2. ACTION RESEARCH
“Action research is characterized as research that
is done by teachers for themselves” (Mertler,
2009).
Teachers examine their own classrooms,
instructional strategies, assessment procedures,
and interactions with student learners in order to
improve their quality and effectiveness.
3. WHAT ACTION RESEARCH IS AND IS NOT
What it is… What it is not…
• A process that improves • Problem-solving
education through change
• Collaborative • Doing research on or about
people
• Cyclical • Linear
• Practical and relevant • Conclusive
• Within context of teacher’s • Generalizing to larger
environment populations
• How we can do things better • Why we do certain things
• Explores, discovers and seeks • The implementation of
to find creative solutions predetermined answers
• A way to improve instructional • A fad
practice by observing, revising,
and reflecting
4. VIDEO: ACTION RESEARCH MADE SIMPLE
Action Research Made Simple
Key Characteristics
Addresses Real Life Problems
Constructs Knowledge
Promotes Change
Collaborative / Participatory
5. A BRIEF HISTORY OF ACTION RESEARCH
FERRANCE (2000)
Kurt Lewin, a social psychologist and educator, first
formulated the idea of performing research in a “natural”
setting in the 1940s.
No distinction between the research study and the
problem to be solved.
Proposed that research should be cyclical rather than
linear.
Stephen Corey was among the first to use action
research in education and he stated the following:
We are convinced that the disposition to study…the
consequences of our teaching is more likely to change
and improve our practices than is reading about what
someone else has discovered of his teaching (Corey,
1953, p. 70).
7. CENTRAL FEATURES OF PARTICIPATORY ACTION
RESEARCH (KEMMIS & WILKINSON, 1998)
It is a social process – people individually and
collectively attempt to discover who they are and
redevelop these identities in order to make
improvements
It is participatory – people can only do action
research “on” themselves and not “on” others
It is practical and collaborative – It is research
done “with” others where people strive to
reconstruct their interactions in a more productive
way.
8. CENTRAL FEATURES OF PARTICIPATORY
ACTION RESEARCH (KEMMIS & WILKINSON,
1998)
It is emancipatory – It helps people break loose
and recover from the constraints of unproductive
social structures which limit self-development and
the ability to determine actions. If not possible to
be released from limitations, how best to work
within them and around them.
It is critical – A way in which people can
deliberately set out to change something in their
teaching and learning environment that is irrational,
unproductive or unjust.
It is recursive – Helps teachers examine reality in
order to change it and continually try to make it
better. A process of learning by doing with others to
improve interactions in our social world.
9. MODELS OF ACTION RESEARCH
Many models exist but all share the same basic
principles which are:
A central problem or topic
Observation or monitoring takes place
Collection and synthesis of data
Some type of action is taken
Next stage of action research (varies)
20. STEPS IN ACTION RESEARCH
FERRANCE (2000)
Identify a problem area
Meaningful, attainable and within teacher’s influence
Higher order question that is specific and concise
Collection and organization of data
Portfolios, interviews, photos, diaries, field notes,
videos, journals, case studies, checklists, surveys
Appropriate, easy to collect, and readily available
Triangulate data (i.e. use three or more sources)
Organize to identify themes; can be arranged by
gender, classroom, school, grade level, age, etc.
Interpretation of data
Analyze and identify major themes
Quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods
21. STEPS IN ACTION RESEARCH
Action based on data
Use the data collected complemented by current
research to develop a plan of action
Alter only one variable
Document and collect data during action phase
Reflection
Evaluate the results
Was the intervention successful? Can the positive
results be directly attributed to the variable addressed?
If unsuccessful, what could be done in subsequent
attempts to elicit more favorable results?
22. EXAMINATION OF
AN ACTION RESEARCH STUDY
Action Research: Using Wordles for Teaching
Foreign Language Writing by Baralt, Pennestri, and
Selvandin (2011)
23. CONTEXT
Eighteen students in an intermediate-level Spanish
Foreign Language class at a private research
university
Attended class three times per week for fifty
minutes each
Studied Spanish writing and grammar
Students wrote four major compositions per
semester
24. IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM
Two main issues in students’ writing:
1. Continuous repetition of errors
2. Reliance on high frequency words without
attempting to use new vocabulary in writing
25. GATHER DATA
Reviewed literature on the use of data
visualization. (e.g. public meetings, blog
entries, responses to a survey)
Visual and auditory input may help to process and retain
vocabulary (Dual Coding Hypothesis)
Acknowledged there is little or no research and ideas for
teachers are mostly found online. For example, The
Clever Sheep Website (Lucier, 2008), provides 20 ideas
for using Wordle.
Analyzed students’ writing compositions for word variety
and grammatical accuracy
Consulted with instructional technology consultant and
decided to use wordles as a teaching tool
26. INTERPRET DATA
Noted word frequency counts from students’
compositions and a whole class-based word cloud
Teaching reflection about the class discussion
Students were excited to see the whole class
Wordle each week and interpreted their own data
The procedure was used for all four compositions
27. ACT ON EVIDENCE
Instructor collected compositions and created a
whole class Wordle
Shared the image with the class and had a group
discussion
Set goals for the next writing assignment;
attempted to use a wider range of vocabulary and
higher level words
Teacher asked for students’ overall perceptions at
the end of the semester
28.
29. EVALUATE RESULTS
Wordles helped to show students’ progress
Students used more vocabulary in their compositions
Facilitated class discussions about the writing process
Both the students and instructor agreed that using
Wordles created excitement about writing.
Effective, novel, and enjoyable.
Students incorporated more varied vocabulary, used
grammar more accurately, and had more content in their
writing.
Workshop days became more student-centered
30. NEXT STEPS
Share results with other educators
Encourage others to use Wordles in different
teaching contexts and across different languages
The instructor and students both found the use of
wordles to be beneficial so one would presume a
continuation of its use although the study report did
not clarify this.
31. LIMITATIONS
Lack of generalizability
Findings of action research are typically only
relevant to the specific classroom being
investigated, its students and its own unique
characteristics
It may yield different results in other classrooms,
contexts or languages.
As with any technology, teachers must ensure that
the software works with their computer systems;
Wordle requires a Java-enabled web browser
33. WRITING ACTION RESEARCH REPORTS
Reports vary depending on the variables, context,
and action involved but most include:
Introduction
Area of focus
Defining the variables
Research questions
Review of related literature
Description of the Intervention or Innovation
Data Collection and Considerations
Data Analysis and Interpretation
Conclusions
Reflection and Action Plan (Mertler, 2009)
Examples of Action Research Reports written by
teachers who participated in a school-wide project
34. DISADVANTAGES OF ACTION RESEARCH
Lack of Time
• Action Research is demanding of space and time, both
of which are stretched to their limits.
Validity
• Inevitable research bias
Results are not Generalizable
• Although a researcher’s findings may be tested by
another teacher in their own classroom
Range of Models and Process
• Action Research is a messy process and the constraints
of the models may “trap teachers”
36. PASSION IS INTEGRAL TO ACTION RESEARCH
Potential passions for coming up with a research
question (Yendol-Hoppey & Dana 2008):
Helping an individual student
Improving the curriculum
Developing more knowledge of the content
Experimenting with teaching strategies
Exploring the relationship between your personal beliefs
and classroom practice
Exploring the connection between your personal and
professional identities
Advocating for social justice
Understanding the teaching and learning environment
37. TIME TO REFLECT!
After viewing our presentation on action research,
what nags you about your teaching practices that
you’d like to change?
At your table groups, use the questions on the next
slide to come up with a possible research
question(s) that you could test in your own
classroom.
Examples include but are not limited to: teaching
method, identifying a problem, examining an area
of interest, classroom environment, classroom
management, evaluation, etc.
38. ACTIVITY AND CLASS DISCUSSION:
WRITE ACTION RESEARCH QUESTIONS
PINE (2009)
I would like to improve by __________________.
I am perplexed by _____________________.
I am really curious about ____________________.
Something I really think would make a difference is
_______________________.
Something I would really like to change is
____________________.
What happens to student learning in my classroom
when I ___________________?
How can I implement ______________________?
How can I improve _______________________?
39. EXAMPLES OF ACTION RESEARCH QUESTIONS
What happens to the quality of student writing when
we implement a coding system for grammar errors?
What happens to my students’ ability to do basic
multiplication facts when we do a two minute review
drill at the start of each class?
How does teaching about gender inequalities affect
the perceptions of students towards gender
constructs in our society?
40. CONCLUDING POINTS
Professional development is an important part of
being a teacher and action research is a way in
which we can continually develop by making changes
in our classrooms, schools or even districts.
Action research is a way in which educators can work
collaboratively in a teacher-directed professional
learning community.
For more resources, check out our blog!
www.teachactionresearch.blogspot.ca
41. REFERENCES
Baralt, M., Pennestri, S., & Selvandin, M. (2011). Using Wordles to Teach Foreign
Language Writing. Language Learning & Technology, 15(2), 12-22.
Feinberg, J. (2009). Wordle. Retrieved November 19, 2012 from
http://www.wordle.net
Ferrance, E. (2000). Action Research. Providence, RI, USA. Retrieved November
14, 2012 from http://www.lab.brown.edu/pubs/themes_ed/act_research.pdf
Kemmis, B., & Wilkinson, M. (1998). Participatory Action Research and the Study
of Practice. In B. Atweh, S. Kemmis, & P. Weeks, Action Research in Practice: Partnerships
for Social Justice in Education (pp. 21-37).
Lucier, R. (2008). Top 20 uses for Wordle. Retrieved November 18, 2012 from
http://thecleversheep.blogspot.ca/2008/10/top-20-uses-for-wordle.html
Mertler, C. (2009). Action Research. Thousand Oaks, California, USA: Sage
Publications, Inc.
Pine, G. (2009). Teacher Action Research. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage
Publications, Inc.
Stringer, E. T. (2007). Action Research (3rd ed.). London: Sage Publications, Inc.
Yendol-Hoppey, D. & Dana, N. (2008). The Reflective Educator’s Guide to
Classroom Research. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.
Waters-Adams, S. (2006). Action Research in Education
Retrieved from http://www.edu.plymouth.ac.uk/resined/actionresearch/arhome.htm
