1. A product of Project CENTRAL, 2004 The Action Research Process Sponsored by Project CENTRAL A Project of the Florida Department of Education In Collaboration with the University of Central Florida With rights given to Seminole County Public Schools Professional Development Department for use in training personnel Understanding Action Research

2. A product of Project CENTRAL, 2004 “ The idea of action research is that educational problems and issues are best identified and investigated where the action is; at the classroom and school level.

3. A product of Project CENTRAL, 2004 By integrating research into these settings and engaging those who work at this level in research activities, findings can be applied immediately and problems solved more quickly” (Guskey, 2000).

4. A product of Project CENTRAL, 2004 Action Research is NOT- Writing a Research Paper

5. A product of Project CENTRAL, 2004 A Model of Professional Development Action research is a model of professional development in which educators study student learning related to their own teaching, a process that allows them to learn about their own instructional practices and to continue to improve student learning.

6. A product of Project CENTRAL, 2004 What is Action Research? “ Action (teacher) research is a natural extension of good teaching. Observing students closely, analyzing their needs, and adjusting the curriculum to fit the needs of all students have always been important skills demonstrated by fine teachers” (Hubbard & Power, 1999).

7. A product of Project CENTRAL, 2004 The Action Research Process PLANNING DELIVERY FOLLOW-UP EVALUATION

8. A product of Project CENTRAL, 2004 Plan Act Observe Reflect REVISED Plan Act Observe Reflect ACTION RESEARCH is a CYCLE!!

9. A product of Project CENTRAL, 2004 Approaches to Action Research Individual Teacher Research Collaborative Action Research School-wide Action Research Emily Calhoun, 1993

10. A product of Project CENTRAL, 2004 Individual Teacher Research A teacher focuses on an area of concern in his or her classroom. May receive support and guidance from colleagues, coaches, and/or outside support personnel from district, state, or university.

11. A product of Project CENTRAL, 2004 Individual Teacher Research A problem or issue within a single classroom to study-- What impact can daily phonemic awareness activities have on my kindergarten students’ oral language development? (Kindergarten teacher) How can using concrete objectives (manipulatives) improve my students’ ability to identify and extend patterns in mathematics? (Middle grade teacher)

12. A product of Project CENTRAL, 2004 Collaborative Action Research Co-teachers  in one classroom instructing a specific group of students Team of teachers  focusing on a grade level issue Teacher and district, educational agency, or university personnel  learning and studying a particular instructional practice Group of teachers  in the same school studying the same instructional concern

13. A product of Project CENTRAL, 2004 Collaborative Action Research Focuses on studying a problem or issue within one or more classrooms.  How can students with disabilities experiencing deficits in phonemic awareness show improvement in those skills by participating in additional and intensive instruction in phonemic awareness activities at least four times per week? How will it affect their overall reading ability? (ESE Teacher & FDLRS HRD Specialist)  How can implementing “Organizing Together” a Strategic Instruction Model curriculum, improve 6 th graders ability to come to class organized and prepared? (6 th grade teachers in a middle school team)

14. A product of Project CENTRAL, 2004 School-wide Action Research School-wide action research is a school reform initiative. Every faculty member of the school is involved in studying a specific issue identified from school data.

15. A product of Project CENTRAL, 2004 HOW CAN I GET STARTED: Located on right side of this web page http://www.scps.k12.fl.us/staff_development /HTML/actionresearch.cfm Seminole County Action Research Forms Action Research Log Action Research SummaryAction Research Log Action Research Summary

16. A product of Project CENTRAL, 2004 ACTION RESEARCH LOG

17. A product of Project CENTRAL, 2004 ACTION RESEARCH LOG CONTINUED

18. A product of Project CENTRAL, 2004 http://www.scps.k12.fl.us/staff_development/Documents/ACTION%20RES EARCH%20SUMMARY.doc

19. A product of Project CENTRAL, 2004 RESOURCES SEMINOLE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT ACTION RESEARCH http://www.scps.k12.fl.us/staff_development/HTML/acti onresearch.cfm ACTION RESEARCH LOG http://www.scps.k12.fl.us/staff_development/Document s/ACTION%20RESEARCH%20LOG.doc ACTION RESEARCH SUMMARY http://www.scps.k12.fl.us/staff_development/Document s/ACTION%20RESEARCH%20SUMMARY.doc

20. A product of Project CENTRAL, 2004 Action Research Samples Web Question Samples http://www.sou.edu/education/actionresearch/tasks.htm http://www.sou.edu/education/actionresearch/questions.htm Video Samples: http://home.sou.edu/~jablonsd/ARfair.HTML PowerPoint To use with faculty Blackboard course