This document outlines the requirements for a graded discussion forum in an education course. Students must make an initial post by Day 3 sharing the key details of an action research study they reviewed. They then must respond to at least two peers by Day 7. Initial posts should include the purpose, research questions, outcomes, modifications for future studies, and importance of the study. Responses should take the role of a teacher listening to a presentation, asking questions and offering alternative viewpoints. Students will also reflect on redesigning a previous assignment and how it promotes learning skills and ongoing evaluation.

1. 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

2. 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

3. Cover Design: Jelena Mirkovic Jankovic
Printing Services: Bordeaux
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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
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print, reprint, reproduction or distribution of these materials for
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right owner constitutes a violation of the U.S. Copyright Act, 17
U.S.C. §§ 101-810, as amended.Preface
Teaching and Learning in 21st Century Learning Environments:
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.

4. Textbook Features
Teaching and Learning in 21st Century Learning Environments:
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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ay Store on your Android Device, search for "Constellation for

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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

6. 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

8. 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.

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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-

13. 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

14. 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

15. · 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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.

20. 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

21. 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-

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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-

28. 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

29. 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.
Critical Thinking Questions
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?

30. 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

31. 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?

32. 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

33. 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

34. 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

35. 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

36. 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

37. 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.

38. 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.
Critical Thinking Questions
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

39. 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

40. 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

41. 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

42. 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

43. 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.

44. 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

45. 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

46. 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

47. 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.
Critical Thinking Questions
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

48. 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

49. 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

50. 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

51. 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

52. 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

53. 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

54. 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.
·

55. Identify epiphanies, or illuminative moments, within individual
participants’ experience.
·
Deconstruct or “unpack” those events to reveal the detailed feat
ures and elements of which epiphanies are constructed.
·
Use those features and elements to construct individual account
s describing how selected individuals experience and interpret t
he issue investigated.
·
Use the features and elements within individual accounts to con
struct joint accounts revealing the perspectives and experiences
of each stakeholding group.
Finally, joint accounts provide the material for a collective acco
unt—
an overall version chronicling events by comparing and contrast
ing the perspectives of the different stakeholding groups within
the setting. Analysis identifies points of commonality of perspe
ctive and experience and points of discrepancy, diversity, or con
flict. Points of commonality provide the basis for concerted acti
on, while discrepant perspectives, viewpoints, or experiences si
gnal the need to negotiate agendas and actions around unresolve
d issues.Figure 4.4: Analyzing epiphanies
Source: Miles, M. B. & Huberman, A. N. (1994). Qualitative dat
a analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd Edition), © 1994 SAG
E Publications, Inc, p. 305.References
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Petty, R. (1997). Everything is different now: Surviving ethnogr
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based ethnography: Breaking traditional boundaries of research,
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Spradley, J. P. (1979). The ethnographic interview (pp. vii–
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Source: Stringer, E., Action Research in Education, 1st. ed. ©20
04. Printed and Electronically reproduced by permission of Pear
son Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
Summary
As previously discussed, action researchers often collect many d
ifferent forms of data, both qualitative and quantitative. The nex
t step is to review and make judgments about the data and to dis
till it into relatively succinct ideas that can be used to explain a
nd effectively intervene into the problem under study. This is da
ta analysis. In this excerpt, Stringer discusses how to analyze qu
alitative data using an interpretive approach in which epiphanic
moments are the unit of analysis. That is, in analyzing the data,
the researcher considers the perceptions, experiences, and event
s that are significant to participants as primary phenomena to id
entify and examine. Stringer offers several reasons researchers s
hould pay attention to epiphanies. First, acknowledging the feeli
ngs, understandings, and actions that are significant to participa
nts gives them a voice in the research. Second, researchers can
build understanding and make decisions that are authentic to the
participants’ experiences and understandings.
Once epiphanies in the data are identified, the researcher then “
deconstructs or unpacks those events to reveal the elements of e
xperience on which they are built.” That is, the next step is to id

57. entify how and why previous events have shaped an epiphanic m
oment. For example, a contentious interaction might mark a turn
ing point in how a teacher thinks about and approaches her relat
ionships with parents. The researcher would want to understand
the factors that led to and shaped the interaction. These factors
might include the teacher’s and parents’ expectations of each ot
her or the parents’ wariness of the teacher. Those explanatory fa
ctors are then used to create individual accounts of participants’
experiences and how they understand them. Next, the researche
r looks across individual accounts to identify similar perception
s and experiences from which he or she will create joint account
s or explanations that apply to multiple individuals. Finally, joi
nt accounts are used to guide decisions about how to intervene i
nto the problem under study. For example, if in a study on voca
bulary learning, researchers discover that most students do little
reading outside of school, they may want to design a strategy to
increase out-of-
school reading. Overall, the interpretive data analysis that Strin
ger describes is aimed at understanding and intervening in probl
ems in ways that are authentic to individuals within the context
under study.
Critical Thinking Questions
1.
Stringer highlights the importance of examining the experiences
of groups—not only individuals—
and how they understand those experiences, because meaning m
aking is a social activity. That is, how individuals interpret and
make sense of the world around them is influenced by others wit
h whom they interact. For example, Stringer points out that as d
istinct groups, teachers, parents, and students may have differen
t perspectives on a single issue. A group’s perspective, of cours
e, is influenced by its members’ particular vantage points, their
past and present experiences, and their interests and desires. Su
ppose a group of practitioners is conducting an action research
project on the lack of parent involvement in a school. How migh

58. t parents and teachers differ in how they understand the issue?
What factors might contribute to those understandings?
2.
The aim of interpretive data analysis is to understand how resea
rch participants make meaning of their own experiences rather t
han imposing an outside explanation. For example, many resear
chers have concluded that K–
12 students drop out of school because they do not care about or
understand the value of education. However, interpretive resear
ch shows that many youth themselves attribute their dropping o
ut to lack of support from school staff. For what reasons and in
what ways is it important for practitioner-
researchers to account for the ways that their participants under
stand their own experiences?
3.
Interpretive data analysis focuses on participants’ epiphanies, d
escribed as events, experiences, interactions, and realizations th
at are significant to individuals and groups. According to String
er, in order to capture their epiphanies, researchers must collect
data on participants’ perceptions, emotions, and actions. What i
s the value for action researchers, in identifying epiphanies? Su
ppose you are conducting interviews with new teachers to under
stand how well prepared they are to work with students from dif
ferent racial or ethnic, class, and linguistic backgrounds. What
kinds of questions might you ask to uncover the kinds of epipha
n4.6 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

59. 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

60. 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

61. 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

62. 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

63. 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-

64. 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:

65. · Review information acquired from stakeholders in the data-
gathering phase.
·
Identify epiphanies, or illuminative moments, within individual
participants’ experience.
·
Deconstruct or “unpack” those events to reveal the detailed feat
ures and elements of which epiphanies are constructed.
·
Use those features and elements to construct individual account
s describing how selected individuals experience and interpret t
he issue investigated.
·
Use the features and elements within individual accounts to con
struct joint accounts revealing the perspectives and experiences
of each stakeholding group.
Finally, joint accounts provide the material for a collective acco
unt—
an overall version chronicling events by comparing and contrast
ing the perspectives of the different stakeholding groups within
the setting. Analysis identifies points of commonality of perspe
ctive and experience and points of discrepancy, diversity, or con
flict. Points of commonality provide the basis for concerted acti
on, while discrepant perspectives, viewpoints, or experiences si
gnal the need to negotiate agendas and actions around unresolve
d issues.Figure 4.4: Analyzing epiphanies
Source: Miles, M. B. & Huberman, A. N. (1994). Qualitative dat
a analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd Edition), © 1994 SAG
E Publications, Inc, p. 305.References
Denzin, N. K. (1989). Interpretive biography: Qualitative resear
ch methods series 17. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications.
Denzin, N. K. (1989). Interpretive interactionism (Vol. 16). Ne
wbury Park, CA: Sage.
Denzin, N. K. (1996). Interpretive ethnography: Ethnographic p
ractices for the 21st century. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Public

66. ations.
Genta,W. (2002). Indigenous content in master of public health
programs. Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal, v. 28
, p. 19–19.
Petty, R. (1997). Everything is different now: Surviving ethnogr
aphic research. In, Stringer, E., Agnello, M., Baldwin, S., McFa
yden, L., Christensen and D. Henry (Eds.), Community-
based ethnography: Breaking traditional boundaries of research,
teaching, and learning, (p. 68–
84). New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Spradley, J. P. (1979). The ethnographic interview (pp. vii–
247). New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Spradley, J. P., & McCurdy, D. W. (1972). The cultural experie
nce: Ethnography in complex society (p. 18). Chicago: Science
Research Associates.
Source: Stringer, E., Action Research in Education, 1st. ed. ©20
04. Printed and Electronically reproduced by permission of Pear
son Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
Summary
As previously discussed, action researchers often collect many d
ifferent forms of data, both qualitative and quantitative. The nex
t step is to review and make judgments about the data and to dis
till it into relatively succinct ideas that can be used to explain a
nd effectively intervene into the problem under study. This is da
ta analysis. In this excerpt, Stringer discusses how to analyze qu
alitative data using an interpretive approach in which epiphanic
moments are the unit of analysis. That is, in analyzing the data,
the researcher considers the perceptions, experiences, and event
s that are significant to participants as primary phenomena to id
entify and examine. Stringer offers several reasons researchers s
hould pay attention to epiphanies. First, acknowledging the feeli
ngs, understandings, and actions that are significant to participa
nts gives them a voice in the research. Second, researchers can
build understanding and make decisions that are authentic to the
participants’ experiences and understandings.

67. Once epiphanies in the data are identified, the researcher then “
deconstructs or unpacks those events to reveal the elements of e
xperience on which they are built.” That is, the next step is to id
entify how and why previous events have shaped an epiphanic m
oment. For example, a contentious interaction might mark a turn
ing point in how a teacher thinks about and approaches her relat
ionships with parents. The researcher would want to understand
the factors that led to and shaped the interaction. These factors
might include the teacher’s and parents’ expectations of each ot
her or the parents’ wariness of the teacher. Those explanatory fa
ctors are then used to create individual accounts of participants’
experiences and how they understand them. Next, the researche
r looks across individual accounts to identify similar perception
s and experiences from which he or she will create joint account
s or explanations that apply to multiple individuals. Finally, joi
nt accounts are used to guide decisions about how to intervene i
nto the problem under study. For example, if in a study on voca
bulary learning, researchers discover that most students do little
reading outside of school, they may want to design a strategy to
increase out-of-
school reading. Overall, the interpretive data analysis that Strin
ger describes is aimed at understanding and intervening in probl
ems in ways that are authentic to individuals within the context
under study.
Critical Thinking Questions
1.
Stringer highlights the importance of examining the experiences
of groups—not only individuals—
and how they understand those experiences, because meaning m
aking is a social activity. That is, how individuals interpret and
make sense of the world around them is influenced by others wit
h whom they interact. For example, Stringer points out that as d
istinct groups, teachers, parents, and students may have differen
t perspectives on a single issue. A group’s perspective, of cours
e, is influenced by its members’ particular vantage points, their

68. past and present experiences, and their interests and desires. Su
ppose a group of practitioners is conducting an action research
project on the lack of parent involvement in a school. How migh
t parents and teachers differ in how they understand the issue?
What factors might contribute to those understandings?
2.
The aim of interpretive data analysis is to understand how resea
rch participants make meaning of their own experiences rather t
han imposing an outside explanation. For example, many resear
chers have concluded that K–
12 students drop out of school because they do not care about or
understand the value of education. However, interpretive resear
ch shows that many youth themselves attribute their dropping o
ut to lack of support from school staff. For what reasons and in
what ways is it important for practitioner-
researchers to account for the ways that their participants under
stand their own experiences?
3.
Interpretive data analysis focuses on participants’ epiphanies, d
escribed as events, experiences, interactions, and realizations th
at are significant to individuals and groups. According to String
er, in order to capture their epiphanies, researchers must collect
data on participants’ perceptions, emotions, and actions. What i
s the value for action researchers, in identifying epiphanies? Su
ppose you are conducting interviews with new teachers to under
stand how well prepared they are to work with students from dif
ferent racial or ethnic, class, and linguistic backgrounds. What
kinds of questions might you ask to uncover the kinds of epipha
n4.6 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

69. 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-

70. 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

71. 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

72. 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

73. 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 “

74. 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.

75. 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.
·
Identify epiphanies, or illuminative moments, within individual
participants’ experience.
·
Deconstruct or “unpack” those events to reveal the detailed feat
ures and elements of which epiphanies are constructed.
·
Use those features and elements to construct individual account
s describing how selected individuals experience and interpret t
he issue investigated.
·
Use the features and elements within individual accounts to con
struct joint accounts revealing the perspectives and experiences
of each stakeholding group.
Finally, joint accounts provide the material for a collective acco
unt—
an overall version chronicling events by comparing and contrast
ing the perspectives of the different stakeholding groups within
the setting. Analysis identifies points of commonality of perspe
ctive and experience and points of discrepancy, diversity, or con
flict. Points of commonality provide the basis for concerted acti
on, while discrepant perspectives, viewpoints, or experiences si
gnal the need to negotiate agendas and actions around unresolve
d issues.Figure 4.4: Analyzing epiphanies
Source: Miles, M. B. & Huberman, A. N. (1994). Qualitative dat
a analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd Edition), © 1994 SAG
E Publications, Inc, p. 305.References
Denzin, N. K. (1989). Interpretive biography: Qualitative resear
ch methods series 17. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications.
Denzin, N. K. (1989). Interpretive interactionism (Vol. 16). Ne

76. wbury Park, CA: Sage.
Denzin, N. K. (1996). Interpretive ethnography: Ethnographic p
ractices for the 21st century. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Public
ations.
Genta,W. (2002). Indigenous content in master of public health
programs. Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal, v. 28
, p. 19–19.
Petty, R. (1997). Everything is different now: Surviving ethnogr
aphic research. In, Stringer, E., Agnello, M., Baldwin, S., McFa
yden, L., Christensen and D. Henry (Eds.), Community-
based ethnography: Breaking traditional boundaries of research,
teaching, and learning, (p. 68–
84). New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Spradley, J. P. (1979). The ethnographic interview (pp. vii–
247). New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Spradley, J. P., & McCurdy, D. W. (1972). The cultural experie
nce: Ethnography in complex society (p. 18). Chicago: Science
Research Associates.
Source: Stringer, E., Action Research in Education, 1st. ed. ©20
04. Printed and Electronically reproduced by permission of Pear
son Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
Summary
As previously discussed, action researchers often collect many d
ifferent forms of data, both qualitative and quantitative. The nex
t step is to review and make judgments about the data and to dis
till it into relatively succinct ideas that can be used to explain a
nd effectively intervene into the problem under study. This is da
ta analysis. In this excerpt, Stringer discusses how to analyze qu
alitative data using an interpretive approach in which epiphanic
moments are the unit of analysis. That is, in analyzing the data,
the researcher considers the perceptions, experiences, and event
s that are significant to participants as primary phenomena to id
entify and examine. Stringer offers several reasons researchers s
hould pay attention to epiphanies. First, acknowledging the feeli
ngs, understandings, and actions that are significant to participa

77. nts gives them a voice in the research. Second, researchers can
build understanding and make decisions that are authentic to the
participants’ experiences and understandings.
Once epiphanies in the data are identified, the researcher then “
deconstructs or unpacks those events to reveal the elements of e
xperience on which they are built.” That is, the next step is to id
entify how and why previous events have shaped an epiphanic m
oment. For example, a contentious interaction might mark a turn
ing point in how a teacher thinks about and approaches her relat
ionships with parents. The researcher would want to understand
the factors that led to and shaped the interaction. These factors
might include the teacher’s and parents’ expectations of each ot
her or the parents’ wariness of the teacher. Those explanatory fa
ctors are then used to create individual accounts of participants’
experiences and how they understand them. Next, the researche
r looks across individual accounts to identify similar perception
s and experiences from which he or she will create joint account
s or explanations that apply to multiple individuals. Finally, joi
nt accounts are used to guide decisions about how to intervene i
nto the problem under study. For example, if in a study on voca
bulary learning, researchers discover that most students do little
reading outside of school, they may want to design a strategy to
increase out-of-
school reading. Overall, the interpretive data analysis that Strin
ger describes is aimed at understanding and intervening in probl
ems in ways that are authentic to individuals within the context
under study.
Critical Thinking Questions
1.
Stringer highlights the importance of examining the experiences
of groups—not only individuals—
and how they understand those experiences, because meaning m
aking is a social activity. That is, how individuals interpret and
make sense of the world around them is influenced by others wit
h whom they interact. For example, Stringer points out that as d

78. istinct groups, teachers, parents, and students may have differen
t perspectives on a single issue. A group’s perspective, of cours
e, is influenced by its members’ particular vantage points, their
past and present experiences, and their interests and desires. Su
ppose a group of practitioners is conducting an action research
project on the lack of parent involvement in a school. How migh
t parents and teachers differ in how they understand the issue?
What factors might contribute to those understandings?
2.
The aim of interpretive data analysis is to understand how resea
rch participants make meaning of their own experiences rather t
han imposing an outside explanation. For example, many resear
chers have concluded that K–
12 students drop out of school because they do not care about or
understand the value of education. However, interpretive resear
ch shows that many youth themselves attribute their dropping o
ut to lack of support from school staff. For what reasons and in
what ways is it important for practitioner-
researchers to account for the ways that their participants under
stand their own experiences?
3.
Interpretive data analysis focuses on participants’ epiphanies, d
escribed as events, experiences, interactions, and realizations th
at are significant to individuals and groups. According to String
er, in order to capture their epiphanies, researchers must collect
data on participants’ perceptions, emotions, and actions. What i
s the value for action researchers, in identifying epiphanies? Su
ppose you are conducting interviews with new teachers to under
stand how well prepared they are to work with students from dif
ferent racial or ethnic, class, and linguistic backgrounds. What
kinds of questions might you ask to uncover the kinds of epipha
n4.7 Using Research Data to Improve Student Achievement, by
Karen Zantop
Introduction
Karen Zantop is a sixth-

79. grade language arts teacher in Pasco County schools in Florida
who is also involved in dropout prevention in the school district
. Zantop, who has over 20 years’ experience as a teacher, is part
icularly focused on students at risk for academic failure. In desc
ribing a schoolwide effort to improve middle-
school students’ writing skills, Zantop gives voice to a classroo
m teacher’s experience of action research. In the following exce
rpt, Zantop describes how she and other teachers worked collab
oratively to identify and address students’ writing challenges. S
he explains that their action-research–
based approach differed from more conventional strategies for i
mproving instructional practice and student learning. Rather tha
n assessing students’ needs through a “routine of committees an
d meetings” (p. 84), school staff set about gathering and evaluat
ing information about students’ writing abilities, from multiple
sources. As a result, they were able to devise interventions that
were successful in meeting the particular needs of their students
. Subsequently, their students’ scores on the statewide writing a
ssessment improved.
Excerpt
The following is an excerpt from Zantop, K. (2010). Using resea
rch data to improve student achievement. In R. Brindley and C.
Crocco (Eds.), Empowering the voice of the teacher researcher (
pp. 84–89). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education.
Facing a decline in students’ state assessed writing performance
, Karen Zantop leads a team that uses standardized test data as a
starting point for overall improvement in student writing. The r
esults of their action research informed the practices of the entir
e faculty.
Most school years begin with a routine of committees and meeti
ngs to assess what is best for our students and our school as a w
hole. Not this year! While the goals were the same, this year the
talk was all action research. Having been introduced to this ne
w approach, the question on most of our minds was “What now?
” Was this just another gimmick thought up by some company t

80. o make a lot of money and a name for themselves? Let’s face it,
teachers have seen fads come and go. Does action research wor
k? Has it been effective in helping students excel?
We didn’t know but ventured as requested further into this unkn
own territory. Managing a school from a model using teacher re
search to promote student success was an interesting idea. After
a visit from two colleagues at the University of South Florida (
USF), we were off and running.A Different Approach
When using action research, teachers don’t form a committee in
the traditional sense and decide what type of research to explore
. Rather, they discern what the particular needs are for the stude
nt population and proceed with the action research process. In o
ur case the language arts teachers quickly identified an area of s
tudent need. Our school’s writing scores on the Florida Compre
hensive Achievement Test (FCAT) had begun to fall over severa
l years and from a 3.8 to a 3.7 (on a 1.0 to 6.0 scale) in the prev
ious year. As a result, we lost our “A” school rating.
If this score truly reflected a decline in our students’ ability to
write effectively, then someone needed to take a look at the situ
ation and take action to promote better writing practices school
wide. Several brave language arts teachers decided to take on th
is formidable task. Action research as we would come to know i
t had begun. This is a story of how our school went from an ave
rage school score of 3.7 to 4.4 on the FCAT Writes in just three
years.
* * *
Planning Our Work Together
During the first year we created a scope and sequence for our m
iddle school that teachers could use vertically across the grade l
evels so that there was a systematic development of writing skil
ls. This was a new direction for us and led to some earnest conv
ersations among the eight language arts teachers, each of whom
had strong opinions. Fortunately we received invaluable support
as the school district implemented curriculum mapping for all s
ubject areas.

81. Armed with these materials, the group created posters to foster
good writing. The sixth grade teachers took responsibility and d
esigned “Topic, Audience, Purpose, Plan” (TAPP) posters. Thes
e were created to focus the students on important aspects of the
writing process and were made available to each classroom in th
e school.
To assist our action research, our group believed a visit to anoth
er school would help us research successful techniques for the
writing process. Our neighboring middle school’s students had s
cored the highest in the county for several years, and we wanted
to see if any of their strategies could be used to improve our st
udents’ writing abilities. After the visit, we decided to adopt so
me new strategies.
Firstly, it seemed imperative that we have a schoolwide writing
practice day so that students in every grade would get some earl
y feedback on their own achievement level. The practice writing
day went well, so we proceeded to add a practice writing for all
sixth and seventh grades while the eighth grades sat for the FC
AT writing test. We hoped that this experience would serve the
younger students well, and within three years our school writing
score was an average 4.3.
Several factors could have influenced these scores, but we conti
nue to use and build on the practices we discovered through our
action research. Dividing up this work was easy as every teache
r volunteered to do their share. One teacher was responsible for
creating the practice test for the sixth and seventh graders. This
was a complex job, but the teacher was willing to take it on. All
teachers were given the test and answer key so they could work
with their assigned students.
We did confront some problems with this type of planning and t
hese types of activities. There was some irregularity in the gradi
ng as teachers responded to the writing in different ways, and so
me students did not get a final score. Sadly, those students felt l
eft out. We wondered whether for some teachers grading represe
nted too much extra work, so we knew that the next time we wo
uld need to plan to enlist the help of other colleagues such as as

82. sistant principals and the reading specialist.
Reaching Individual Students through Conferencing
The action research committee also recommended the school obt
ain substitutes for the eighth grade teachers prior to the FCAT
Writing test. This allowed the teachers to work one-on-
one with each student, who now received personalized tutoring
on his or her writing. I had the opportunity to observe and confe
rence with students, and they greatly appreciated the effort and
were motivated in their writing endeavors. They listened intentl
y and appreciated each suggestion and saw how their scores wer
e improving.
We relied upon ourselves to make this task manageable for all st
udents. We came up with a list of “must dos” to augment the sch
eduled writing classes. We required each student to write a mini
mum of 350 words so that their stories had sufficient interest an
d detail. Using the state scoring rubric to guide students, they w
ere then coached to go back and use more descriptive vocabular
y. Techniques such as projecting into the future to create the be
st conclusion proved extremely effective.
Of all the strategies we tried, the action research committee fou
nd the days given to individual conferencing to be a powerful st
rategy. We believe there is nothing better than giving students p
ersonal positive and corrective feedback on their writing sample
s. As a result of our observations of the process, a best practices
list was compiled and distributed to all our colleagues, and the
entire staff have responded by including these ideas in their less
ons.
We were pleased at how many teachers stepped in to grade pract
ice essays. Our principal, assistant principals, reading specialist
, and others took on this job with enthusiasm! Attention to writi
ng had reached an all-
time high, and all that was left was to wait “impatiently” for the
results.The Results of the Writing Emphasis
At long last and after a school year of action research, the score
s were in, and we met our goal of improving student writing. Or

83. iginally, we had planned that the principal would shadow anyon
e who earned a top score of six on the test. To our delight, SSM
S students received so many perfect scores that this was impossi
ble. Instead our principal agreed to sit on the roof all day to cel
ebrate the success of our eighth graders, to the delight of all our
students.
After the students received their scores, the committee agreed to
survey them on how they were able to improve the overall quali
ty of their writing. We realized that our students had made great
strides in their ability to write, and we would only have this sh
ort window of opportunity at the end of the year to pick their br
ains about how they perceived the writing process and instructio
n. We asked them three simple questions:
·
What writing technique did you use while taking the FCAT Writ
ing test that you feel helped your score?
· Had you ever used this technique before?
·
What did you learn in your class this year that helped you to bec
ome a better writer?
Students responded that the individual conferences, the “No Dea
d Verbs” lesson, the formal essay training, and Caught ‘ya! Gra
mmar with a Giggle (by Jane Keister, 2003) were their favorites
. They also noted critical techniques such as planning tools, enh
ancing vocabulary, and focusing on topic. They reported that th
ey felt intelligent, capable, and empowered to become better wri
ters and felt prepared to respond on the state’s formal writing as
sessment. We summarized the results and sent them to the facult
y. The state writing scores that followed our research and imple
mentation were indeed impressive, and we felt our time spent on
research was beneficial. The writing scores are shown in Table
4.5.Table 4.5: Student writing scores
Academic year
Percent of students testing at the passing score of 3.5 or above
2005
71% (The year we lost our “A” rating.) We began our action res

84. earch in fall 2005.
2006
86% (The next school year a new middle school opened and too
k a significant amount of our lower socioeconomic population.)
2007
91%
2008
93%
Our writing action research group continued to serve as a resour
ce during the next school year (2006–
2007). We didn’t want to lose the gains from the teachers’ and s
tudents’ hard work. Staff members continued to be aware of and
use our strategies. The school score continued to increase as we
continued to implement the great practices that resulted from o
ur action research. We understand that any one action research i
nitiative doesn’t last forever, and as we respond to student need
s, there may come a time for a commonsense conclusion, but for
now we continue to research and implement effective practices.
The reader can be left with two important thoughts. With focuse
d preparation and instruction students have the ability to write i
n an organized and creative manner. Action research helped us t
o create some basic guidelines and lesson plans to achieve the d
esired results of boosting the writing skills and scores of our eig
hth grade student body. Our research on writing strategies is on
going. We have moved from our original research to include ne
w techniques. In the end we had a dedicated group of motivated
educators who believed in our students and their ability to rise t
o our writing expectations.References
Keister, J. B. (2003). Caught ‘ya! Grammar with a giggle for mi
ddle school. Gainesville, FL: Maupin House.
Source: Zantop, K. (2010). Write-
On: Using research data to improve student achievement. R. Bri
ndley and C. Crocco (Eds.), Empowering the Voice of the Teach
er Researcher. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education.
Summary

85. In the article, Zantop describes how a team of middle-
school language arts teachers engaged in a collaborative, action
research project to improve students’ writing skills, schoolwide.
Their efforts were prompted by a decline in scores on a statewi
de writing assessment. By gathering and analyzing information
about the students’ writing challenges, the team was able to ide
ntify their students’ particular learning needs and to design spec
ific interventions aimed at those needs.
Several key factors led to the success of the project. The first fa
ctor was cooperation between the teachers. In collaboration with
all of the language arts teachers in the building, the team identi
fied the needed content and sequencing of learning goals, which
applied across classrooms. As Zantop describes, multiple teach
ers volunteered to participate in this work with the support of th
e school district. Teachers also agreed to engage in “conference
s” with each student to give them individualized feedback on wr
iting samples, which Zantop describes as one of the most effecti
ve aspects of the intervention. Second, the research team visited
a school whose students were more successful in the state writi
ng assessment to understand the strategies that fostered that suc
cess. Finally, after students completed the state assessment, the
research team sought feedback about their experiences. Specific
ally, they asked what the students had learned in class and whic
h techniques were used to improve writing skills. This informati
on helped the school further improve its intervention strategies.
Few books or articles on school-
based action research are written by current classroom teachers.
Further, the emphasis on standardized testing is often framed as
a deterrent to action research as a means for enhancing teachin
g and learning. Thus, this excerpt provides an important perspec
tive. It shows how action research can be used to improve stand
ardized test scores from the viewpoint of a practicing classroom
teacher. In Zantop’s experience, action research can be a power
ful tool for understanding and successfully addressing students’
learning needs.

86. Critical Thinking Questions
1.
In the action research project in which Zantop is engaged, she d
escribes considerable buy-
in and cooperation among the eight language arts teachers, acro
ss the school. For example, they volunteered to take on planning
tasks and to meet with each student in order to provide them wi
th specific feedback on their writing samples. Although she des
cribed some inconsistencies in the teachers’ efforts, Zantop port
rays a relatively high level of teacher participation and cooperat
ion. Consider a similar action research project focused on your
particular discipline or grade level of interest. What barriers mi
ght arise in fostering teacher buy-
in and collaboration, and how might those barriers be addressed
?
2.
Conducting action research is an iterative process, and one vital
aspect of improving the research is gathering and analyzing dat
a regarding the outcomes of action. One way Zantop’s team gath
ered and analyzed data was by asking students directly about wh
at helped them improve their writing skills and their scores on t
he state assessment. What types of information can students pro
vide about teaching and learning that cannot be fully captured b
y teachers’ accounts and evaluative forms of assessment? In wh
at ways can student assessments of their own learning be helpfu
l in enhancing teacher practice?
3.
In gathering information on how to improve writing instruction,
Zantop describes how the research team visited another school
in which students had been more successful on the state writing
assessment. The importance of teachers observing successful str
ategies and best practices in other schools and classrooms is hig
hlighted in other chapters in this book. Although important, this
strategy can to lead to feelings of inadequacy among teachers w
ho are deemed less successful. If a school were to implement a f
ormal process for teachers to learn from each other, how might t

87. hey do this in a way that does not make teachers feel bad? How
could such a process be incorporated into an action research pro
ject aimed at improving standardized test scores?4.8 School Cli
mate Through Students’ Eyes, by William Preble and Larry Tayl
or
Introduction
William Preble is a professor of education at New England Coll
ege in New Hampshire where he teaches courses in educational
psychology, school climate and leadership, and educational rese
arch. He is also the founder of the Center for School Climate an
d Learning, which conducts action research with schools and oth
er organizations. Preble has worked with many schools througho
ut the country to help school leaders, teachers, and students imp
rove school climate, safety, respect, student leadership, and teac
hing and learning. Before teaching at the university, Preble was
an elementary- and middle-
school classroom teacher and the principal of an elementary sch
ool. Larry Taylor is a professor of psychology, also at New Engl
and College. His work focuses on advocacy and combining rese
arch, theory, and practice. Taylor has developed multiple univer
sity partnerships with nonprofit organizations that serve at-
risk populations, providing opportunities for students to develop
real-world competencies in the area of human services.
In the following excerpt, Preble and Taylor describe a districtwi
de action research project on school climate in Tennessee. The p
roject was prompted by a racist incident in one of the high scho
ols that prompted several students and their families to successf
ully sue the school district with the support of the U.S. Departm
ent of Justice. As part of the ruling and settlement, the district
worked with Preble and Taylor to assess, monitor, and improve t
he climate in 30 schools in the district. To do this, they, along
with university students, conducted action research in collaborat
ion with K–
12 staff and students. They found that compared with students,
administrators and teachers had very different perceptions of th

88. e aspects of school climate, such as relationships and safety. By
allowing students to be actively involved in the research, by ed
ucating school staff about how students were experiencing scho
ol, and by having both groups work together to identify and dev
ise solutions to problems, many of the schools were able to sign
ificantly improve the school climate and, as a result, student per
formance. Preble and Taylor argue and demonstrate that action r
esearch, in which students and teachers are actively involved, ca
n be a powerful tool for enhancing both academic outcomes and
social environments in schools.
Excerpt
The following is an excerpt from Preble, W., & Taylor, L. (2008
). School climate through students’ eyes. Educational Leadershi
p, 66(4), 35–40.
By involving students in collaborative action research, school le
aders gain vital information to guide school improvement.
What would you think if your own children—
or students in your school—made the following comments?
Students in this school drop out because they’re pushed off to th
e side. They are not seen as the kids who will succeed, and beca
use of that, no one even tries to help them succeed. —
12th grade student
ESL students get picked on at this school more than other kids.
It depends on your religion and your culture, too. After 9-
11, Muslim kids started to get picked on a lot. My friend who is
Muslim came here and got smacked around because she was we
aring the scarf.—10th grade student
I get picked on because I walk funny . . . one kid calls me “duck
” and “waddle” and he quacks at me. My mom called the school
and they told him not to do it any more, but he still does when t
eachers aren’t watching. He bullies everybody when teachers ar
en’t looking.—6th grade student
Students’ stories can offer profound insights into school climate
issues that affect the quality of education. When we couple thes
e stories with simple descriptive statistics from school climate s

89. urveys, such as the percentage of students and teachers who agr
ee with statements like “I feel safe at this school,” we have a va
luable source of information to shape school improvement.
With our colleagues at Main Street Academix (http://www.msan
h.com) and our students at New England College, we have been
conducting research on school climate and helping educators de
velop respectful schools for nearly 10 years. We have worked w
ith hundreds of schools and thousands of teachers and student le
aders across the United States to understand the positive and ne
gative effects of school climate and its links to bullying, harass
ment, discipline systems, dropout rates, teaching practices, and
teacher and student success. Here’s what we learned from our w
ork in one school district that used our student-
led action research process to guide school improvement.The Ne
ed for Change in Sullivan County
In 2002, several students and their families sued Sullivan Count
y School District, a Tennessee district whose student population
is more than 96 percent white. The primary lawsuit resulted fro
m the mock lynching of a black student by white students in the
hallway of one high school. Because of the seriousness of these
problems, the U.S. Department of Justice joined concerned stud
ents and their families in their complaints against the district. T
he courts ruled in their favor, finding that the district had been
deliberately indifferent to pervasive racial harassment and viola
tions of civil rights in its schools.
In response to the court decision, Sullivan County’s leaders too
k action. As director of schools John O’Dell said,
At first we were a little defensive, but then we tried to put ourse
lves in the shoes of these students. I thought, what if I were one
of only a handful of white students in a school of more than 1,0
00 African American students? How would I feel, especially if s
omeone tried to choke me?
“We decided that we needed to face up to the fact that we had s
ome problems in these schools and that we needed to address th
em head-
on,” said Janie Barnes, the district’s compliance coordinator. “

90. We saw it as a chance to do what was right and to ensure that ev
ery student was safe and free from harassment of any kind.”
As part of the final legal settlement of the court cases, the scho
ol board asked Main Street Academix to develop a plan to asses
s the current racial, social, and academic climate in each of the
30 Sullivan County schools and to use these baseline data to mo
nitor and guide a four-
year improvement plan. District leaders embraced the idea of co
llecting and using new kinds of data to better understand what w
as happening in their schools and committed themselves to doin
g whatever was needed to change the attitudes and behavior that
were hurting students in these schools.Revealing Blind Spots
Our work collecting and using qualitative and quantitative scho
ol climate data to improve schools is based on our belief in the
power of perception to shape attitudes and behavior. When teac
hers or principals perceive their schools to be safe and respectfu
l places, they may be blind to problems going on right under the
ir noses—
and therefore be unresponsive. Students repeatedly tell us, “Sch
ool climate is what happens when grown-
ups are not around.” Data that reveal and compare adult and stu
dent perceptions of school climate are often a real eye-opener.
One morning we went to one of Sullivan County’s four high sch
ools to share the school’s initial school climate data with the pri
ncipal. The data consisted of simple descriptive statistics—
the percentage of students and teachers who agreed or disagreed
with specific statements related to peer respect and belonging;
student-
adult relationships; the presence of racist language, graffiti, or
behavior; the use of certain pedagogical practices; and so on.
The principal invited us into his office. We sat down, opened th
e report, and began to review his school’s climate data. After 10
minutes, we thought the man was about to explode. “This is not
my school!” he exclaimed angrily.
We turned to the next page of graphs and asked, “Is this your sc
hool?” He paused, looking carefully at the data, and said slowly

91. , “Yeah, this looks more like my school.” We pointed out that th
ose data showed the perceptions of his college-
bound students, whereas the first graphs had shown the climate
perceptions of all his students. We then showed him some data t
hat revealed equally dramatic gaps between the perceptions of h
is school’s teachers and students. He was shocked, but he becam
e more interested in understanding the data. We spent the next h
our discussing the very different perceptions of school climate a
mong the various stakeholder groups in his school.
This principal loves his students and his school. After he calme
d down, we could see that he was thinking deeply about the stor
y of school climate that was unfolding before him. Since that m
orning, he has been engaged and excited about using data and w
orking with student leaders to improve his school. He joined an
d helped lead our district leadership team as a key advocate of t
he student-led action research process in Sullivan County.
The journey of this school administrator illustrates what can hap
pen when educators work with colleagues to interpret data colle
cted as part of collaborative, student-
led action research. Often, an examination of the data engenders
cognitive dissonance—
the feeling of uncomfortable tension that comes from holding tw
o conflicting thoughts in the mind at the same time. For exampl
e, a teacher looking at the data in Table 4.6 may think, “I feel th
at our students treat one another with respect, but I see that only
48 percent of all students and 34 percent of non-
collegebound students agree. What’s that all about?” Reviewing
such comparisons often results in heated discussions about the
meaning of the data and ultimately leads to new ideas about wha
t the school needs to do to improve.
Cognitive dissonance is a powerful motivator. Over and over ag
ain, we have seen dissonance lead to tension, discussion, and ref
lection and then jump-
start a process of energized leadership and action by teachers, a
dministrators, and students.Table 4.6: Comparisons of student a
nd teacher perceptions

92. Percentage for “agreed” or “strongly agreed”
Non-college-bound students
All students
Faculty
I feel physically safe being who I am at my school (free from th
reats, harassment, or violence).
46%
58%
80%
Students are willing to step forward and help when they see oth
ers getting picked on or harassed.
45%
42%
55%
Girls are treated with respect by boys at this school.
41%
45%
32%
Boys are treated with respect by girls at this school.
32%
50%
40%
I think students mostly treat one another with respect at this sch
ool.
34%
48%
68%
When teachers act to help sutdents who are harrassed, it really
works.
40%
45%
81%
When principals and other administrators act to help kids who a
re harrassed, it really works.

93. 51%
57%
75%
Students’ work is displayed publically and celebrated by teacher
s.
29%
47%
82%
Teachers make it clear to all students what is expected to be suc
cessful.
70%
83%
94%
Adults in my school invite students to help make decisions abou
t school rules and discipline procedures.
24%
31%
25%It Starts With Students
The data that laid the foundation for change in Sullivan County
came from student-
led action research. Why start with students? The growing litera
ture on “youth-
led, participatory research” (Ozer et al., 2008) shows that it is a
developmentally appropriate strategy for increasing youth voic
e and student engagement in improving schools (Cargo, Grams,
Ottoson, Ward, & Green, 2003). Inviting young people to serve
their schools and communities as partners in action research cre
ates an exciting sense of student ownership and control. As stud
ents help ameliorate the problems identified in the research, the
y learn a great deal—and they teach adults a good deal as well.
Beginning in 2003, we have helped Sullivan County implement
a collaborative, student-
led action research process developed by Main Street Academix.
The process involves the following three stages:
Stage One

94. We begin by creating a district-
level adult leadership team to guide the process. We work with
principals and teachers from each school to recruit and select di
verse teams of student leaders to serve as the subjects of intervi
ews and focus groups. Selecting truly diverse students for these
roles—
athletes, Goths, academically successful students, those who str
uggle academically, and so on—is a crucial part of the process.
Undergraduate and graduate students (in the case of Sullivan Co
unty, students from New England College) conduct student inter
views and focus groups with students in grades 3–
12. We use college students because young people speak more f
reely and frankly about their school experiences to other young
people. We then invite the students who were the subjects of the
interviews and focus groups to take on new roles as researchers
. We train these students to help administer schoolwide adult an
d student school climate surveys.
Students explain the purpose of the surveys to their peers and de
scribe how the results will be used to better understand and com
pare student and teacher perceptions of school climate and respe
ct in their school. When peers lead the data-
collection process in this way, students take the surveys seriousl
y, and we get great data.
Stage Two
Main Street Academix compiles the results of the surveys, inter
views, and focus groups, and we schedule a time to work with th
e principal and a school level adult design team to share these r
esults with the student leaders. Students review their school’s d
ata and select the areas that they believe represent the most seri
ous problems.
Student leaders then help the adult design team present the scho
ol’s results to their teachers. One especially powerful role the st
udent researchers play is to select the most potent student and te
acher quotes from the qualitative data and to read these words al
oud to teachers. These stories and quotes are often provocative

95. and grab the teachers’ attention, making them more interested a
nd more willing to look deeply into their survey results. For exa
mple, one student commented,
School isn’t taken seriously here because teachers don’t care at
all on a personal or even one-on-
one helpful level. Doing well academically is not encouraged he
re at all, and coming to school on a daily basis is a joke for som
e students.
In each school, the teachers use the qualitative and quantitative
data to sort out the most powerful issues. They prioritize proble
m areas and set goals for improvement. When students and teac
hers compare their respective goals, they almost always find a l
ot of agreement on what needs to change. It becomes natural for
them to come together and work toward these common goals.
Stage Three
This is the most important stage. Teachers and students develop
meaningful action steps to address needs indicated by the data.
Students, teachers, and administrators divide into teams to work
on one particular goal. They brainstorm ideas as a team and the
n review a menu of research-
based best practices provided by Main Street Academix. They se
lect a final set of strategies that make the most sense to them an
d develop action projects and plans to address the problems reve
aled by their school’s data. Teachers and students work together
to implement these action projects, with student leaders playing
meaningful leadership roles.
As people become involved in analyzing their data, identifying t
heir own needs, and offering their own solutions to these proble
ms, the levels of defensiveness and resistance lessen, and engag
ement in the process grows. In hundreds of schools in which we
have implemented this process, educators and students have co
me together, looked at data, identified common problems, and d
eveloped solutions that they were willing to work on together.W
idening the Focus
The most exciting thing about Sullivan County’s journey is the

96. way the issues of school climate have quickly melded with issue
s of students’ overall personal development and academic succe
ss. Sullivan County schools have done remarkable things to redu
ce harassment in their schools. They have adopted new harassm
ent policies and disciplinary processes to fight hate speech, raci
al and sexual harassment, and bullying of all kinds; provided an
tibias training for all teachers, administrators, bus drivers, subst
itute teachers, and teachers’ aides; and established student unity
teams to fight intolerance, bullying, and bigotry in high schools
and middle schools. But the initiative in Sullivan County soon
grew beyond bullying and harassment to become a much more c
omprehensive discussion about effective schools, respectful teac
hing, and student learning. School instructional initiatives that r
esulted from the process included
·
Learning how to meet the different needs of all learners through
differentiated instruction.
· Using hands-on, manipulative-
based mathematics instruction for learners who struggled with a
bstract concepts in mathematics.
·
Establishing positive expectations for respectful behavior in eve
ry classroom.
·
Showcasing and celebrating students’ academic work in the hall
ways and at parent-teacher meetings.
·
Catching students being good and acknowledging positive behav
ior rather than focusing solely on punishing misbehavior.
· Developing peer-tutoring and reading-
buddies programs between younger and older students.
· Initiating community-
based learning and service learning programs.
At first, some educators struggled with the concept of building r
espectful schools through empowering students. After all, weren
’t the kids the problem? But after some initial challenges, and af

97. ter looking carefully at their school climate data, Sullivan Coun
ty principals and teachers began to routinely bring students into
their discussions. Teachers saw how genuinely moved and motiv
ated students were when asked to serve on student leadership te
ams. They saw students building closer bonds of friendship as t
hey worked together to solve school climate problems. As the w
ork went forward, many teachers and principals concluded that c
ollaborative action research was an empowering approach to sch
ool improvement. Buy-
in across the district grew.The Student Achievement Connection
After four years, about two-
thirds of the schools in Sullivan County had made significant, m
easurable improvements in school climate. In spring 2006, we a
nalyzed the relationship between school climate and student aca
demic performance on Tennessee’s state achievement tests in th
e district’s schools. We found a greater increase in academic ac
hievement in the schools that had made significant improvement
in school climate than in those that had not improved school cli
mate (Preble & Newman, 2006).
Our findings in Sullivan County are consistent with other recent
research on the connections between school climate and learnin
g reported by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emoti
onal Learning (CASEL). Its review of more than 700 studies ind
icates that when school climate measures go up, students’ perfor
mance on statewide tests in reading, mathematics, and writing al
so goes up (CASEL, 2008; Viadero, 2007).
Although the Justice Department ended its mandate that Sulliva
n County address the problem of harassment and improve school
climate in 2007, the school board voted to continue to conduct
collaborative action research and keep working to improve scho
ol climate and respect. In the past year, we have trained 28 scho
ol climate leadership teams made up of more than 125 Sullivan
County principals, teachers, and support staff to facilitate this st
udent-
led, collaborative action research process in the future. More th
an 300 student leaders have been engaged in powerful leadershi

98. p roles.
In 2007–08, these school-
based leadership teams of students and teachers collected a third
round of school climate data to check the sustainability of their
efforts. All schools are now setting new goals for continued im
provement and have designed a new set of improvement projects
to keep moving forward and to sustain the gains made in years
past.Deeper Than Test Scores
Sullivan County’s experience demonstrates that involving stude
nts and teachers in using school climate data can be a powerful
strategy for changing attitudes and behavior. One district superi
ntendent attending a recent statewide conference expressed the
need for this kind of data:
We have tried everything we can think of academically to raise
our test scores over the past five or six years. Yet, while we hav
e made some improvement, we seem to be stuck. Until we addre
ss the school climate issues that we know are going on in our sc
hools, I don’t think we will ever reach our full potential as a sch
ool system.
We believe that he’s right. Because students learn best when the
y are physically and emotionally safe, school climate is an essen
tial component of school success. When it comes to data, educat
ors need to think about a broader spectrum of evidence than test
scores. They also need data that enable them to see deep into th
e heart and soul of their schools and the lives of their students.
References
Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. (2
008). Social and emotional learning and student benefits: Resear
ch implications for the safe schools/healthy students core eleme
nts. Chicago: Author.
Cargo, M., Grams, G., Ottoson, J., Ward, P., & Green, L. (2003)
. Empowerment as fostering positive youth development and citi
zenship. American Journal of Health Behavior, 27 (Suppl. 1), S
66–S79.
Ozer, E. J., Cantor, J. P., Cruz, G.W., Fox, B., Hubbard, E., &
Moret, L. (2008). The diffusion of youth-

99. led participatory research in urban schools. American Journal of
Community Psychology, 41(3–4), 278–289.
Preble, W., & Newman, A. (2006). School climate improvement
means higher academic performance in Sullivan County schools.
Unpublished report.
Viadero, D. (2007). Social-
skills programs found to yield gains in academic subjects. Educ
ation Week, 27(16), 1, 15.
Source: Preble, W., & Taylor, L. (2008). School climate through
students’ eyes. Educational Leadership, 66(4), 35–
40. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculu
m Development.
Summary
In the article, Preble and Taylor show how collaborative action
research can be used to understand and improve school conditio
ns, describing a districtwide project on school climate. In this p
roject, Preble and Taylor and some of their university students
worked with K–
12 school staff and students to evaluate and improve school cli
mate in 30 schools in a district in Tennessee.
The authors carried out the project in three stages. The first stag
e focused on choosing research design, selecting a participant sa
mple, and collecting data. Preble and Taylor created a leadershi
p team to guide the research process at the district level, and the
y worked with school staff to identify student interviewees. Stu
dent interviewees were then trained to administer surveys amon
g their peers and teachers. The authors point out how students a
re more likely to take the survey seriously when their peers are l
eading the data-
collection process, leading to more accurate and reliable data.
Stage two of the process focused on analyzing and reporting the
data. The university-
based researchers compiled and analyzed the data and brought t
heir findings to administrators, teachers, and students. As Prebl
e and Taylor describe, there are often discrepancies between ho

100. w the administrators and teachers and the students view the sch
ool climate, and the school staff can, initially, be resistant to ac
cepting findings that conflict with their own views. For example
, teachers who see students as responsible for a poor school cli
mate may resist students’ views that teachers are disrespectful.
However, Preble and Taylor found that as students and school st
aff work together to make sense of the findings and identify pre
ssing problems, “they almost always find a lot of agreement on
what needs to change” (p. 38). Finally, in the third stage of the
project, students and teachers worked together to devise and im
plement strategies to improve school climate, guided by the rese
arch findings.
Active involvement of students and teachers, not simply as subj
ects but as partners in the research process, helped students and
teachers take ownership of the project and to be truly invested i
n transforming school climate. As Preble and Taylor describe, i
n many of the schools in which they worked active involvement
led to a broader focus on improving school effectiveness and to
the development of instructional initiatives. In conclusion, the a
uthors state the importance of school climate in fostering high a
cademic achievement. In seeking to improve schools, they urge
educators to think beyond standardized test scores and to consid
er using data that will help them better understand and improve
social aspects of the school environment.
Critical Thinking Questions
1.
Preble and Taylor highlight the importance of not merely involv
ing students in action research as subjects but engaging them in
data collection and analysis and problem identification. Throug
h such participation, they can build vital knowledge and skills a
nd enhance their engagement in schooling. It is relatively easy t
o see how older students might participate in research related to
a topic such as school climate. However, involving young child
ren or engaging students in a project on an academic topic migh
t prove more difficult. Consider a common problem related to te

101. aching and learning in your discipline or that pertains to pre-
K or elementary-
school children. How could you involve students in investigatin
g this problem?
2.
In the excerpt, Preble and Taylor discuss an incident in which a
school principal initially refuses to accept research findings as
valid because they conflict with what he believes is happening a
t his school. When people encounter information that is not alig
ned with their previous beliefs, rather than considering they mig
ht be wrong, they often dismiss or invalidate the new informatio
n. How might you present teachers with information that conflic
ts with their beliefs in such a way that they do not become defen
sive or reject the information?
3.
Preble and Taylor believe that action research aimed at improvi
ng student outcomes should first and foremost consider students
’ experiences and perceptions. They open their article with pow
erful quotes from three students in their study on school climate
. Identify as many specific problems or issues that might be refl
ected in the quotes. What additional information would you nee
d in order to know if those issues or problems are significant in
the school context, and how might you go about getting that inf
ormation?
4.9 Reporting Classroom Research, by David Hopkins
Introduction
David Hopkins is a professor of policy and society and chair of
international leadership at the Institute of Education at the Univ
ersity of London. Hopkins was previously a professor and dean
of the faculty of education at the University of Nottingham and
has served as the chief advisor on school standards in the Depar
tment of Education and Skills under the secretary of state. Hopk
ins has been involved in school improvement efforts through res
earch, policy, and practice at the local and national levels for th
e last four decades. He is an advocate of personalized learning a

102. nd holistic approaches to school reform that address the academ
ic, social, and emotional well-
being of all members of the school community.
In the following excerpt, Hopkins discusses different ways that
teacher-
researchers can disseminate their findings and the elements of e
ffective reports and presentations of research. The excerpt focus
es primarily on written reports, discussing the nature and purpos
es of, and the audiences for, research reports. It also covers the
conventional sections of a research report and the information t
hat should be included. Finally, other presentation forms and ve
nues are discussed, including video, images, poetry, and website
s. Hopkins asserts that classroom research “is incomplete until i
t is in the public domain” (p. 152). He believes that it is importa
nt for teachers to share the processes and results of their researc
h in order to contribute to educational improvement on a broade
r scale, to promote a culture of inquiry in schools, and to enhan
ce professionalism among practitioners in the field.
Excerpt
The following is an excerpt from Hopkins, D. (2008). Reporting
classroom research. In A teacher’s guide to classroom research
(4th ed., pp. 144–155). Berkshire, UK: Open University Press.
The link between research and action has been an implicit theme
throughout this book. To teacher-
researchers, research alone is a necessary but not sufficient con
dition: research has to feed action and development. The classro
om research process described in previous chapters has as its go
al professional development and the enhancement of classroom
performance. The fourth stage in the analytical framework discu
ssed in this chapter is action, which itself is monitored and rese
arched using classroom research procedures. This is the crownin
g achievement of the research process. In this concluding sectio
n, I want to look at some of the ways in which the action and inf
ormation generated by the research process can be reported.
A classroom research report can in itself have significant impact

103. . Technology in particular has provided the opportunity to teach
ers from all over the world to come closer together. This has op
ened up the prospect for substantive and sustained professional
dialogues and the global exchange of ideas and good practice. T
hese activities, in my opinion, are invaluable, as I believe that c
lassroom researchers should not only feel responsible for impro
ving their own classrooms but be concerned about the improvem
ent of all classrooms and all schools in their own country and, y
es, in the world. Hence, when classroom research reports are sh
ared across a school, across a system and across systems they h
old the potential to transform classroom practices around the gl
obe and for the better.
In this chapter I will illustrate the various ways in which classro
om research can be reported: first, by exploring literature on rep
ort writing; second, by discussing how one could write a report;
third, by outlining other formats for reporting research; fourth,
by identifying appropriate questions for evaluating your researc
h report; fifth, by setting out criteria on how research can infor
m action; and sixth, by considering different approaches to the d
issemination of results, before suggesting further reading for thi
s chapter.Reporting Research
Producing accounts of research could never be a literal represen
tation of events. Denscombe (2007: 285) provides us with a usef
ul list of why envisioning a literal depiction is impossible:
·
There are always limitations to the space available to provide th
e account of what happened, which means the researcher needs t
o provide an edited version of the totality. Decisions need to be
made about what can be missed out of the account.
·
The editorial decisions taken by the researcher are likely to be s
haped by the researcher’s need to present the methods in their b
est possible light. Quite rationally, the researcher will wish to p
ut a positive spin on events and to bring out the best in the proc
ess. Without resorting to deceit or untruths, the account of resea
rch will almost certainly entail some upbeat positive filtering. T

104. he point, after all, is to justify the procedures as ‘good’ research
.
·
Although research notes will be used to anchor the description o
f what happened during the course of the research, the writing u
p of the research is inevitably a retrospective vision. Situations
and data are likely to have a different meaning when viewed fro
m the end of the research process from that at the time they occ
urred. They will be interpreted with the vision of hindsight.
·
The impact of social norms and personal values on the way we i
nterpret events pretty well guarantees that, to a greater or lesser
extent, any account of research should be regarded as a version
of the truth rather than a literal depiction of what happened. Wit
hin the social sciences, the idea of a purely objective position is
controversial and a researcher would be naive to presume that h
er/his account can stand, without careful considerations, as an ‘
objective’ description of what actually occurred.
The end product, therefore, no matter how scrupulous it attempt
s to be, must always be recognized for what it is—
an account of the research.
* * *
To avoid ‘self-
indulgent’ descriptions and capitalize on the power of a researc
h report, teacher-
researchers need to put their data together in such a way that:
· the research could be replicated on another occasion;
·
the evidence used to generate hypotheses and consequent action
is clearly documented;
· action taken as a result of the research is monitored;
·
the reader finds the research accessible and that it resonates wit
h his or her own experience.
The process of setting a clear purpose, of using a methodology
which provides valid results, and then using these as a basis for

105. action, can be assisted if the researcher keeps a loose-
leaf log or diary as the research progresses. An ongoing researc
h diary like this also provides an invaluable basis for reflection
and is great fun to look at with the wisdom of hindsight. It provi
des an excellent record of how one’s views and attitudes evolve
over time. The diary can also reveal the researcher’s biases and
how these impacted on decisions taken during the research and
on the interpretation of events. Such information is invaluable
when writing a report where personal biases should be highlight
ed and attempts to address them indicated, and their possible im
pact on the research results accounted for.Writing a Report
One of the first things one has to consider when preparing a res
earch report is the intended audience. Teacher-
researchers have to decide in advance who they are writing for a
nd choose the most effective format and style to address their au
dience. The British Educational Research Association’s (2000)
Good Practice in Educational Research, identifies three major a
udiences for research writing: researchers, policymakers and pra
ctitioners, and asserts that ‘it is good practice in all research wr
iting to aim for lucid prose which communicates effectively to t
he intended audience and avoids what that audience may perceiv
e as jargon or obscurantism’ (p. 2).
The length of the report is also something that needs to be taken
into account. Most people that read reports say that they are eit
her too long to read or so short that there is insufficient evidenc
e to be believable. The best bet is a report as short and condense
d as you can make it (with detailed justification tucked away in
appendices). The biggest temptation is to display your productiv
ity in too many pages.
Formulating the report comes next. There are a number of guide
lines and criteria available that are helpful at this stage. To begi
n with, there is the somewhat traditional approach that uses as a
guide, points similar to the following:
1. Statement of intent
· clarify purpose
· rationale

106. 2. Procedures and process
· research design
· techniques of data collection
· verification of concepts
· what actually occurred
3. Results and implementation
· outcomes of research
· theoretical implications
· action taken as a result
· evaluation of action
4. Meta-analysis
· review whole process
· conclusions as to the usefulness of the research
· what would you do differently next time?
* * *Other Formats for Reporting Research
Classroom researchers should not feel constrained by the traditi
onal research report format when sharing the product of their re
search, as there are any numbers of approaches that can be used
for reporting research. As Giroux (1992: 21) suggests, we need
a ‘politics and pedagogy developed around new languages capab
le of acknowledging the multiple, contradictory and complex su
bject positionings people occupy within different social, cultura
l and economic locations’. The important thing is for the inform
ation to be valid and to have been carefully analyzed and the fu
ndamental point is that action should result from the research. R
esearchers in education have become increasingly interested in
different forms of interpreting and representing data (Percelli 2
004a, 2004b; Schratz 2001). Here are a few examples:
·
Cartoons or photography: often classroom researchers use the ca
rtoon format or photographs to get a key finding from their rese
arch across in a powerful and accessible way.
·
Video or film: a visual representation using video or digital cam
era provides concrete images that an audience can relate to their
own situation.

107. ·
Dance or theatre: once again a visual representation, a performa
nce using students or professional dancers or actors has the pote
ntial to have a profound impact on the audience.
·
Fiction: using data or constructs from the research to tell a story
often encourages reflection and discussion more effectively tha
n the traditional report. As long as the quotations or events are ‘
real’, then a fictional setting may enhance the message.
·
Diaries: using extracts from one’s diary to present insights from
the research is valuable data.
·
Poetry: this is another form of highlighting the learnings of one’
s research.
·
Data reduction and display: displaying reduced data is often a p
owerful way of stimulating discussion. This approach allows lar
ge amounts of data to be displayed economically and it could be
accompanied by another page of questions, commentary or expl
anation that highlighted the main issues.
·
A ‘patchwork’ approach: Winter (see for example Winter et al.
1999) has pioneered what is known as the patchwork approach.
Here researchers are encouraged to use a combination of approa
ches to present the different stages of the research process. So, r
esearchers could use film, poetry, reports and any other way the
y choose to communicate their findings.
Finishing a research report could feel like sitting an exam witho
ut being quite sure what the question is, but in the knowledge th
at the world will read and mark your paper according to an unpr
edictable whim. The mental blocks, the mad desire to postpone
writing for more research or for another coffee is normal. But, o
ne thing is certain. It is worth it.Dissemination of Results
At the beginning of this chapter I briefly discussed how powerf
ul a classroom research report can be. I even claimed that report

108. ing classroom research results has the potential to transform cla
ssroom practices around the world. This implies that the researc
h will be disseminated. Classroom researchers should be aware t
hat research is incomplete until it is in the public domain. Thus,
decisions about who is going to disseminate the results, and co
ming back to our discussion earlier about the report’s audience,
to whom it will be disseminated and for what use, have to be ma
de.
There are a variety of ways in which you can disseminate the re
sults of your research. The most immediate way of course is sha
ring the research within your own school. Teachers have the opp
ortunity through staff meetings, presentations in the school’s pr
ofessional development days and informal discussions with coll
eagues not only to change practices across the school, but also t
o engage in professional dialogue about classroom research and
promote a culture of inquiry within the school. Currently, many
schools encourage their teachers to undertake small research pro
jects and some of them require newly qualified teachers to cond
uct a classroom research project in their first term.
Another way of communicating research is through school netw
orks. In England there is an increasing number of informal and f
ormal school networks which allow the quick exchange of infor
mation between schools, which of course is a smart school impr
ovement strategy. Formal networks such as those of the Speciali
st Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) and the erstwhile Natio
nal College of School Leaders (NCSL) networked learning com
munities project bring together practitioners at a local level and
then connect local networks to the regional and national. Hence,
the dissemination of such results is one on a bigger scale.
Publications can also make your work accessible to wider audie
nces and could include:
·
chapters in books: there is an increasing number of books publis
hed by universities and organizations such as the GTCE, the SS
AT and the NCSL, presenting classroom research examples. The
re is also an increasing number of schools that publish research

109. conducted by their own staff within the school but also externall
y;
· papers in academic journals;
· articles in teacher magazines.
However, the quickest, most powerful and nowadays possibly th
e most accessible approach to dissemination is the Internet—
this is certainly true for developed countries and is becoming tr
ue for many developing ones. As mentioned earlier, technology
has opened up opportunities for people to connect with others a
cross the world and share information instantly. Classroom rese
archers are now publishing their results in their schools’, netwo
rk’s and their own personal websites. Imagine a colleague in Ch
ina reading your research, identifying similarities between your
school and theirs and deciding to adopt the practice suggested b
y your research in order to improve teaching and learning in the
ir school!
Before concluding this section, it is worth reflecting more imagi
natively on how classroom researchers can support their dissemi
nation efforts. One particular example involves a re-
think of the audience for classroom research and its intended pu
rpose. Miles and Huberman’s (1994: 305) ‘Matrix for Objective
s of Dissemination Strategy Planning’ could effectively support
classroom researchers’ dissemination efforts. This is because it
requires researchers to consider their audiences and sub-
audiences and the effects it provides, which range from the simp
le awareness that the message exists to implementation and rout
inization. This matrix is seen in Figure 4.5.Figure 4.5: Matrix fo
r objectives of dissemination strategy planning
Source: Miles & Huberman, 1994, p. 305.References
British Educational Research Association. (2002). Good Practic
e in Educational Research.http://www.bera.ac.uk/
Denscombe, M. (2007). The Good Research Guide. Buckingham
: Open University Press.
Giroux, H. (1992). Border Crossings: Cultural Workers and the
Politics of Education. New York: Peter Lang.

110. Percelli, V. (2005) Re-imagining research, re-
presenting the self: putting arts media to work in the analysis an
d synthesis of data on ‘difference’ and ‘disability’, International
Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 18(1): 63–83.
Schwandt, T. and Halpern, E. (1988). Linking Auditing and Met
aEvaluation. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Winter, R., Buck, A. and Sobiechowska, P. (1999). Professional
Experience and the Creative Imagination. London: Routledge.
Source: Hopkins, D. (2008). A Teacher’s Guide to Classroom R
esearch, 4th edition. © 2008. Reproduced with the kind permissi
on of Open University Press. All rights reserved.
Summary
In this excerpt, Hopkins advocates for teacher-
researchers to share their research processes and findings both
within in and beyond their schools, to contribute to a broader bo
dy of knowledge on which teachers across the world can draw.
The most conventional form of sharing is through research repor
ts. Quoting Brooker and MacPherson (1999), Hopkins concurs t
hat because of the poor quality of many teacher action research
reports, they are not useful beyond the immediate context in whi
ch the research was conducted. First and foremost, high-
quality research reports are based on high-
quality research. If a project is unorganized, if data collection is
spotty, and if data is inaccurate, it will be impossible to produc
e an excellent report.
Effective research reports describe the project such that it can b
e replicated. They present sufficient evidence so that the reader
finds claims and conclusions logical and plausible. They are als
o written in a way that is accessible to the chosen audience and
is likely to resonate with their experiences. To do this effectivel
y, teacher researchers must be intentional about identifying and
writing in a way that will appeal to a target audience, such as ed
ucational practitioners, educational researchers, or policy maker
s. A researcher can write multiple reports about single research
project, in various styles, for different audiences. For example,

111. one report may be written for school staff and another for a prac
titioner magazine, academic journal, or book chapter.
As described, research reports should have four major elements:
(a) the statement of intent, (b) an explanation of the research pr
ocedures and processes, (c) a description of the findings and act
ion steps, and (d) a discussion of the implications of the researc
h. Although researchers want to present their work in the best p
ossible light, reflections about challenges and things that could
have been done better can help readers implement their own pro
jects. Hopkins advises that research reports should be as succinc
t as possible, while providing enough information to show how t
he project was carried out and explain the logic of how and why
the researcher arrived at particular conclusions and took certain
actions.
Research findings can also be disseminated in more unconventio
nal forms, such as images, video, fiction, poetry, performances,
and websites. As Hopkins points out, the Internet and other new
technologies provide opportunities for teachers to share their re
search with others across the globe. Regardless of format, practi
tioner-
researchers should ensure that presentations of their projects are
appropriate for and informative to their target audiences.
Critical Thinking Questions
1.
Hopkins points out that many research reports written by practit
ioners are not useful to others in the field because they are not o
f high quality. He also states that in order to produce an effectiv
e research report, the project on which it is based must be rigoro
us. Why is this so? Considering the excerpts by Craig, Calhoun,
Robinson and Lai, and Stringer, what can researchers do, at eac
h stage of the process—
problem identification, data collection, and data analysis—
to ensure that the project will be of high quality? For example, i
f a research team is conducting classroom observations to gather
information about student engagement, what will be important t

112. o ensure that the data they collect are accurate?
2.
In addition to written reports, Hopkins mentions other forms an
d venues through which to report the processes and findings of a
ction research projects. He also points out the importance of ens
uring that the mode of presentation is appropriate for the target
audience. Consider, for example, Preble and Taylor’s study on s
chool climate. Creating a comic strip that depicts major findings
from the study might be appropriate for students but not for pol
icy makers. Although other teachers might be very interested in
the everyday details of how the research project was carried out,
district officials may be much more interested in synopses of th
e findings. Considering your own school or district or the conte
xt in which you hope to work, identify several potential audienc
es with whom teachers might share their research. What particul
ar aspects of the research might be most interesting to them? W
hat presentation formats might appeal to them?
3.
Hopkins outlines the sections of a conventional research report,
which include descriptions of the study purpose and rationale, t
he procedures and processes of the research, the findings and ac
tion steps, and the broader implications and next steps. There is
a distinct logic to the order of these sections. That is, they begin
with an introduction to the topic and the project, and each secti
on provides information that contextualizes and helps the reader
understand the following sections. Review Hopkins’ outline of
a research paper and describe how each section is related to the
following section, in terms of helping the reader understand the
research project and the claims made by the researcher. For exa
mple, why would the reader need to understand the concepts use
d in the study in order to understand the outcomes of the researc
h?Summary and Resources
Chapter Summary
·
The goal of teacher action research is not merely producing kno

113. wledge but solving real-
life problems. Action is an explicit component of action researc
h. Teachers and other educational practitioners use action resear
ch as a strategy for improving teaching practice, student academ
ic outcomes, and school climate. Rather than seeking generaliza
ble knowledge, action researchers seek to understand and to sol
ve problems as they apply to the particular people and contexts t
hey are studying.
·
To be most useful, action research must be carried out in a syste
matic and rigorous way. Planning an investigation into a topic w
ith intent, then gathering, organizing, and evaluating informatio
n systematically distinguishes research from informal inquiries t
hat teachers conduct daily. This more formal approach increases
the likelihood that the problem under study will be well defined
and the information collected is accurate. This, in turn, helps pr
actitioner-
researchers develop effective strategies for addressing the probl
em.
·
In sharing their research with others, educational practitioners c
an enhance professionalism and advance knowledge in the field.
Engaging in action research is a form of professional developm
ent through which school staff can deepen their knowledge abou
t the learning processes and gain research, problem-
solving, and analytic skills. Collaborating with colleagues on re
search projects, they can promote a culture of inquiry and build
professional learning communities focused improving instructio
nal practice.
·
It is important for action researchers to be aware of their precon
ceived notions and how they affect the research process. One fa
ctor that can compromise the trustworthiness of an action resear
ch project is researcher bias. If the researcher makes assumption
s about the nature of the problem based on incorrect or incompl
ete information, the research is likely to be based on a false pre

114. mise. Preconceived notions may cause a researcher to overlook i
nformation that is important. Although it is impossible (and, oft
en, not advantageous) to completely eliminate one’s biases, it is
important for researchers to be aware of their assumptions and t
heir impact on the research.
· Including students as co-
researchers in action research can help them learn valuable skill
s and take ownership of their schooling experiences. Preble and
Taylor, in particular, discuss the value of including students as
co-
researchers in the action research process. In including them in
research efforts, students can become invested in solving school
-
based problems and learn skills related to research, problem sol
ving, analytic thinking, and collaboration. Working together to
wards a shared goal can also strengthen relationships between st
udent and school staff.
A Closer Look: Action Research
An instructor discusses possible action research topics for classr
oom teachers and why he finds them compelling.
00:00
00:00
1.
In listening to this instructor discuss potential action research p
rojects, what factors drive his interest in the particular topics he
suggests? Can you think of other motivating factors?
2.
Across the three possible projects that the instructor discusses,
what are the individual and common learning goals and how are
they important?Tying It All Together
This chapter described the utility of action research for teachers
and other school practitioners, as compared with other forms of

115. research. It also examined the research process, giving example
s of the process in action within several school contexts and as r
elated to different research topics. Although practitioner-
researchers implement a variety of strategies for action research
, they all draw from core principles. First, their research is aime
d at improving a particular problem of practice in the context in
which they work. Second, they engage in the “ ‘look, think, act
’ routine” (Stringer, 2007, p. 8). That is, they look more deeply
at the problem they seek to study; they gather information that h
elps them to think about the problem in a more complex way; an
d they use what they have learned to intervene into the problem.
They re-
engage in this process multiple times in order to continually im
prove their understandings and interventions.
With the current focus on the role of teachers in student achieve
ment, practitioner action research is seen as one way to improve
classroom instruction and teacher professionalism. In tying thei
r understandings to previous chapters, it is important for readers
to consider how action research might be used to address equity
issues in schools and to meet the needs of students, particularly
those at risk for academic failure. Looking forward, readers sho
uld consider the potential of action research in schools as a mea
ns for fostering self-
reflection and collaboration among teachers and developing teac
her leadership.
End of Chapter Critical Thinking Questions
1.
As the excerpts suggest, action research can require considerabl
e time and energy. Although more pre- and in-
service teachers are being encouraged to conduct classroom-
based action research, there is also growing emphasis on prepari
ng students for standardized tests, which can draw teachers’ tim
e and attention away from more innovative classroom practices.
Particularly in low-
performing schools, where there is intense focus on raising stud

116. ent state test scores, what argument(s) would you make to admi
nistrators and teachers in favor of conducting action research?
How can action research augment rather than take away from te
achers’ efforts to increase student test scores? What supports w
ould teachers need to do this?
2.
Stringer and Brighton point out that educational practitioners of
ten do not find conventional research useful, because it focuses
on the production of generalized knowledge rather than context-
specific information and action. On the other hand, some univer
sity researchers feel that practitioners do not take advantage of t
he plethora of research available, which could provide them wit
h valuable insights into their everyday classroom practices. This
dichotomy is known as the “theory–
practice divide” in which theoretical knowledge developed by re
searchers does not affect on-the-
ground practices. Do you believe that the perception that practit
ioners are unjustifiably dismissive of academic research has any
merit? Why or why not? How can action research help bridge th
e theory–practice divide?
3. Validity—an extremely important concept in research—
refers to the degree to which claims made by the researcher(s) a
re logical and plausible. Validity, in turn, depends on the authen
ticity of the researcher’s understanding of the nature of the prob
lem under study and the accuracy of the data collected. As Robi
nson and Lai point out, researcher bias can threaten the validity
of a research project. In reviewing the article by Preble and Tay
lor, what evidence of bias do you see on the part of school staff
pertaining to the issue of school climate? If staff members with
those biases had planned the study, rather than Preble and Taylo
r, how might it have been different? How might they have defin
ed the problem? What data might they have collected? Who mig
ht they have enlisted to collect data, and from whom? Whom mi
ght they have charged with evaluating the data and devising stra
tegies for intervention?
4.

117. Stringer states that action research projects should “take into ac
count the social, cultural, interactional, and emotional factors th
at affect all human activity” (p. 9). Similarly, Calhoun advises e
ducational action researchers to collect data in the academic, so
cial, and personal domains. Suppose a fourth-
grade teacher is conducting an action research project in her cla
ssroom, guided by the question “How can I help my students im
prove their reading comprehension?” Explain how factors relate
d to culture, social interactions, and emotions might be related t
o reading comprehension skills and how the teacher might go ab
out learning more about those relationships through the research
.
Further Reading
Blair, E. (2010). How does telling the truth help educational act
ion research? Educational Action Research, 18(3), 349–358.
Brown, T. M., & Galeas, K. (2009). Confronting “limit situation
s” in a youth/adult educational research collaborative. The Soph
ist’s Bane (Spring), 7–13.
Brown, T. M., & Rodriguez, L. F. (Eds.). (2009). Youth in parti
cipatory action research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Bryant, J., & Bates, A. (2010). The power of student resistance i
n action research: Teacher educators respond to classroom chall
enges. Educational Action Research, 18(3), 305–318.
Capobianco, B. M., & Feldman, A. (2006). Promoting quality fo
r teacher action research: Lessons learned from science teachers
’ action research. Educational Action Research, 14(4), 497–512.
Cammarota, J., & Fine, M. (2008). Youth participatory action re
search: A pedagogy for transformational resistance. In J. Camm
arota & M. Fine (Eds.), Revolutionizing education: Youth partic
ipatory action research in motion (pp. 1–
11). New York: Routledge.
Cook-
Sather, A. (2006). Sound, presence, and power: “Student voice”
in educational research and reform. Curriculum Inquiry, 36(4),
359–390.

118. Feldman, A. (2007). Teachers, responsibility and action researc
h. Educational Action Research, 15(2), 239–252.
Glassman, M., Erdem, G., & Bartholomew, M. (2013). Action re
search and its history as an adult education movement for social
change. Adult Education Quarterly, 63(3), 272–288.
Goble, G. A. (2007). Ethics, research, and reflection. In S. E. Is
rael & C. Lassonde (Eds.), The ethical educator: Integrating ethi
cs within the context of teaching and teacher research (pp. 101–
108). New York: Peter Lang.
Goodnough, K. (2011). Examining the long-
term impact of collaborative action research on teacher identity
and practice: The perceptions of K–
12 teachers. Educational Action Research, 19(1), 73–86.
Herr, K., & Anderson, G. L. (2005). The action research dissert
ation: A guide for students and faculty. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sa
ge.
Honigsfeld, A., Connolly, M., & Kelly, S. (2012). Demystifying
teacher action research: Lessons learned from a graduate educat
ion capstone experience. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 79(2), 1
5–21.
Hoppey, D. (2013). Linking action research to response to inter
vention (RtI): The strategy implementation project. Networks: A
n On-line Journal for Teacher Research, 15(1).
Lytle, S. L., Portnoy, D., Waff, D., & Buckley, M. (2009). Teac
her research in urban Philadelphia: Twenty years working withi
n, against, and beyond the system. Educational Action Research,
17(1), 23–42.
Marquez-Zenkov, K., Harmon, J., van Lier, P., & Marquez-
Zenkov, M. (2007). If they’ll listen to us about life, we’ll listen
to them about school: Seeing city students’ ideas about ‘quality’
teachers. Educational Action Research, 15(3), 403–415.
Mills, G. E. (2014). Action research: A guide for the teacher res
earcher. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
McIntyre, A. (2000). Inner-
city kids: Adolescents confront life and violence in an urban co
mmunity. New York: New York University Press.

119. McNiff, J. & Whitehead, J. (2006). All you need to know about
action research. London: Sage.
Morrell, E. (2008). Six summers of YPAR: Learning, action, an
d change in urban education. In J. Cammarota & M. Fine (Eds.),
Revolutionizing education: Youth participatory action research
in motion (pp. 155–184). New York: Routledge.
O’Brien, R. (2001). Um exame da abordagem metodológica da p
esquisa ação [An overview of the methodological approach of a
ction research]. In Roberto Richardson (Ed.), Teoria e prática d
a pesquisa ação [Theory and practice of action research]. João P
essoa, Brazil: Universidade Federal da Paraíba. Available: http:/
/www.web.ca/~robrien/papers/arfinal.html
Preble, B., & Taylor, L. (2008). School climate through students
’ eyes. Educational Leadership, 66(4), 35–40.
Razfar, A. (2011). Action research in urban schools: Empowerm
ent, transformation, and challenges. Teacher Education Quarterl
y, 38(4), 25–44.
Souto-
Manning, M., & Mitchell, C. (2010). The role of action research
in fostering culturally-
responsive practices in a preschool classroom. Early Childhood
Education Journal, 37(4), 269–277.
Spaulding, D. T., & Falco, J. (2013). Action research for school
leaders. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Key Terms
Please click on the key term to reveal the definition.
action plan
action research
baseline data
bias
data
data analysis
data collection
emic
fate-control variables

120. findings
first-person research
generalizable
instruments
interviews
literature review
observations
patterns
phenomenon
qualitative research
quantitative data
reliability
validity
Required Resources
Text
Burnaford, G., & Brown, T. (2014). Teaching and learning in
21st century learning environments: A reader. Bridgepoint
Education.
· Chapter 4: Leading Change Through Research
Website
Folio. (https://portfolium.com/welcome)
· This website provides a Folio resource. This resource will
support student completion of the final project, as well as
discussions and assignments throughout the course. Learn more
about Folio, University of Arizona Global Campus' ePortfolio
tool, by viewing the Folio Quick Start Guide (Links to an
external site.).
Accessibility Statement (Links to an external site.)Privacy
Policy (Links to an external site.)
Recommended Resources
Articles

121. Barrell, J., & Weitman, C. J. (2007). Action research fosters
empowerment and learning communities. Delta Kappa Gamma
Bulletin, 73(3), 36-45. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database.
· In this bulletin, Barrel and Witman discuss how action
research done in learning communities can produce results that
affect the whole school. This resource will support student
completion of the discussions and assignment for this week. The
full-text version of this article is available through the
EBSCOhost database in the University of Arizona Global
Campus Library.
Brown, H. (2004). Action research in the classroom: A process
that feeds the spirit of the adolescent. International Journal of
Qualitative Methods, 3(1), 1-30. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost
database.
· This action research study was conducted to see if student-
driven questions inserted into a holistic intrapersonal
curriculum would encourage student self -efficacy. The results
of the study noted that the concepts of competence,
encouragement, confidence, and self-esteem allow holistic
teaching to flourish when creativity, choice, imagination, and
constructivism nourish the adolescent spirit in the classroom.
This resource will support student completion of the discussions
and assignment for this week. The full-text version of this
article is available through the EBSCOhost database in the
University of Arizona Global Campus Library.
Go to top of page
EDU696Week 4 Instructor Guidance
Week 3 required a look back, reflecting on the link between
assessments and report cards that reflect CCSS. Additionally,
the idea of creating high quality assessments was debated, as
well as the concept of the Flipped Classroom. This time, the
flipped classroom concept was related to the Common Core
State Standards and teacher decision-making based on student
assessments. Last, the assignment in Week 3 required you to
connect high quality assessment with 21st Century Learning and

122. Innovation Skills. This week you will share your peer reviewed
research study with your fellow learners.
Now is the time to look ahead to Week 5 to prepare for the
group activity if you have not already done so, as well as ask
questions in the Ask Your Instructor discussion if you are
unclear about any of the requirements for the group activity.
Action Research
Action Research (AR) is both process and product. The AR
process has well known steps: Developing the research
question, conducting the literature review, designing and
implementing the study design (to include the data collection
and analysis), and writing up and presenting your findings. The
AR product, of course, is the results, as well as the final report
for presentation.
Action Research (AR) is a key type of research aimed
specifically at what is sometimes called “street level
practitioners.” O’Brien (1998, para 23 and 24) notes that
Kurt Lewin is generally considered the ‘father’ of action
research. A German social and experimental psychologist, and
one of the founders of the Gestalt school, he was concerned
with social problems, and focused on participative group
processes for addressing conflict, crises, and change, generally
within organizations. Initially, he was associated with the
Center for Group Dynamics at MIT in Boston, but soon went on
to establish his own National Training Laboratories. Lewin first
coined the term ‘action research’ in his 1946 paper “Action
Research and Minority Problems”, characterizing Action
Research as “a comparative research on the conditions and
effects of various forms of social action and research leading to
social action”, using a process of “a spiral of steps, each of
which is composed of a circle of planning, action, and fact-
finding about the result of the action.”
AR, when considered from an education viewpoint, is tied with
the work of John Dewey, whose experiential view of education
was directed to both students and teachers. As such it is very

123. versatile. While conducting AR, teachers seek to find solutions
to practical classroom problems. Some examples of AR can be
found in all curriculum subjects, student management issues,
improvements of teaching technique(s), etc. AR can be
conducted by individuals, teams of teachers, or entire schools.
In sum, AR works well for educators.
Understanding the conduct, potential value, and professional
necessity of research in general, and action research in
particular, arms you with the necessary tools to not only
conduct your own research, but to enhance our profession. By
offering a substantial alternative to post-modern modes of
thinking as applied to education, you can proceed with your
professional practice with renewed confidence.Week 4
Assessments Overview
Review the full instructions for each assessment below on the
Week 4 homepage in addition to using this guidance.
Discussion –Share your Action Research Study
In this discussion, you participate in reciprocal sharing of your
peer reviewed action research study with other classmates in the
course who will appreciate the knowledge you gained through
the action research peer review process. A link to your Folio
will be included as well as a reflection on the redesigned
activity from your Week 3 assignment. Sharing your peer
reviewed action research study provides you a time for
reflection on the study. In this discussion, really reflect on the
study and offer other viewpoints to classmates on their action
research peer reviewed study. Having a time for collaboration
and review will enhance our understanding of the AR process
and the study you did for peer review.
Assignment – Research and Educational Change
In this assignment, you take your discussion and convert it into
a poster that you could use at an academic conference.
Regardless of the length of time any action research
encompasses, whether a month or an entire academic year, it is

124. important to share the process and the results with the rest of
the academic community. You will put together your report
following APA formatting and writing, highlighting what you
read about in your peer reviewed study. This is
the product component of Action Research and should be
attended to with utmost attention and quality.
There is often a presentation aspect to any Action Research
product as well. Whether you are presenting your findings to
your colleagues, the local school board, or preparing it for
publication in an online action research journal, the goal is the
same—to present your project and findings as professionally as
possible.
One key to this is to be fully prepared ahead of time. If the
presentation is to be public, rehearse. Practice what you intend
to say, do not read the presentation verbatim to the audience,
prepare your handouts, slides, or other information, and use
them while you practice. Anticipate the questions you could be
asked and practice responding to them. And do this more than
once—we have all endured presentations in which the speaker
was clearly not prepared, and you do not want to fall into that.
A second key is to keep it brief. Oftentimes, you will have a
finite time to present your project and respond to questions, so
it is important to adhere to this. Finding out how much time you
are permitted ahead of time allows you to frame your rehearsal
work.
Remember, too, that you are the expert here. You did the work
of the peer review and are now telling people about it. This
should inspire confidence—you are providing knowledge others
do not have. Finally, if you are making a professional
presentation, look the part. This not only is appropriate to the
task, but adds a measure of personal confidence—If you look
professional, you will present a more confident and professional
demeanor. This will, in turn, enhance your presentation.
References
O'Brien, R. (2001). Um exame da abordagem metodológica da

125. pesquisa ação (Links to an external site.) [An Overview of the
Methodological Approach of Action Research]. In Roberto
Richardson (Ed.), Teoria e Prática da Pesquisa Ação [Theory
and Practice of Action Research]. João Pessoa, Brazil:
Universidade Federal da Paraíba. (English version). Retrieved
from http://www.web.ca/robrien/papers/arfinal.html#_Toc26184
672 (Links to an external site.)
Additional Resources
Borgman, C. (2007). Scholarship in the digital age: Information,
infrastructure, and the internet. Boston: MIT Press.
Ma, L. (1999, 2010). Knowing and teaching elementary
mathematics. Teachers understanding of fundamental
mathematics in China and the United States. New York:
Routledge
Trochim, G. (2006). Social research methods database (Links to
an external site.). Retrieved from
http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/index.php
Finding Nemo? No, Finding Research
1
Finding Nemo? No, Finding Research
Mary Garcia
EDU 694 Capstone 1: Educational Research
Instructor: Jessica Upshaw
August 16, 2021
APA Reference Entry
Abels, S. (2014). Implementing Inquiry-Based Science
Education to Foster Emotional Engagement of Special-Needs

126. Students. Affective Dimensions in Chemistry Education, 107–
131. doi: 10.1007/978-3-662-45085-7_6
Source type
Book
Annotation
The focus of the book's chapter is facilitating appropriate
student learning by implementing the appropriate learning
environment. The author assessed the impact of implementing
inquiring-Bases science education in promoting emotional
engagement among students with special needs. Essentially, the
case study aimed to reflect on the alternative teaching strategies
that teachers can utilize to promote student engagement to
ensure student learning. Essentially, all students are entitled to
develop science-based skills to the fullest for appropriate
educational opportunities.
APA Reference Entry
Hill, H. M., Levermore, M., Twaite, J., & Jones, L. P. (1996).
Exposure to community violence and social support predictors’
anxiety and social and emotional behaviour among African
American children. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 5(4),
399–414. doi: 10.1007/bf02233862
Source Type
Annotation
The study aimed to examine the students who have experienced
violence. A research was conducted on students between the
fourth and sixth grades who experienced community violence to
determine their learning and behavioral change. Researchers
asserted that schools need to develop intervention programs to
help in promoting educational growth and behavioral
management among students exposed to violence. Community
violence tends to cause anxiety among students, thus affecting
their ability to study effectively. The article is significant to the
study because it provides an insight into how exposure to
community violence can impact their behavior and hinder
effective learning.

127. APA
Linda A. Reddy and Laura Richardson Education and Treatment
of Children Vol. 29, No. 2, Special Issue: Bringing evidence-
based Child Mental Health Services to the Schools: General
Issues and Specific Populations (MAY 2006), pp. 379-404
Source
Journal Article
Annotation
Usually, students undergoing emotional/ or behavioral
disturbances tend to display ongoing and varied academic,
emotional, medical, and behavioral issues. These challenges
have a negative influence on the educational abilities of these
students. This article discussed the various inadequate and
ineffective educational interventions that failed to enhance
students' learning abilities. Based on the information presented,
the US Presidential commission authors argue that there is a
necessity to implement mental health systems in schools to help
identify behavioral and other mental issues and place the
necessary interventions in place. School-based interventions
have been implemented to ensure that students' emotional and
behavioral disorders are addressed to enhance their learning
abilities. Schools are encouraged to prioritize teachers to have
the proper training for promoting engagement in students with
emotional and behavioral disorders. As a source, it is
significant for enlightening teachers on the appropriate
interventions to put in place and enhance learning.
APA
Landrum, T. J., Tankersley, M., & Kauffman, J. M. (2003).
What Is Special About Special Education for Students with
Emotional or Behavioral Disorders? The Journal of Special
Education, 37(3), 148–156. doi:
10.1177/00224669030370030401
Source Type
Journal article
Annotation
The source focuses on understanding the special needs and

128. issues that students with disabilities, particularly those with
emotional and behavioral disorders, face while in the classroom.
Research indicates that students with disabilities experience
poor academic teachers who need special challenges compared
to those without the disorder. In this case, teachers need special
skills to sustain their interventions that can overspill from
school to careers.
APA
Mason, L. H., & Shriner, J. G. (2007). Self-regulated strategy
development instruction for writing an opinion essay: Effects
for six students with emotional/behavior disorders. Reading and
Writing, 21(1-2), 71–93. doi: 10.1007/s11145-007-9065-y
Source type
Journal Article
Annotation
The focus of the journal is the self-regulatory behavior
management among students through academic writing. The
self-management process starts with directions from the
teachers and ends with students' ability to demonstrate thoughts
organization in independent behavior regulations. The idea is to
facilitate the students' learning and behavior management.
APA
Bulla, A. J., & Frieder, J. E. (2018). Self-management as a
class-wide intervention: An evaluation of the “Self & Match”
system embedded within a dependent group contingency.
Psychology in the Schools, 55(3), 305–322. doi:
10.1002/pits.22109
Source type
Journal Article
Annotation
The article presents a study on the effectiveness of learning in
normal classrooms among students with Emotional or
behavioral disorders. The study indicates that 95% of all
students with disabilities in normal classrooms, especially those
with emotional or behavioral disorders, barely receive a
minimum of the education. Teachers have to spend a lot of time

129. managing the high level of disruptive behaviors among students.
Researchers argue that appropriate classroom management can
promote greater learning for all learners, including those with
disabilities.
APA
Denune, H., Hawkins, R., Donovan, L., Mccoy, D., Hall, L., &
Moeder, A. (2015). Combining self‐ monitoring and an
interdependent group contingency to improve the behavior of
sixth graders with EBD. Psychology in the Schools, 52(6), 562–
577. https://doi-
org.proxylibrary.ashford.edu/10.1002/pits.21846
Source
Journal article
Annotation
The journal aims to compare the effectiveness of self-
monitoring intervention and an interdependent group
contingency to help students with emotional and behavioral
disorders to improve their behavior. According to the study, a
self-monitoring intervention in a game may be applicable as an
interdependent intervention. The authors concluded that there
was improvement among students who used games as reminders
of behavior management. Essentially, the source is essential in
informing teachers on the effectiveness of the self-monitoring
interventions and when they are appropriate for the application.
APA Reference Entry
Ness, B. M., & Sohlberg, M. M. (2013). Self-Regulated
Assignment Attack Strategy: Evaluating the Effects of a
Classroom-level Intervention on Student Management of
Curricular Activities in a Resource Context. Learning
Disabilities -- A Contemporary Journal, 11(1), 35–52. Retrieved
from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy-
library.ashford.edu/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=a9h&AN=89631619&site=eds-live&scope=site
Source
Journal Article
Annotation

130. The authors of the article assert that educators devel op strategic
methods to direct them on self-regulation skills to promote
metacognitive skills and academic skills in learners who may
often take part in classroom misbehavior. Essentially, the main
aim is for students with EBD to practice self-monitoring, which
helps in improving both academic and behavioral productivity.
Self-motivation also aims at motivating students to behave
appropriately.
APA Reference Entry
McConaughy, S. H., Kay, P. J., & Fitzgerald, M. (1998).
Preventing SED through Parent-Teacher Action Research and
Social Skills Instruction: First-Year Outcomes. Journal of
Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 6(2), 81–93. Retrieved
from
http://search.ebscohost.com.proxylibrary.ashford.edu/login.aspx
?
direct=true&AuthType=ip,cpid&custid=s8856897&d b=eric&AN
=EJ567433 &site=ehost-live
Source
Journal Article
Annotation
According to the article, parents and teachers can help identify
children with emotional and behavioral challenges. This is
usually associated with the minor of the principle prevention
programs to protect children from harm. These preventive
programs are enhanced to protect students at risk of being
labeled as special needs because of their behaviors. Essentially,
the article is significant as it helps identify the critical role and
responsibilities played by teachers and parents to protect
students with disabilities and ensure that they have learning
opportunities, especially those with emotional or behavioral
disorders.
APA References
Ryan, A. K. (2000). End of Project Report for the Achieving,
Behaving, Caring Project: Preventing the Development of
Serious Emotional Disturbance among Children and Youth with

131. Emotional and Behavioral Problems. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com.proxylibrary.ashford.edu/login.aspx
?
direct=true&AuthType=ip,cpid&custid=s8856897&db=eric&AN
=ED44542 9&site=ehost-live
Source
Report
Annotation
The source is a report on the parents-teacher action research
that was put in place as an early detection and intervention
project. The program was developed and implemented to
prevent serious emotional disturbances among children and
youths suffering from emotional or behavioral disorders. The
collaboration between teachers and parents is essential in
helping students develop social skills, educational advanceme nt,
and behavioral management. The environment and surrounding
in which students are in both at school, and home determine
their behavior.
Throughout the selection process, I have learned that students
with emotional or behavioral disorders tend to have difficulties
learning compared to their peers. For that reason, to improve
and enhance their learning abilities, teachers and parents should
work together to establish the most appropriate intervention.
From the search, several forms of sources were available,
including journal articles, books. Of the two sources, I realized
that those from the library were more comprehensive and in-
depth than those from the web. The majority of these sources
contained studies with accurate information in the form of data
and findings from the study. Besides, the scholarly-based
articles provided more research-based information from reliable
and credible researchers.