Research and Educational Change
Action research is a form of inquiry in which a problem is identified and a series of actions are planned as a way of gaining deeper understanding of the range of possible solutions. The purpose of this discussion is to promote reciprocal sharing of your final action research report with others in your community of practice (your peers in this course) who would value the knowledge you have gained through the action research process.
There are two parts to this discussion.
Part 1: Share the process and results of the action research planned in EDU671 and conducted in EDU675. At a minimum:
- Describe the purpose of your study by writing a statement that completes the following sentence, “The purpose of this study is to…” (two to three sentences).
- Post your research question(s) – Include definitions of key technical terms, if necessary. (one to three sentences)
- Outcomes/Results The “so what?” of your study—Answers to your research questions. (three to four sentences)
- Assuming you would conduct another cycle of this study, what specific modifications or adjustments would you make, and why? (three to four sentences)
- Explain why this study is important to the school and the students. ( two to three sentences)
- Explain why this study is important it is important for teachers and other educational practitioners to become researchers of their own practice. (two to three sentences)
Part 2:
- Attach a link to your electronic portfolio (Pathbrite).
- In one paragraph, reflect on your experience with the redesign of the Week Three Assignment in terms of challenges you encountered and how you overcame those challenges. Also include how your assessment promotes learning and innovation skills and how it could be used as a tool for ongoing evaluation of student progress.
Use the PowerPoint Template as a guide to help create a high quality presentation.
Alternate: If you do not have your own completed action research to utilize, you will take a slightly different approach to complete this discussion: Using the Ashford University Library, locate and analyze a peer-reviewed educational action research study. You will follow the same guidelines in Part 1 of the discussion to create a presentation to share in the discussion forum. An added part to your presentation is reference to the article.
Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.
More Information
Ashford 5: – Week 4 – Instructor Guidance
Week Four Instructor Guidance
Week Three the concept of the Flipped Classroom was revisited from EDU671. This time, the flipped classroom concept was related to the Common Core State Standards and teacher decision making based on student assessments. Last, the assignment in Week Three required you to connect high quality assessment with 21st Century Learning and Innovation Skills. This week you will share your research proposal with your fellow learners.
Now is the time to look ahead to Week Five to prepare for the group activity if you have not already and ask questions in the Ask Your Instructor discussion if you are unclear about any of the requirements for the group activity.
Action Research
Action Research (AR) is both process and product. The AR process has well known steps: Developing the research question, conducting the literature review, designing and implementing the study design (to include the data collection and analysis) and writing up and presenting your findings. The AR product, of course, is the results, as well as the final report for presentation.
Action Research (AR) is a key type of research aimed specifically at what is sometimes called “street level practitioners.” O’Brien (1998, para 23 and 24) notes that
Kurt Lewin is generally considered the ‘father’ of action research. A German social and experimental psychologist, and one of the founders of the Gestalt school, he was concerned with social problems, and focused on participative group processes for addressing conflict, crises, and change, generally within organizations. Initially, he was associated with the Center for Group Dynamics at MIT in Boston, but soon went on to establish his own National Training Laboratories. Lewin first coined the term ‘action research’ in his 1946 paper “Action Research and Minority Problems”, characterizing Action Research as “a comparative research on the conditions and effects of various forms of social action and research leading to social action”, using a process of “a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action, and fact-finding about the result of the action.”
AR, when considered from an education viewpoint, is tied with the work of John Dewey, whose experiential view of education was directed to both students and teachers. As such it is very versatile. Teachers, while conducting AR, seek to find solutions to practical classroom problems. Some examples of AR can be found in all curriculum subjects, student management issues, improvements of teaching technique(s), etc. AR can also be conducted by individuals, teams of teachers, or entire schools. In sum, AR works well for educators.
Understanding the conduct, potential value, and professional necessity of research in general, and action research in particular, arms you with the necessary tools to not only conduct your own research, but to enhance our profession. By offering a substantial alternative to post-modern modes of thinking as applied to education, you can proceed with your professional practice with renewed confidence.
Week Four Assessments Overview
Review the full instructions for each assessment below on the Week Four homepage in addition to using this guidance.
EDU695 was revised at the same time as EDU675 during 2014. Because of the start dates of these courses, some of you may have taken the prior version of EDU675. Therefore, if anything in the EDU695 course is confusing to you, please contact your instructor immediately to discuss.
This week’s discussion and assignment offer an alternative approach for those without an actual action research intervention experience. The alternative is shared in the overview for the discussion and assignment.
Discussion –Share your Action Research Study
In this discussion, you participate in reciprocal sharing of your final action research report with other classmates in the course who could appreciate the knowledge you gained through the action research process. A link to your ePortfolio will be included as well as a reflection on the redesigned activity from your Week Three assignment. Sharing your AR provides you a time for reflection on your study. It also opens your work up for others to review and offer guidance for future studies. In this discussion really reflect on your study and offer other viewpoints to other classmates on their AR proposal. Having a time for collaboration and review will enhance our understanding of the AR process and your proposal.
Assignment – Research and Educational Change
In this assignment, you take your discussion presentation you prepared for the staff meeting for the discussion and convert it into a poster that you could use at an academic conference.
Regardless of the length of time any action research encompasses, whether a month, or an entire academic year, it is important to share the process and the results with the rest of the academic community. You will put together your report following APA formatting and writing, highlighting what you did, and preparing the report for presentation. This is the product component of Action Research and should be attended to with utmost attention and quality.
There is often a presentation aspect to your Action Research product as well. Whether you are presenting your findings to your colleagues, the local school board, or preparing it for publication in an online action research journal, the goal is the same—to present your project and findings as professionally as possible.
One key to this is to be fully prepared ahead of time. If the presentation is to be public, rehearse. Practice what you intend to say, do not read the presentation verbatim to the audience, prepare your handouts, slides, or other information, and use them while you practice. Anticipate the questions you could be asked and practice responding to them. And do this more than once—we have all endured presentations in which the speaker was clearly not prepared, and you do not want to fall into that.
A second key is to keep it short. Oftentimes, you will have a finite time to present your project and respond to questions, so it is important to adhere to this. Finding out how much time you are permitted ahead of time allows you to frame your rehearsal work.
Remember, too, that you are the expert here. You did the work, completed the study, and are now telling people about it. This should inspire confidence—you are providing knowledge others do not have.
Finally, if you are making a professional presentation, look the part. This not only is appropriate to the task, but adds a measure of personal confidence—If you look good, you will present a more confident and professional demeanor. And this will, in turn, enhance your presentation.
References
O’Brien, R. (2001). Um exame da abordagem metodológica da pesquisa ação [An Overview of the Methodological Approach of Action Research]. In Roberto Richardson (Ed.), Teoria e Prática da Pesquisa Ação [Theory and Practice of Action Research]. João Pessoa, Brazil: Universidade Federal da Paraíba. (English version). Retrieved from http://www.web.ca/robrien/papers/arfinal.html#_Toc…
Ação [Theory and Practice of Action Research]. João Pessoa, Brazil: Universidade Federal da Paraíba. (English version). Retrieved from http://www.web.ca/robrien/papers/arfinal.html#_Toc…
Additional Resources
Borgman, C. (2007). Scholarship in the digital age: Information, infrastructure, and the internet. Boston: MIT Press.
Ma, L. (1999, 2010). Knowing and teaching elementary mathematics. Teachers understanding of fundamental mathematics in China and the United States. New York: Routledge
Trochim, G. (2006). Social research methods database. Retrieved from http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/index.php