ir. PANCHITO M.

LABAY
FORD Fellow, Professor 5

What is Action Research?

----It is RESEARCH, because it follows the research
process, that is, starting with a problem, planning for
gathering data or designing methods in gathering data,
gathering information (theories etc.), gathering of findings
and interpreting data for results, presenting data or
findings for immediate ACTION.
----It is more on the ACTION that should be done to
solve problems, to find solutions with immediate
applicability to the cited problem for immediate action. For
example, you want to better understand why your
students are not performing well in the classroom. You
want to improve the day-today learning process of the
children.
----Research here is the method in finding immediate
solutions to the problem and Action is the by-product for
implementation, for a change.

Peculiarities of Action Research?

Action research is
Cyclic similar steps tend to recur, in a similar sequence;
Participative the clients and informants are involved as
partners, or at least active participants, in the research
process;
Qualitative it deals more often with language than with
numbers; and
Reflective critical reflection upon the process and outcomes
are important parts of each cycle.

The Action Research Cycle

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Identification of problem area

Collection and organization of data
Interpretation of data
Action based on data
Reflection

Phases of Action Research

Phase I Problem Identification: This is always your starting
point. Have time to in determining the right focus of your research
question
Why do you want to do it? Is it an important and practical
problem, something worth your time and effort, something that
could be beneficial to you, your students and others?
Is the problem stated clearly and in the form of a question? Is it
broad enough to allow for a range of insights and findings? Is it
narrow enough to be manageable within your timeframe and your
daily work?
Phase II Plan of Action or Action Plan: Your plan will be the
solution to the problem, which can be a new strategy, process,
methodology. etc.
Will you develop and implement a new strategy or approach to
address your question? If so, what will it be? Will you focus your
study on existing practices? If so, which particular ones? What is
an appropriate timeline for what you are trying to accomplish?

Phase III Data Collection

What types of data should you try to collect in order to answer
your question?
How will you ensure that you have multiple perspectives?
What resources exist and what information from others might be
useful in helping you to frame your question, decide on types of
data to collect, or to help you in interpreting your findings?
In action research, the literature review is defined by the collected
data, unlike in conventional research, wherein the literature review
is cited first.
Phase IV Analysis of Data
What can you learn from the data? What patterns, insights, and
new understandings can you find?
What meaning do these patterns, insights, and new
understandings have for your practice? For your students?
Phase V Plan for Future Action
What will you do differently in your classroom as a result of this
study?
What might you recommend to others?
How will you write about what you have learned so that the
findings will be useful to you and to others?

PROBLEM

If the 1st cycle of the research did not

work, revisit and revise the plan

Your personal reflection about what you have observed falls under
Results & Discussion. This part is regarded as the best way for us to
understand and learn the problem as applied in our daily activities.

Important points about Action Research?

Action research is a practical way for individuals to explore
the nature of their practice and to improve it.
Action research encourages practitioners to become
knowledge-makers, rather than merely knowledge-users.
Action research bridge the gap between theory and practice.
Action research uses action as a means of research; planned
change is implemented, monitored and analysed.
Action research started from encountered problems then
proceeds through a process of planning, action and reflection
upon action. This can be thought of as an action-reflection
cycle in a spiral manner.
Action research is carried out by individuals, but these
individuals may work collaboratively.
Action researchers may use a variety of research methods,
both qualitative and quantitative. It must apply triangulation
in methods.
Action research produces results that are not generalisable.

DOING ACTION RESEARCH

Starting with some key questions:
Barrett and Whitehead (1985) ask six questions
which should help you start your inquiry:
1.What is your concern?
2.Why are you concerned?
3.What do you think you could do about it?
4.What kind of evidence could you collect to
help you make some judgement about what is
happening?
5.How would you collect such evidence?
6.How would you check that your judgement
about what has happened is reasonable, fair
and accurate?

What can I investigate through action research?

Action research can be used to investigate practical, everyday

issues:
Action research investigates everyday problems experienced by
teachers (Elliott, 1981).
All you need is a general idea that something might
be improved (Kemmis and McTaggart , 1982).
I experience a problem when some of my educational values are
negated in my practice (Whitehead 1985).
Starting points might be of the following kinds:
1.I want to get better at my science teaching
2.Im not sure why my students dont engage in discussion
3.I have to implement the speaking and listening guidelines, but
Im not sure what is the best way
4.How can we make staff meetings more productive?.
5.Ive seen something working well in school X; I wonder if it would
work for me?
6.Is there anything we can do about our poor take-up of A level
mathematics?
7.How can I promote more use of computers in the Humanities?
8.I wonder if Im too focused on recording with my six year olds?

Example: Problem pupil

The Case of Jeremy
Jeremys third-grade teacher watched him out of the corner of her
eye. Though he sat quietly reading, she knew that he could, and
often did, erupt into loud, emotional displays. On this particular day,
the eruption came just after recess. Inexplicably, Jeremy jumped up,
swept papers off his desk, and with a loud roar, tipped the desk over.
The teacher managed to get him out of the classroom and into the
safety of the nurses office while his classmates patiently
straightened his desk and gathered his scattered belongings. Still, in
spite of their practiced efficiency, a half-hour passed before the
teacher could get the class settled and working again.
Totally frustrated with the repeated loss of teaching time and the
months it takes to complete Speical Education referrals, the teacher
decided to try what she learned in an Action Research class she did a
little Action Research project on Jeremy.
First, the question: in this case, it was simple. What upsets
Jeremy?

Next, data collection: it was a little tougher to decide how to

collect information that might respond to the question. It was
tempting to think of the problem as originating in the home, on the
playground, or within his psychological make-up. But true as that
may have been, knowing it didnt do much for the classroom.
Perplexed, the teacher decided to make brief notes about what
happened immediately before each disruption.
Then, data analysis: Several disruptions later, the teacher spread
the collected data, that is the notes, across her desk, reading them
over and over, looking for patterns. Suddenly, she had it.
The findings: Jeremy erupted when she passed out papers asking
students to work on new concepts.
The action plan: Gently confronting Jeremy with the evidence,:
led to information that earlier interrogations had not revealed.
Jeremy tearfully confessed that he always felt afraid e that could
not do the new assignment. Together, they worked up a plan.
When the teacher passed out work on new concepts, she promised
to hand Jeremy a fun paper to work on.

Jeremy agreed to practice patience. Thereafter, the teacher fist

got the rest of the class working well, then went to Jeremys
desk and helped him with the new concept until they both felt
that he understood what to do. And it worked! The disruptions
diminished significantly until, finally, the teacher withdrew her
recommendation for a Special Education referral.

Example: School management

For larger situations, take this example: A middle school
teacher, sitting in her staff lounge casually thumbing through a
magazine. She found an article citing research which alleged
that high school dropouts make their decision to quit school
during their middle school years. The teacher could not get the
allegation out of her mind, repeatedly asking herself, How does
that happen? What do we do? She, too, decided to
implement an action research process.
First, the question: After considerable struggle and
consultation, she chose: What can this school do to make
the transition form elementary to middle school user
friendly?

Next, data collection: the teacher constructed a simple survey

asking about various student experiences during students
transition time which she administered to her own sixth grade
class. Startled by the students response, the teacher enlisted
the help of the school counselor. Together they surveyed two
schoolwide randomly selected groups, one group consisting of
at-risk students, the second of average students with the
groups matched for gender and ethnic representation.
Then data analysis: the teachers read through the surveys to
find patterns in the responses and listed rubrics for the patterns
(often called themes). Then they again read through the
surveys to tally responses that fit under each pattern, a tally
they could graph.
The findings: A significant number of students in both groups
felt overwhelmed by the social challenge of being relatively
anonymous in a large school setting.

The action plan: the teacher, the counselor, and the principal
shared the information with the faculty who were, in turn,
stunned. Student responses such as, None of the teachers seem
to know my name, and No one speaks to me tugged at their
heart strings. The group not only faced up to the challenge by
developing multiple plans that responded to revealed student
information, they commissioned additional surveys that year
and subsequent years to check their success in responding to the
findings from the initial survey.
Parents were impressed with the schools growing Action
Research efforts, asked for the schools cooperation in surveying
parents about the same issue. Eventually, other middle schools
asked for information and adjusted their own transition plans
accordingly.

How you will write your action research

paper/thesis?
The thesis may be most effectively and economically presented in
a non-traditional format. Therefore, justify the format used. An
effective approach is to organise the thesis around the
contribution to knowledge which the study provides. This may
include methodological contributions, understanding of the
system, and practical implications. A possible format might
include the following.
Begin with an introductory chapter that provides some context.
Set the scene of the study by describing the situation and the
reason why you are doing this research work.
Explains the need for the study, for example by identifying urgent
needs for action or shortcomings in existing theory or practice.
A little historical context is sometimes useful, to the extent that it
helps to explain why the study was done.
Preview the original contribution which the thesis makes.
If there is relevant content literature it may be summarised in this
chapter.

By the end of chapter 1, aim to have identified the need for

responsiveness in your research design. Your argument will then
flow logically into the second chapter, on methodology.
In chapter 2, the methodology chapter, explain the approach
taken.
Outline and justify your approach. You may also use a paradigm
here.
Remember that triangulation method or a combination of qualiqual can be used in action research. So, explain and justify each.
Carefully sets out the reason for each step and clearly describes
how rigour is achieved.
In justifying the methods, dont be afraid to include some tradeoffs that you applied, like its local relevance over national or
global. What is important here is the responsiveness of the
method to the problem.

Then, the chapter for major findings. Come up with

separate chapters for each. In each of these chapters, clearly
present the conclusions you have reached, the dialectic from
or indicate arguments to resolve the disagreements of results
and findings, which they were derived. In doing so, cite the
relevant confirming and disconfirming literature, and the status
of your conclusions.
Remember:
An effective thesis flows from chapter to chapter, so that there
are no unpleasant surprises for a reader. It is useful for each
chapter to begin with a sentence or two which previews what is
to come. At the end of each chapter a brief summary, in one or
two sentences, can restate the
chapters contents.

Thank you so
much for being
a part of my
life as College
Professor of
this course in
this College!

When you encountered

problems or difficulties, my
advice is

Wag
kang
bibitiw!