Action Research G. E. Mills (2 nd ed.)

1. Action Research G. E. Mills (2nd ed.) Chapter 1 and 2

2. Understanding Action Research • Any systematic inquiry conducted by teacher researcher, etc., to gather information about how their particular schools operate, how they teach, and how well their students learn. • Done by teachers for teachers

3. Four Step Process • Identify an area of focus • Collect data • Analyze and interpret data • Develop an action plan

4. Goals and Rationale for Action Research • Committed to a critical examination of classroom teaching principles and the effects teachers’ actions have on the children in their care • Goals • Educational change that enhances the lives of children and the lives of professionals

5. Goals and Rationale for Action Research • About developing the professional disposition of teachers • About incorporating into the daily teaching routine a reflective stance—a willingness to critical examine one’s teaching in order to improve or enhance it. • About commitment to the principle that as a teacher one is always distanced from the ideal but striving towards it.

6. Deciding on an Area of Focus • General idea • Statement which links an idea to action and refers to a state of affairs or situation one wishes to change or improve on • Statement/observation/question • Students put their names on their papers, mark it with an F, and turn it in. • How can I help students understand the importance of getting good grades?

7. Criteria for Selecting an Area of Focus • Should involve teaching and learning and should focus on your own practice • Should be within your locus of control • Should be something about which you feel passionate • Should be something you would like to change or improve.

8. Reconnaissance • Preliminary information gathering • Reflecting on your beliefs and understanding the nature and context of your area of focus. • Self reflection • Description • Explanation

9. Reconnaissance • Self Reflection examines • Theories that impact your practice • Educational values you hold • How your work fits into the larger context of schooling • How things got to be the way they are • How you arrived at your beliefs about teaching and learning

10. Reconnaissance • Description • Describe the situation you want to change or improve by focusing on who, what, when, where, and how. • Explanation • Focus on why • Develop a hypothesis stating the expected relationships between variables in your study.

11. Review of Related Literature • Professional literature • Formal record of other people’s experiences • Literature may suggest ways of looking at your problem • Helps to identify potential promising practices

12. Review of the Literature • Allows you to reflect on your own problems through someone else’s lens. • Find support for what you are doing • Be challenged by what other researchers have done and how they tackled a particular problem • Helps establish relevance

13. Writing a Review of the Literature • See page 39

14. The Action Research Plan • Write an area-of-focus statement • Define variables • Develop research questions • Describe the intervention • Describe the membership • Describe negotiations that need to be undertaken • Develop a timeline • Develop a statement of resources • Develop data collection ideas