Module 2
Cycle 1
Embedded Files
Instructions
Instructions
As you have seen, working in a collaborative inquiry group will help you carry out your action research more effectively. However, working in groups requires organization as well.
With this in mind, check the resources below to learn more about a structure to organise group work called learning circles and write 2 or 3 sentences outlining what you found useful and intend to use with your collaborative inquiry group.
After your comments, think about creating a collaborative group for your context.
The Learning Circle Model: Collaborative Knowledge Building
By Margaret Riel (2013)
A learning circle is a highly interactive, participatory structure for organizing group work. The goal is to build, share, and express knowledge through a process of open dialogue and deep reflection around issues or problems with a focus on a shared outcome. A learning circle is not a community of practice or professional learning but can be a strategy used by either.
Learning Cycles for Online Teaching
Principles of Learning Cycles
The Power of Learning Teams
How do you Start your Action Research?
How do you Start your Action Research?
Explore the resources below and decide on your research question. Write a small paragraph with your research question and the reasons why you want to investigate it.
Finding my Research Question
By Margaret Riel
This is the third tutorial in a series to support action researchers in their process of locating their overall research question. Exploring values can sometimes help identity challenges to explore with action research. Other strategies are also shared.
Conducting Action Research in the Foreign Language Classroom
By Anna Uhl Chamot, Sarah Barnhardt, Susan Dirstine
Action research is classroom-based research conducted by teachers in order to reflect upon and evolve their teaching. It is a systematic, documented inquiry into one aspect of teaching and learning in a specific classroom. The purpose of teacher research is to gain understanding of teaching and learning within one’s classroom and to use that knowledge to increase teaching efficacy/student learning. Reflective teachers do this every day, only not as carefully and systematically. With training and support, you can learn how to systematize your inquiry from informal reflection and teacher story sharing to formal research.
The Action Research Context
The Action Research Context
Thinking about the context of your action research is crucial for you to develop your research well. You will explore two different contexts here:
1) the context of your work (where you teach), and
2) the academic context (what the literature says about your topic).
Watch the video below in resource 4 and
1) write a paragraph with a rich description of your research context. Then,
2) read the resource below, think about your academic context, and write a literature review for your action research.
Context of Action Research
By Margarete Riel
This tutorial helps you to contextual the topic or problem you have selected. Two activities described help examine the physical and social dimensions of the activity system and to explore what is known about problems similar to the one you have chosen. The goal is to locate ideas for the actions and evidence you will use.
Action Research for Improving Practice (2005)
By Valsa Koshy
Action research is, quite often, the method of enquiry employed by undergraduate and postgraduate students in higher education who are studying for accredited courses. In recent years, students studying for taught doctorate (EdD) degrees with their focus on practical aspects of education are also adopting action research as a method of study. This book attempts to meet the needs of all the above groups of people by providing a coherent, accessible and practical set of guidelines on how to carry out action research.
The Action Plan
The Action Plan
Now, it is time to prepare your action plan.
Go over the resources below and organize and write your action plan.
A Practical Guide to Action Research for Literacy Educators
By Glenda Nugent, Sakil Malik, Sandra Hollingsworth
This handbook has been written to assist school personnel to understand what Action Research is, why we should conduct Action Research, who conducts Action Research, and the process of Action Research. It is hoped that this will develop knowledge and skills so that administrators, mentors, and teachers can conduct school-based Action Research projects that result in positive changes in their schools. Specific goals of this handbook are to help educators do the following: define and explain Action research; demonstrate an understanding of how to use the recursive nature of Action Research to improve their teaching of instructional literacy; provide examples of the Action research process in action; identity action-researchable issues in their own schools and classrooms; plan and implement Action Research projects in their own schools and classrooms; assess and share the results of their own action research with colleagues; learn to improve instructional decision-making through a continuous reflection point of view.
Action Research for Professional Development
By Jean McNiff
Concise advice for new action researchers
Some Questions to Begin
Some Questions to Begin
Before looking at different types of data-gathering methods and evaluating their advantages and disadvantages, think about your action research and consider the following:
What are the aims of my research?
What aspects am I focusing on?
What do I need as evidence to achieve my aims?
What is realistic and feasible?
How should I record the data?
Now, explore the resources below and write a brief paragraph with the data collection methods you intend to use in your action research and provide a rational for your choice. Keep these records as part of your progress.
Collecting Data for Action Research for Professional Development
By Margaret Riel
A data collection plan helps keep your action research moving forward. In this video, you will learn to create a timeline and start collecting your writing from the past tutorials into a framework. Please visit the tutorial website for the activities and the resources to complete them.
Student Study Site for Self-Study Teacher Research: Improving your Practice through Collaborative Inquiry
By Anastasia P. Samaras
This Web-based student study site is intended to enhance students' understanding of Self-Study Teacher Research: Improving Your Practice Through Collaborative Inquiry by Anastasia P. Samaras. Please note that all the materials on this site are especially geared toward maximizing the potential for students to learn and enhance class discussion.
The Web-Based student study site contains PPT slides to enhance student’s study, discussion questions, recommended Web sites and other Self-Study Resources.
Ethical considerations
Ethical considerations
In module 1, you considered particular ethical issues that could present some challenges in your context. Now, you will read some ethical guidelines and go over the checklist below to ensure your data collection and dissemination of findings will be done in an ethical and professional way.
Ethical Guideline
(Koshy, 2005, see resource 5 in this module)
Always obtain permission from the participants. If you are collecting data about children, their parents need to be informed. The same principle applies to colleagues, members of local education authorities, parents and governors.
Provide a copy of your set of ethical guidelines to the participants.
Explain the purpose of the research. In action research the outcomes are most likely to be used for improving aspects of practice and, therefore, there is less likelihood of resistance from participants.
Keep real names and the identities of subjects confidential and unrecognisable.
Share information with colleagues and others whose responses you are interpreting so that they can verify the relevancy and accuracy of what you are reporting.
If you are intending to introduce new ideas and set up interventions with pupils, their parents need to be told.
Be sensitive to the feelings and perceptions of both parents and students. This is particularly important if the intervention programme is designed to improve aspects of education, as the students being targeted may be seen to be at an advantage.You need to make it clear that the findings of a research experiment would benefit all.
Be as non-intrusive as possible in your data collection.
When you are researching socially sensitive issues, you need to make extra efforts to share your purpose and objectives with the participants.
Checklist
Are ethical issues being considered?
Have you got permission from all those who are involved in the project such as parents, colleagues and the head teacher?
Have you checked all the equipment you would need to use? Are the tape recorders, video recorders and cameras working?
Have you considered how you would validate the information for accuracy and relevance?
Where will you store the information?
Have you a general idea how you may interpret the data?
Have you organised the resources you need, including any costs?
The Action Plan
The Action Plan
Before you enact your plan, collect and analyse your data, and write your report, it is important that you review what you have learned/done in this module.
Review the content of module 2 and write a brief paragraph including a summary (1-2 sentences) of the following topics: learning circles, research context, research question, action plan, and data collection methods.
You now have your first action research cycle planned. Based on the work you have done so far,
What do you feel was the most challenging part? Why?
As you will be carrying out a second research cycle,
What would you do differently?
How would you do it? Why?
More Resources
Click Support & Resources to find websites, an extensive bibliography and a collection of research journals for your consultation.
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