Action Research
- Action research is a three-step spiral process of (1) planning which involves fact-finding, (2) taking action, and (3) fact-finding about the results of the action. (Lewin, 1947)
- Action research is a process by which practitioners attempt to study their problems scientifically in order to guide, correct, and evaluate their decisions and action. (Corey, 1953).
What are the steps of action research?
What are the steps of action research?
- Selecting a Focus.
- Clarifying Theories.
- Identifying Research Questions.
- Collecting Data.
- Analyzing Data.
- Reporting Results.
- Taking Informed Action.
What is the process of action research?
The Action Research Process
- Selecting a Focus. The action research process begins with serious reflection directed toward identifying a topic or topics worthy of a busy teacher's time.
- Clarifying Theories. The second step involves identifying the values, beliefs, and theoretical perspectives the researchers hold relating to their focus.
- Identifying Research Questions. ...
What does action research mean?
Action research is a research initiated to solve an immediate problem or a reflective process of progressive problem solving led by individuals working with others in teams or as part of a "community of practice" to improve the way they address issues and solve problems.
What is an action research methodology?
Action research is not a type of “anything goes” methodology. Nor is it a matter of simply describing what you think about an issue, depicting an interesting project or unit you have created, or explaining a pedagogical method that works well in your classroom. Action research is a planned, methodical observation related to one’s teaching. 2.
What is the main purpose of action research?
The general goal is to create a simple, practical, repeatable process of iterative learning, evaluation, and improvement that leads to increasingly better results for schools, teachers, or programs.
What are the most important goals of action research?
The goal of action research is not to add to a general body of knowledge but, rather, to inform local practice, engage in professional learning, build a community practice, solve a problem or understand a process or phenomenon within a particular context, or empower participants to generate self-knowledge.
What is action research in simple words?
Action research is a form of investigation designed for use by teachers to. attempt to solve problems and improve professional practices in their own. classrooms. It involves systematic observations and data collection which. can be then used by the practitioner-researcher in reflection, decision-
What are the benefits of action research?
Benefits of Action Research The process allows them to experience problem solving and to model it for their students. They carefully collect data to diagnose problems, search for solutions, take action on promising possibilities, and monitor whether and how well the action worked.
Why is action research necessary in education?
All teachers want to reach their students more effectively and help them become better learners and citizens. Action research provides a reflective process you can use to implement changes in your classroom and determine if those changes result in the desired outcome.
What is action research conclusion?
THE CONCLUSION. Classroom action research is important for teachers to observe and reflect their process of teaching during two semesters. Moreover, for the students it can make their motivation increased because the learning process always changes by the time and can help them away from being bored in the classroom.
What are the main characteristics of action research?
Action research is a collaborative approach to working in schools by teachers committed to improving their teaching for the benefit of all students. For our purpose action research has these three key elements: operational or technical, collaboration, and critical reflection.
How can action research help teachers?
Action research invites teachers to learn more about their classroom practice, enrich their pedagogical repertoire and reflect on the way they teach. Through action research, teachers' attitudes, professional identities and expertise can keep evolving, as they consider their needs in their own context.
What is the importance of action research in organizational development?
The process of action research helps in leadership development by developing their facilitation skills, developing team building and team management skills, understanding the issues of the team members and working collaboratively for realizing the pre-defined objectives.
What are the key principles of action research?
Principles of Action Research Reflexive critique. ... Dialectical critique. ... Collaborative Resource. ... Risk. ... Plural Structure. ... Theory, Practice, Transformation.
What are the 3 types of action research?
[2] Generally, action researches can be divided into three categories: positivist, interpretive and critical. Positivist approach to action research, also known as 'classical action research' perceives research as a social experiment.
What are the key features of the action research process?
Action research is a collaborative approach to working in schools by teachers committed to improving their teaching for the benefit of all students. For our purpose action research has these three key elements: operational or technical, collaboration, and critical reflection.
What is action research in schools?
In schools, action research refers to a wide variety of evaluative, investigative, and analytical research methods designed to diagnose problems or weaknesses—w hether organizational, academic, or instructional—and help educators develop practical solutions to address them quickly and efficiently .
Who is the founder of action research?
The term “action research” was coined in the 1940s by Kurt Lewin, a German-American social psychologist who is widely considered to be the founder of his field. The basic principles of action research that were described by Lewin are still in use to this day.
What is the goal of iterative learning?
The general goal is to create a simple, practical, repeatable process of iterative learning, evaluation, and improvement that leads to increasingly better results for schools, teachers, or programs.
Is action research a reform strategy?
Educators typically conduct action research as an extension of a particular school-improvement plan, project, or goal—i.e., action research is nearly always a school-reform strategy.
What is AR in research?
A topic in research methodology. Action research, AR, can be characterised by its purpose, priorities and periodicity. AR is usually considered to be about improving a situation. In professional contexts, this usually means improving some aspect of professional practice.
Is action research a social or political act?
Some commentators consider action research should be a social and political act, that is ‘ critical action research ’. However, even when collaborative, “Action research is not about doing research on or about people.
What is the purpose of action research?
Aims of Action Research. To contribute towards whole school improvement: to encourage and assist teachers to conduct action research as a means of effecting positive social and educational change in their immediate environments and spheres of influence.
How does action research affect teachers?
To effect improvement in the personal/ professional practice of teachers: the process of conducting action research has been shown to have positive consequences for the professional and personal development of the participants, as they learn to become more proactive and take responsibility for effecting change.
Elements of Action Research
Your abstract should concisely summarize and highlight the primary points of your Action Research Project. The purpose is to help colleagues quickly decide if your project can support their own project or practice. Abstracts should include the purpose, methods, and results of the project only. The abstract should be short.
Elements - Clear Goals
Your abstract should concisely summarize and highlight the primary points of your Action Research Project. The purpose is to help colleagues quickly decide if your project can support their own project or practice. Abstracts should include the purpose, methods, and results of the project only. The abstract should be short.
Why is action research important?
Because the process is cyclical, the teacher can loop through the steps as many times as needed to find a solution. Perhaps the best part of action research is that teachers can see which solutions have made a real impact on their students.
What are the Benefits of Action Research?
Using action research in my classroom allowed me to involve students in the curriculum process. They were actively more engaged within the classroom and felt ownership of their learning.
How Can Action Research Be Implemented in Your Classroom?
I discovered action research while working on my higher degree. Using action research allowed me to find real solutions for real issues in my classroom and gave me my topic of study for my dissertation at the same time!
How is action research collected?
Action research can be as informal or formal as you need it to be. Data is collected through observation, questioning, and discussion with students. Student artwork, photographs of your classroom at work, video interviews, and surveys are all valid forms of data. Students can be involved throughout the whole process, helping to solve the problem within the classroom. With a formal study for a university, there will be requests for permission to use student data through the Institutional Research Board (IRB) process.
Who coined the term "action research"?
The term, “action research,” was coined in 1933 by Kurt Lewin to describe a scenario in which a researcher and participants collaborate to solve a specific problem. Donald Schön developed this idea further with the term, “reflective practitioner,” to describe a researcher who thinks systematically about their practice.
Why is action research important?
All research, at its core, is for the purpose of generating new knowledge and contributing to the knowledge base of educational research. Action researchers in the classroom want to explore methods of improving their pedagogy and practice. The starting place of their inquiry stems from their pedagogy and practice, so by nature the knowledge created from their inquiry is often contextually specific to their classroom, school, or community. Therefore, we should examine the theoretical underpinnings of action research for the classroom. It is important to connect action research conceptually to experience; for example, Levin and Greenwood (2001, p. 105) make these connections:
What is the difference between research and action research?
Research is concerned with the generation of knowledge, and typically creating knowledge related to a concept, idea, phenomenon, or topic. Action research generates knowledge around inquiry in practical educational contexts.
Why is it important to consider philosophical stances in action research?
It is also important for educators to consider the philosophical stances related to action research to better situate it with their beliefs and reality. When researchers make decisions about the methodology they intend to use, they will consider their ontological and epistemological stances. It is vital that researchers clearly distinguish their philosophical stances and understand the implications of their stance in the research process, especially when collecting and analyzing their data. In what follows, we will discuss ontological and epistemological stances in relation to action research methodology.
What is reflective process?
The reflective process generates new knowledge regularly for classroom teachers and informs their classroom actions. Unfortunately, the knowledge generated by educators through the reflective process is not always prioritized among the other sources of knowledge educators are expected to utilize in the classroom.
What is the spiral model of action research?
The spiral model emphasizes the cyclical process that moves beyond the initial plan for change. The spiral model also emphasizes revisiting the initial plan and revising based on the initial cycle of research:
Why is reflection important?
Reflection in this way develops knowledge around these actions and experiences to help us better regulate those actions in the future. The reflective process generates new knowledge regularly for classroom teachers and informs their classroom actions.
What is educational research?
Educational research provides a vast landscape of knowledge on topics related to teaching and learning, curriculum and assessment, students’ cognitive and affective needs, cultural and socio-economic factors of schools, and many other factors considered viable to improving schools. Educational stakeholders rely on research to make informed ...
Why is action research important?
An action research approach was selected by the researchers, as it aims to generate knowledge about social systems as well as attempting to change these (Hart and Bond, 1995). The researchers maintained that by using action research, they were able to improve the mealtime care of patients. They also suggested that the action research approach worked as a vehicle to enable practitioners and researchers to collaborate in their efforts to improve the real world of practice, including the clinical situation and the outcome for patients.
What is facilitated action research?
The facilitated action research approach gave structure and direction to the improvement of this routine aspect of ward practice which provided the team
Why is it important to accompany children off the ward for radiology?
The aim of the project was to reduce the amount of time nurses spent accompanying children to the X-ray department for radiological investigations. The objectives were to clarify and improve the process of accompanying a child to X-ray and to promote the development of a positive professional relationship with collegues in the X-ray department.
