Bethlehem Moravian College Education Department Action Research Workshop Presentation Abrilene Johnston-Scott, EdD Research Coordinator September 11, 2014

Action Research Any systematic inquiry conducted by teacher researchers, principals, school counselors, or other stakeholders … in the teaching/learning environment … to gather information about how their particular schools operate, how they teach, and how well their students learn. Research done by teachers for themselves

Goals of Action Research To improve the lives of children To learn about the craft of teaching

The Process of Action Research

Mills’ Dialectic Action Research Spiral

Ethics

Informed Consent Ensures that research participants enter the research of their free will understand the study are aware of any possible dangers Intended to reduce the likelihood that participants will be exploited Ongoing dialogue between participants and teacher-researcher Written permissions if necessary

Freedom from Harm Students must not be exposed to risk anonymity: researcher does not know identity of participants confidentiality: researcher does not release personally identifiable information There is no place for deception in action research!

Parental Permission Required if Not required if Request must specify students are underage data identify students Not required if school personnel have “legitimate educational interest” records are anonymous Request must specify what data may be disclosed for what purposes to whom

Deciding on an Area of Focus Clarify your area of focus. Do reconnaissance. Review related literature.

Clarifying an Area of Focus General idea: statement that links idea to action and refers to a situation to change or improve Area of focus: explicit question or problem to investigate involves teaching and learning focuses on your own practice within your locus of control something you feel passionate about something you want to change or improve

Reconnaissance Preliminary information gathering 3 forms Taking time to reflect on your own beliefs Taking time to understand the nature and context of your general idea 3 forms self-reflection description explanation

Self-reflection Reflect on theories that affect your practice educational values you hold historical contexts how your work in schools fits into the larger context of schooling and society

Descriptive Activities What evidence do you have that this is a problem? Which students are affected? How is the content currently taught?

Explanatory Activities Develop a hypothesis focus on the why try to account for critical factors that have an impact on the general idea

Review of Related Literature Systematically identifying, locating, analyzing documents related to the topic/area of focus major themes promising practices

Data Collection Techniques

Data Collection Largely determined by the nature of the problem qualitative quantitative mixed method

Qualitative Data Collection Techniques

Using and Making Records Archival documents attendance and retention rates discipline referrals standardized test scores Journals Maps, video and audio recordings, photos, film Dictation software Other artifacts

Quantitative Data Collection Techniques Teacher-made tests Standardized tests School-generated report cards Questionnaires etc

Triangulation Use of multiple sources of data “multi-instrument” approach

Triangulation Matrix

Realigning Your Focus Other directions appear more interesting, relevant, or problematic That’s fine — Action research is intimate, open-ended, unforeseen Action research is done to benefit you and the students

Validity Degree to which data collection methods measure what they are supposed to measure

Reliability Degree to which a test consistently measures whatever it measures expressed numerically, usually as coefficient high coefficient (near 1.00) indicates high reliability no test is perfectly reliable

Reliability in Qualitative Action Research Degree to which data would be consistently collected same techniques utilized repeatedly same techniques used by different researchers

Generalizability Degree to which behavior of one group can be used to explain the behavior of a wider group Generalizability is not the goal of action research. Instead, it is to: understand what is happening in your school or classroom determine how to improve things in that context

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Ongoing Analysis & Reflection Is your research question still answerable and worth answering? Are your data collection techniques catching the kind of data you want and filtering out unwanted data? Conduct interim analysis Avoid premature action

Analysis & Interpretation Data analysis summary of data technique determined by type of data Data interpretation finding meaning in the data

Organizing Qualitative Data Reading/Memoing record initial thoughts Describing include context, actions, interactions Classifying develop themes

Data Analysis Techniques Identify themes work inductively Code surveys, interviews, questionnaires try to find patterns, meaning Analyze interviews annotate and identify themes Ask key questions

Data Analysis Techniques Concept map

Data Analysis Techniques Display findings matrixes, charts, concept maps, graphs, figures, audiovisual media State what’s missing avoid making unwarranted assertions

Analyzing & Interpreting Quantitative Data Descriptive statistics shorthand way of giving lots of information about a range of numbers

Analyzing & Interpreting Quantitative Data Descriptive statistics central tendency mean (average) median (middle) mode (most frequent) variability standard deviation (spread)

Qualitative Data Interpretation Extend the analysis raise questions note implications that might be drawn, without actually drawing them Connect findings with personal experience Seek advice of “critical” friends take time to build relationships

Qualitative Data Interpretation Contextualize findings in literature Turn to theory link to broader issues provide rationale, sense of meaning

Action Planning for Educational Change

Developing Action Plans Reflect: “Based on what I have learned from this investigation, what should I do now?”

Steps to Action Summarizing findings Recommending action Determining responsibilities Sharing findings with colleagues Ongoing monitoring (data collection) Creating timeline Developing resources

Levels of Action Planning Individual curriculum development, implementation instructional & assessment strategies classroom management strategies/plans community involvement Team teachers, administrators, parents Schoolwide

Action Should Be Ongoing Taking action is a regular part of teaching based on formative feedback often intuitive and informal

Reflection What were the intended and unintended effects of your actions? What educational issues arise from what you have learned about your practice?

Challenges Facing Teacher Researchers Lack of resources Resistance to change Reluctance to interfere with others’ professional practices Reluctance to admit difficult truths Finding a forum to share what you learned Making time for action research

Writing Up Action Research

Format and Style Format: general pattern of organization and arrangement Style: rules of grammar, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and word processing

APA Style Manual Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association most widely accepted by colleges, universities, journals

Outline, Action Research Report Area-of-focus statement Related literature Definition of variables Research questions Description of intervention or innovation

Outline, Action Research Report Data collection Data considerations Data analysis and interpretation Action plan

Conclusion This Concludes my presentation. Thank you for your attention. No action without research; no research without action.” —K. Lewin, cited in Adelman, 1993, p. 8