THE SCHOLARSHIP

OF TEACHING:
IMPROVING TEACHING AND LEARNING THROUGH
CLASSROOM-BASED ACTION RESEARCH
BONIFACIO G. GABALES JR.
Content
Part I – Problem Identification
Part II – Action Planning
Part II – Presenting The Results
Part IV – Packagiing Action Research Output
“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.”
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).
WHAT ACTION RESEARCH IS
AND IS NOT
Action research is a form of enquiry that
enables practitioners everywhere to
investigate and evaluate their work. They ask,
◦‘What am I doing?
◦What do I need to improve?
◦How do I improve it?’
It is done by practitioners themselves rather
than a professional researcher
What makes it distinctive?
Action researchers, are insider researchers. They see
themselves as part of the situation they are investigating, and
ask, individually and collectively,
◦ ‘Is my/our work going as we wish?
◦ How do we improve it where necessary?
Social scientists tend to stand outside a situation and ask,
◦ ‘What are those people over there doing?
◦ How do we understand and explain what they are doing?’
Social Scientist is often called spectator researchers, and is
usually outsider research.
 Social Science vs Action Research
What is the relationship between
teacher motivation and teacher
retention?
Does management style
influence worker productivity?
Will a different seating
arrangement increase audience
participation?
How do I influence the quality of
teachers’ experience in school, so
that they decide to stay?
How do I improve my management
style to encourage productivity?
How do I encourage greater
audience participation through
trying out different seating
arrangements?
ACTION RESEARCH is NOT
writing a research paper!
 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.
Approaches to Action Research

 IndividualTeacher Research
 Collaborative Action Research

 School-wide Action Research

Individual Teacher Research

A teacher focuses on
an area of concern in
his or her classroom.
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? (Grade 5 teacher)
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
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? (SPED Teachers)

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.

A PRODUCT OF PROJECT CENTRAL, 2004

Action Research is a process of
systematic inquiry into a self-identified
teaching or learning problem to better
understand its complex dynamics and
to develop strategies geared towards
the problem’s improvement.
(Hamilton 1997)
 How can I Can high school
improve my achievement be
students’ spelling enhanced through
strategies? the use of
portfolios?

What can we do Will using a

graphing calculator
to eliminate
improve students’
bullying in the understanding of
school? math?
Action Research can focus on the
teaching and learning process.

Action Research can be used to solve a

problem or institute a change.

Action Research can be used to document

teacher professional growth.
 QUALITATIVE
ACTION RESEARCH
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
RESEARCH
 Developing a
Research Question
Where do research questions come from?
Simply put, action research questions originate in a teacher’s reflections.
Everyday there are situations that cause you to reflect later.

Why did it What was How can it What should

happen? different? be changed? I do next?
 Is it …
a problem, an issue,
a trigger, out of Is it …
curiosity, or a wish? Limiting or enabling?
Indifferent or committed?
Status quo or Change?

Reflect on your
Questions!
Strategies you can use to develop
a research question
Keep a journal for at least one week, preferably two
✐ Set aside 10 minutes to write at the end of each day.
✐ At the end of two weeks, read your journal, looking for significant ideas and themes.
✐ Brainstorm a list of things that you would like to investigate.
✐ Review the list and write a first draft of your question.
✐ Write a paragraph of supporting rationale for your question.
✐ Reflect on your question.
(Patterson et al 1993)
WORKSHOP 1
Formulating Research Questions
Sentence Completion
Focus on your classroom or role in the school
and complete the following sentence stems:

One thing I would like to change is...

Sentence Stems
Focus on your classroom or role in the school and complete the
following sentence stems. One thing I would like to change is...
My practice could be improved by...
The students I work with need...
I would like to know...
I wonder why...
The most important thing about teaching is...
The best learning environment for students is...
I need to learn how to...
My students would do better if...
 Points to consider in
developing a good question
Studying this question will enhance my professional
practice.
This question will be of value to my classroom, school
and/or colleagues.
The climate of my classroom and school will be
supportive of this question.
The question focuses on an important issue.
The question can be studied in the time available.
I can access literature or other resources that will provide
background information.
The data needed to answer this question is accessible.
The question is of personal interest to me.
Part II
ACTION PLANNING
The Action
Research Process
The action research process can
generally be described as a series of
four steps: planning, action, observing
and reflecting on the results of the
action.
 Observation Example
(Individual Action Research)
Step 1: Identify the Problem
You are a grade 5 teacher and have identified a problem in your
classroom. The problem is that your students do not have much
experience working in task groups, and you believe that they need
to have more opportunities to do so. You want to assess the skill set
of your students and observe their overall approach to group work.
By doing this, you feel that next time you offer group work, you will
have some new insight into what works well and what needs
improvement regarding conducting group work in your class.
Step 2: Devise a Plan

Your plan includes having your students work together in

groups for their upcoming science project. By doing this,
you hope to explore a variety of information, such as how
the students brainstorm together, how they interact with
each other and how they distribute work among the task
groups. You provide them an instruction sheet and a time
frame to work from.
Step 3: Act to Implement a Plan

You act by assigning your students into groups

and having them work through their science
projects. This step can also be thought of as
initiating and carrying out the plan.
Step 4: Observe
During this step of the action research process, you
observe the groups of students working together. You
take note on how they are progressing and what
types of issues they are having, watch them
brainstorm and form interesting ideas and even
observe some students not getting along, arguing
and not participating altogether. This is the
observation and data collection phase.
Step 5: Reflect and Share

This final step is the end point of action research. . .

however, it also might be the beginning! You have
noticed that throughout the whole week of observing
and watching your students work together, there
were some things that just weren't working. You have
also noticed some things that were working really
well! Either way, this is the step where you determine
if the plan needs to be observed again with some
modifications or if the plan worked perfectly.
 Approaches - Ontario Public School
Teachers’ Federation
1 ➢ What is the problem?
2 ➢ What are some possible solutions?
Solutions may be self designed, learned from
colleagues or from reviews
of educational literature.
3 ➢ What is the possible solution I want to
investigate?
4 ➢ How do I make the solution work?
Test the proposed solution and modify it as
needed.
5 ➢ How do I record data and reflect on
it?
Keeping a journal and discussing it with a
critical friend are
effective methods.
6 ➢ How do I share my experiences with
others?
This is how the practitioner demonstrates
and models his or her professional
development
7 ➢ What is next?
Action research is an open-ended, ongoing,
cyclical process. The solution one develops to
the initial problem will generate the next
problem to be addressed. This is the catalyst to
continuous professional improvement. (Halsall
and Hosack 1996, 16)
 11-step process with teachers in Alberta.
1 ➢ Define the Focus or Problem
• Ask the right questions.
• Reflection begins.
2 ➢ Collect Information
• Read the literature, consult
colleagues, talk to experts.
• Reflection continues.
3➢ Make Sense of the Information
• What is relevant?
• What is doable?
• What can be modified and adapted to
suit the circumstances?
4 ➢ Share the Information
• Share your preliminary conclusions
with your team. Be prepared to deal with
conflicting information.
5 ➢ Plan Action
• Share individual intentions with members of the team.
• Build personal commitment and group support.
• Develop a plan of action.
6 ➢ Take Action
• Start putting your plan into effect.
• Begin to think otherwise about what is happening and why.
• Reflection in action and on action will make your efforts more
purposeful.
7 ➢ Collect Information
• Let your students see you as a learner.
• Gather data to answer your research question and document carefully.
• Meet regularly to share your experiences and re-focus as necessary.
8 ➢ Analyze
• Use the collective knowledge of your group to make sense of what’s
happening and why.
• Compare the pre- and post-intervention data.
9 ➢ Assess Your Achievements
• Think about evidence-based practice.
• Your conclusions are supported by the data collected.
10 ➢ Publish
• Commit yourself to making conclusions about the impact of your efforts.
• Share these conclusions with the group.
• Be prepared to disseminate your report beyond your group and beyond the school.
11 ➢ Future Action
• Celebrate. Relax. Reflect.
• Take time to consolidate your learning and your gains before you start
something new.
 Developing Your
Knowledge of the Issue
Talking Seek out expert knowledge from every available
source. Begin your search in your school district.

Reading Accessing published material can be a challenge

because of the volume of reference material.

Learning Conferences, workshops and courses are

excellent networking opportunities.
Approaches in Describing the Problem / Issue
•Gap Analysis
•Define the problem by describing
what is ideal? What is existing? and
What is the GAP?
•Problem Tree Analysis /
Sample Outline for a Report
Introduction
– what was the research question?
– why is this question important to me?
– what was the context of the study?
Review of the Literature
– what did I learn from my investigation of the topic?
- what possible solutions are you proposing?
Methodology
– what was my research plan?
– what data collection methods were used?
Results and Conclusions
– summarize the data collected.
– discuss your conclusions based on the data collected.
Implications and Recommendations
– what have you learned from doing this study?
– how can this information be useful to others?
– if you repeated the study, what would you do
differently?
Workshop 2 – Preparing the Introduction
Introduction
– what was the research question?
– why is this question important to me?
– what was the context of the study?
Review of the Literature
– what did I learn from my investigation of the topic?
- what possible solutions are you proposing?
 Cornering Your Question/Problem
✔Match data sources to the research question.
✔Collect data from as many sources as possible.
✔Keep a data log that includes the date, time and data
information collected.
✔Organize your data around themes, key issues or topics.
(National Staff Development Council 2000,)
Sources of Research Data
Analyzing the Research Data
Be systematic and objective as you examine
your data. Joan Richardson (NSCD 2000, 2)
offers a rough outline to follow when
analyzing data.
❶ Jot down the themes, patterns and big ideas in the data you’ve
collected.
❷ Pare down your list to the essential points.
❸ Label information according to relevant themes, creating sub
themes as appropriate.
❹ Make notes as you go along.
❺ Review your information. Identify the points that occur more
frequently and are the most powerful.
❻ Write up your major points. Match collected data with each
major point.
Reporting on an
Action Research Project
1. encourage reflection,
2. help to organize thoughts,
3. conclude the research process and
4. contribute to professional knowledge.