because it is here that
you reflect on your success or difficulty with solving your problem.
Reflection is an essential part of doing Action Research.
Reflecting on your actions will help you think about improving your teaching.
Reflect on both your strategies and the results of implementing the strategies
by answering these questions:
• Why were your strategies successful or unsuccessful?
• How did outside/internal factors impact on the implementation of your
plan?
• What would you do differently next time?
• Do you need to collect more or different types of data?
• If your strategy did work what would you do to improve it further to use
again?
• How did the strategy help you achieve your target to solve the problem?
• What else do you have to do to achieve the target?
Use Template Seven (on page 27 & 28) to record your written reflections.

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Action Research Template Seven
Why were your strategies successful or not successful?
How did outside/internal factors impact on the implementation of your
plan?
What would you do differently next time?

28
Do you need to collect more or different types of data?
If your strategy did work what would you do to improve it further to use
again?
How did the strategy help you achieve your target to solve the problem?
What else do you have to do to achieve the target?

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STEP SIX: USE RESULTS TO UPDATE AND MODIFY PLAN
In Step Six of the Action Research Cycle you begin to consider how you can
continue with the cycle through modifying and updating or changing your plan.
The Reflections in Template Seven will help you in considering what to do next.
Use all the information you have collected in each of the previous stages to
help you decide what to do next.

30
Action Research Template Eight
Use all the information you have already collected to decide what you will do
next. Make notes here about your discussions and decisions.
Are you going to create a new plan? Or develop a modified plan? How will the
new plan be different from the original plan?
Will you continue to work on the same problem? Or modify the existing
problem? Or work on a new problem? Why have you made this decision?
What have you learned from doing the first five steps of the Action Research
cycle?

31
STEP SEVEN: SHARE RESULTS WITH COLLEAGUES AND
OTHERS
You can plan your sharing of results using Template Nine.
Some reasons for sharing results are:
• sharing your results with others will help other schools and teachers
learn about the Action Research process;
• Action Research can become part of the professional learning done in
clusters and other school groups;
• sharing the Action Research process with other schools and teachers
may result in sustainable use of this process;
• clusters or groups of schools may want to undertake an Action Research
project together after hearing about the individual projects completed;
• sharing your results with your school community will show the
community that schools can take ownership of their problems and find
solutions to them; and
• other groups such as health staff may find the Action Research process
useful in their work.

32
Action Research Template Nine
List all parts of the project that you would
share with other teachers and schools? For
example, data collection methods, results,
strategies you used.
Who do you want to share information with?
Be specific – which schools, where and
when?
How? What is the best way to pass on this
information? Develop a plan for the sharing.

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STARTING A NEW CYCLE
We hope that you will continue to use the Action Research process for
professional learning.
You can begin a new Action Research cycle whenever you like. You can start
the new cycle at Step One, or you can continue to investigate the problem
from this project by starting a new cycle at Step Two.
If you require further information or assistance in using this booklet or want to
share your work then please do not hesitate to contact:
Dr Patricia Paraide
Email:pparaide@nri.org.pg
or
Ms Medi Reta
Email: mreta@nri.org.pg
National Research Institute Ph: 326 0213
PO Box 5854, Boroko, Fax: 326 0213
National Capital District, Papua New Guinea

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