Using Action Research to Improve Instruction

Using Action Research to Improve Instruction:

An Interactive Guide for Teachers

John E. Henning, Jody Stone, & James Kelly

 Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the inservice and preservice teachers who provided feedback on the
chapters in this book. We would also like to acknowledge that parts of Chapter 4, 7, and 9 are
based on previous publications.

Chapter 4
Some information on observing teachers’ was previously published in three previous works:

Henning, J.E. (2008). The art of discussion-based teaching: Opening up conversation in

the classroom. New York: Routledge.

Henning, J.E. (2005). Leading discussions: Opening up the conversation. College

Teaching, (53) 3, 90-94.

Henning, J.E., & Lockhart, A. (2003) Acquiring the art of classroom discourse: A
comparison of teacher and preservice teacher talk in a fifth grade classroom.
Research for Educational Reform, 8 (3), 46-57.

Chapter 7
Parts of the chapter on standardized testing were based on:

Henning, J.E. (2006). Teacher leaders at work: Analyzing standardized achievement data
to improve instruction. Education, 126 (4), 729-737.

Chapter 9
The information on teacher collaboration was based on work previously published in:

Henning, J.E. (2008). The art of discussion-based teaching: Opening up conversation in

the classroom. New York: Routledge.
 Table of Contents

Preface 7
Format of the Book 10
I. Introduction 11
1. An Introduction to Action Research 12
1. What is Educational Research? 12
2. What is Action Research? 14
3. Creating a Research Persona 16
4. Plan, Collect Data, Analyze, and Reflect 17
5. Research Ethics 20
6. Summary 24

2. Planning an Action Research Project 25

1. Introduction 25
2. Formulating a Research Question 25
3. Searching for a Strategy 28
4. Searching the Educational Literature 31
5. Selecting the Methods 38
6. Summary 44

II. Making Observations 46

3. Observing Students and their Work 47
1. Introduction 47
2. Making Careful Observations 48
3.Steps in Observational Research 50
4. Observing Students 51
5. Using Checklists 59
6. Analyzing Student Work 61
7. Analyzing Student Talk 65
8.Summary 74

4. Observing Teachers 75
1. Introduction 75
2. Steps in Observing Teachers 76
3. Open-Ended Observations 76
4. Using Checklists 77
5. Analyzing Audiotapes, Videotapes, or Verbatim Transcripts 85
6. Summary 91

III. Gathering Perceptions 93

5. Using Surveys in Action Research 94
1. Introduction 94
2. Steps in Survey Research 94
3. Plan 95
4. Collect Data 102
 5. Analyze 103
6. Reflect 107
7. Summary 108

6. Using Interviews in Action Research 110

1. Introduction 110
2. Steps in Conducting an Interview 110
3. Types of Interviews 111
4. Determining Your Research Question 112
5. Selecting Participants 113
6. Writing Interview Questions 114
7 Preparation for the Interview 118
8. Conducting the Interview 118
9. Analyzing the Interview Data 119
10. Summary 124

IV. Analyzing Test Results 126

7. Standardized Test Analysis 127
1. Introduction 127
2. Steps in Analyzing Standardized Tests 128
3. Comparing to the Norm (by individual) 129
4. Comparing to the Norm (by class, grade level, building, or district) 132
5. Disaggregating Data 134
6. Analyzing Trends 137
7. Mixed Analysis 140
8. Correlating Data 141
9. Summary 142

8. Pre and Post Tests 145

1. Introduction 145
2. Steps in Comparing Pre and Post Tests 146
3. Comparing Pre and Post Tests 146
4. Comparing Subgroups 148
5. Individual Adaptations 149
6. Evaluating Teaching Strategies 150
7. Developing New Teaching Strategies 151
8. Deciding on a Research Question 152
9. Summary 153

V. Talking and Writing about Action Research 154

9. Collaborating on Action Research 155
1. Introduction 155
2. Establishing Group Norms 156
3. Managing Time 157
4. Choosing Your Data 157
 5. Structuring the Discussion 158
6. Summary 164

10. Reading and Writing Action Research 166

1. Introduction 166
2. Plan: Purpose Section 167
3. Plan: Participants and Setting 168
4. Plan: Source of Data 170
5. Data Collection 171
6. Findings 172
7. Reflection 174
8. Summary 175

Action Research Report Example 177

References 188

Sample Answers and Discussion Guide 192

 Preface

The primary purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive and easy-to-understand

introduction to using action research in school settings. It is written for teachers who are
interested in (1) improving their teaching practice through systematic self analysis, (2) taking an
active role in their school’s continuous improvement process, and (3) collecting evidence that
demonstrates their skill as a teacher.

For many teachers, the idea of doing “research” can be somewhat intimidating. This book is
designed to show teachers how they can use their current knowledge of instruction and
assessment to engage in action research. Thus, many of the action research methods discussed in
this book deal with data sources that are already familiar to teachers, such as observing students,
assessing writing, comparing pre and post tests, and using other forms of classroom assessment.
However, this is not intended to be a book about classroom assessment. Therefore, there is little
discussion of test or rubric construction. Instead the focus is on how to plan, collect, analyze,
and reflect on data for the purpose of evaluating or developing new teaching strategies.

Learning these skills entails more than simply reading about them. Thus, this book is organized
in an interactive format. As you move through the book, you will be prompted to create research
questions, to decide on your research participants, to interpret action research data, and to use the
results of your analysis to design new teaching strategies. You will benefit from this process to
the degree you are able to respond completely and thoughtfully to the questions that are posed.
By fully participating, you will become more skilled at
 observing students
 analyzing existing school and classroom data
 making inferences based on school data
 using data to develop new teaching strategies
 working collaboratively in teacher study groups

This book aims to be comprehensive in its treatment of school related action research data,
including data from observations of students and their work, observations of teaching, survey
and interview data, standardized achievement test, and pre and post tests,. Because there is
variation in the way these forms of data are collected and analyzed, each is presented in a
separate chapter. This approach enables us to present a more specific and detailed view of each
action research method. Using this approach will help you apply what you read to your own
action research projects more easily and quickly.

The chapters are organized into five sections. The first section consists of two chapters that
introduce action research: the first chapter defines and describes action research and the second
shows you how to plan an action research project. The last section of the book consists of two
chapters on how to talk and write about action research data. The middle sections consist of six
chapters organized into three pairs according to the type of data discussed: observational data,
survey or interview data, and test data. In each of these chapters, you will learn techniques
specific to a particular form of data. At the beginning of each chapter, each approach to action
research will be defined, illustrated with examples, and compared to other types of action
research based on its relative benefits and limitations. As you move through each chapter, you
will be engaged in creating a research question, deciding on your participants, designing data
collection methods, analyzing data, and developing new teaching strategies.

In the second section of the book, Chapters 3 and 4 will show you how to observe students and
teachers in classroom settings. Examples include observing students while they are working,
making observations of student work, and observing teacher interactions with students. This
form of analysis lacks the objectivity of test data, but it is much more useful for specifically
diagnosing learning problems and generating new strategies to address them.

In the third section of the book, Chapters 5 and 6 address the use of surveys and interviews to
investigate the perceptions of students, parents, teachers, and administrators. These two sources
of data can provide insight into your respondents’ thinking, such as students’ perceptions of your
teaching methods, parents’ perceptions of school climate, and teachers’ perceptions of school
programs. Both surveys and interviews can serve as a helpful complement to other sources of
data.

In the fourth section of the book, Chapters 7 and 8 address the use of standardized achievement
tests and pre and post testing data. Both of these approaches are helpful when trying to assess
either the progress of a single class or an entire school. They can provide objective evidence of
whether your strategies are working, help you identify strengths and weaknesses in the
curriculum, illustrate the progress of specific subgroups of students, and identify the strengths
and weaknesses of individual students.

In the fifth section of the book, Chapters 9 and 10 will show teachers how to collaborate on data
analysis and communicate their findings to others. Chapter 9 will address how to organize and
structure a data assessment team. Chapter 10 will show teachers how to write an action report.
If you are planning to collaborate with other teachers or disseminate your findings to other
teachers, parents or administrators; you may want to read these chapters sooner rather than later.
For example, after reading the chapter on standardized achievement tests, you may want to read
Chapter 10 to find out how to write an action research report on standardized achievement test
data.

After you have finished this interactive guide, you will be able to do all of the following for each
of the approaches to action research described in this book:
 Identify an area of concern that is related to instruction.
 Formulate a research question for investigating the identified area of concern.
 Search the existing educational literature
 Collect data, evidence, or information that is involved with the research question.
 Make observations about the data you have collected.
 Interpret your data.
 Develop new teaching strategies.
 Justify the teaching strategies you have developed.
 Write up your findings into a coherent report.
 Format of the Book

This book is organized in an interactive format based on the premise that learning how to do
action research requires more than simply reading. Like teaching, conducting action research
cannot be completely understood without engaging in the process. Thus, the questions posed in
this text are more than simply review questions. Often new ideas are presented through the
interactive format. In addition, many of the exercises are intended to familiarize you with the
thinking processes associated with action research. For example, Chapters 3-8 have been
designed so that upon their successful completion, you will be able to plan, conduct, and analyze
an action research study using the method discussed in that chapter, e.g., observing students,
observing teachers, administering surveys, conducting interviews, analyzing standardized tests,
and comparing pre and post tests. By fully engaging in the interactive format, you will acquire
fresh perspectives on action research that will deepen your understanding of the text and provide
valuable experience in thinking like a researcher.
 Part I

Introduction

Part I consists of a two chapter introduction to action research. The first chapter defines action
research and distinguishes it from other types of educational research. Key differences include
the location of the research, the sources of data, the selection of participants, and the type of data
analysis. In comparison to teaching, action research calls for more systematic, deliberate
decision-making based on an explicit process. The second chapter will show you how to plan an
action research project. Action research often begins when an episode arouses your curiosity,
when you try to solve a difficult problem, or perhaps simply from a desire to get better. Ideas for
action research projects can come from observations of your students, other teachers,
professional development programs, or the educational literature. They can be further enhanced
through a literature search that yields additional strategies and evidence concerning their
effectiveness. Planning also requires a consideration of the methods you will use to collect data
in your study. The thinking skills and dispositions described in the opening two chapters will be
cultivated throughout this book by providing repeated practice in a four-step cycle of action
research: plan, collect data, analyze, and reflect.
 Chapter 1

An Introduction to Action Research

I have lost much of the faith I once had in the consequences of asking only the professional educational
researcher to study the schools and to recommend what they should do. Incorporating these recommendations into
behavior patterns of practitioners involves some problems that so far have been insoluble…most of the study of
what should go and what should be added must be done in thousands of classrooms and American communities.
These studies must be undertaken by those who may have to change the way they do things as a result of the studies.
Our schools cannot keep up with the life they are supposed to sustain and improve unless teachers, pupils,
supervisors, administrators, and school patrons continuously examine what they are doing. Singly or in groups,
they must use their imaginations creatively and constructively to identify the practices that must be changed to meet
the needs and demands of modern life, courageously try out practices that give better promise and methodically and
systemically gather evidence to test their work.

This is the process I call action research. I hold no special brief for the name, but it has some currency
and is sufficiently descriptive. It is research that is undertaken by educational practitioners because they believe
that by so doing they can make better decisions and engage in better actions.
(Stephen M. Corey, 1953, p. viii.)

#1 What is Educational Research?

1.1 The word “research” is used all the time. It appears in our newspapers. It can be heard
spoken on the radio or from a television commentator during a news bulletin. As teachers or
prospective teachers, you were or are very much aware from your undergraduate studies that
educational research is an integral a part of the education process. So when you hear this word
used, you undoubtedly conjure up some vision of what this means to you. So what is educational
research? In your own words, give a definition of education research. In a second paragraph,
describe your perception of the value of research as it applies to education.

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Many people mistakenly believe that conducting research necessarily involves the use of
statistics. This mistaken notion can prohibit the use of action research because teachers often
find the idea of employing a complex statistical analysis intimidating, while others make the
mistake of believing that research is not valid without a statistical analysis. In actuality, research
and statistical analysis are not synonymous. There are quite a few ways to do educational
research without using statistics. These approaches to research are not inferior to those requiring
statistical analysis nor do they necessarily yield lesser or less
Anyone who tries to get better
certain information. So while statistical analysis is evidence of the success or very
useful and particularly helpful when dealing with large failure of his teaching or
numbers of research participants or a large quantity of administrative or supervisory
numerical data, it is important to recognize that there activities, and what he does in are
many approaches to doing research, that each has its light of this evidence is own
conducting a type of action
particular strengths and limitations, and that each can research (Corey, 1949, p.149). make its
own unique contribution to understanding whatever issue or
problem is under study.

Research methods that utilize statistical analysis and numerical data are classified as quantitative
research. Approaches to research that do not involve a statistical analysis and a minimal use of
numerical data are classified as qualitative research. In recent decades qualitative research has
gained increasing prominence in the field of educational research. A qualitative approach makes
use of interviews, open-ended surveys, observations, and the analysis of teacher and student
interactions. It is much more oriented to the use and interpretation of language rather than
numbers. A vast number of qualitative studies have shown that qualitative research can enrich
our understanding of teaching and learning.

Below is a brief summary of the differences between quantitative and qualitative approaches to
research.

Differences between Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Quantitative Research is: Qualitative research is:

oriented towards numbers more oriented towards language
large numbers of participants relatively few participants
examines a quantity of data examines less data in more depth
interested in how much and how many concerned with specific qualities
relies on statistical analysis analysis varies by context
interested in universal conclusions draws conclusions specific to a context
includes concepts such as random is often based on individual case studies
sampling, control groups,
and statistical analyses
1.2. Identify each of the following research projects as either qualitative or quantitative.

________________1. Interview a group of principals about the effects of the No Child

Left Behind legislation.

________________ 2. Determine the better of two instructional methods by comparing

the average test score of two groups of students.

________________ 3. Observe school hallways between classes to determine the traffic

patterns.

________________ 4. Survey students to determine their reading preferences.

________________ 5. Analyze trends for standardized achievement tests.

So for those who are new to the research process and feel leery of research due to a dread of
statistics, there is hope. First, you can feel reassured that doing research is more than simply
using statistics. Second, this self-study guide deals exclusively with action research, which is
primarily concerned with qualitative research. The analysis of numbers is minimized and
simplified. The statistical concepts used in this book are already familiar to most educators,
such as mean, median, and mode.

#2 What is Action Research?

2.1 Can teachers do research? The answer to this question is a resounding, “You bet we can!”
The very act of teaching involves collecting information
Author-educator Geoffrey Mills (2000)
identifies action research as “any
to improve instruction. While some may not make a
systematic inquiry conducted by teacher conscious effort to do research, all reflective teachers
researchers, principals, school constantly plan
counselors, or other stakeholders in the new strategies,
teaching/learning environment to gather watch how students
information about how their particular
schools operate, how they teach, and
respond to them,
how well their students learn. “ and then think
about how to make
further improvements. For example, a teacher’s
explanation of how he improved his approach to
mainstreaming is summarized below (Fenstermacher,
1999).

[The teacher] responds that he has worked very hard on this feature of his teaching; he
states that he is a strong believer in the moral principles that sustain mainstreaming but
really did not know how it would work in practice until he tried it. As this teacher
continues to address my questions, he sets forth an account of what he does and why he
does it. In other words, he provides reasons that make it clear that it was his desire and
intention to work with the class in the manner that I observed and that his procedures for
doing so are the result of many trial-and-error efforts, readings, talking with teachers, and
 talking with the students themselves about their perceptions of his teaching. In this
example, the teacher is offering good reasons to explain his actions, reasons that, when
taken together and arrayed in some coherent order, constitute a justification for the claim
that this teacher knows how to promote student engagement in mainstreamed classrooms
(p. 44-45).

“There are two essential aims of all action This process of experimentation and
research: to improve and to involve. Action reflection can be enhanced by action
research aims at improvement in three areas: research, which is a type of research that can
firstly, the improvement of a practice; be used to great effect in school settings.
secondly, the improvement of the
Simply put, action research is undertaken for
understanding of the practice by its
practitioners; and thirdly, the improvement of
the purpose of improving student learning by
the situation in which the practice takes place. introducing more effective teaching
Those involved in the practice being strategies. Action research has been shown
considered are to be involved in the action to improve student achievement, provide
research project in all its phases of planning, opportunities for professional development,
acting, observing, and reflecting. As an action help teachers make their practice more
research project develops, it is expected that a explicit, and serve as a pre-professional
widening circle of those affected by the activity for preservice teachers (Zeichner &
practice will become involved in the research Noffke, 2001).
process” (Carr & Kemmis, 1986, p. 165).
The purpose of action research is to solve a
problem here and now, in a local setting. In contrast, educational research addresses issues that
can be applied in a wide variety of educational settings. This fundamental difference in how the
two forms of research are conceived leads to other, more practical differences, such as who does
the research, where and how it’s done, how it is analyzed, and how it is utilized. For example,
educational research may take place inside or outside of schools, while action research almost
always takes place in a school setting. Studies in educational research require that researchers be
very selective about choosing participants, while teachers are primarily interested in researching
the students assigned to them. Educational researchers maintain careful control over what data is
collected and when it is collected, while teachers must usually rely on data sources that are
commonly available in schools. Educational researchers are more likely to have access to
expertise in statistics or research from their colleagues: teachers must base their decisions on less
technical analyses of the data.

2.2 You have now read a number of definitions and have probably formed an impression of
action research. So let’s take a stab at creating your own definition. In the space below, write a
working definition for action research. It may change somewhat as you continue with this course
of study, but for now it has personal meaning to you.

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#3 Creating a Research Persona

3.1 To become effective action researchers, teachers need to take on a research persona. More
precisely, this means to acquire a set of dispositions and behaviors that are associated with
collecting and analyzing data. The research persona needed to conduct action research differs
somewhat from a teaching persona. For example, when giving instruction, teachers usually
address issues in the classroom in
a very holistic way. In rapid The idea of the teacher as a researcher has a long
succession or even history in education. The first well known advocate of
simultaneously, teachers must teacher research was Francis W. Parker, who promoted
observational research to promote child-centered
handle issues related to classroom
teaching methods in the later half of the 19th century
management, motivation, student (McFarland & Stansell, 1993). Action research began
learning, and assessment. These during the 1930’s with the work of John Collier, a U.S.
interactions with students require commissioner of Indian affairs and Kurt Lewin, a social
quick decisions with little psychologist. Stephen Corey is best known for his
opportunity to reflect or assess efforts to legitimatize action research in education,
their effectiveness. Therefore, it described in his book Action Research to Improve School
matters very little to teachers how Practices (Noffke, 1997). Beginning in the mid-80’s
they arrive at solutions: what is there has been a resurgent interest in action research
important is that they find a under various names, such as teacher research,
solution that works - and fast. practitioner research, and self study.

In contrast, when teachers engage

with action research, they need to examine problems more analytically. That means they must
isolate specific elements of their teaching; then make specific, deliberate alterations in their
instruction, collect data to evaluate their new strategy, and carefully analyze the data collected.
These thinking processes require a different set of dispositions than the quick decisions made in
a classroom while teaching. When engaged with students, teachers should be supportive,
encouraging, involved, empathetic, and extroverted. When engaged with data, teachers should
be objective, detached, contemplative, and introverted. Acquiring the dispositions and thinking
skills associated with action research is a significant part of cultivating a research persona.
3.2 As a teacher who does action research, you must know when to call on your teaching persona
and when to call on your research persona. For each of the teacher activities described below,
distinguish between the two types of thinking described above. Identify the on-the-spot,
intuitive, results-oriented, decision-making associated with teaching with a “T” and the more
deliberate, more analytical, more systematic thinking associated with action research with an
“R.”

_____1. examining student writing in a teacher study group

_____2. responding to student questions
_____3. interpreting standardized achievement test results
_____4. comparing pre and post tests
_____5. giving feedback as a student solves a problem
_____6. giving directions
_____7. interpreting the results of a survey

#4 Plan, Collect Data, Analyze, and Reflect

4.1 Action research can be described in four steps:

plan, collect data, analyze, and reflect. Carefully “Action research is simply a form of
self-reflective inquiry undertaken by
thinking through each step of the process fosters a
participants in social situations
disposition for thoroughness, a heightened [teachers] in order to improve the
awareness of the thinking skills associated with rationality and justice of their own
action research, and an increased flexibility and practices” (Carr and Kemmis, 1986,
control over your thought processes. Below, you 162).
will find an initial description to each of the four
steps. These steps will serve as a basis for approaching each type of data collection described in
the book.

Plan: Like teaching, planning is the first phase of the action research process. When planning a
lesson, teachers establish learning goals, create an assessment plan, and design their instructional
activities. When planning an action research study, teachers should decide on the goals and
purposes of the study, decide on a research question to guide the study, select the research
participants, and determine the method of data collection. Lacking a plan, you are likely to find
yourself sifting aimlessly through piles of data without any clear purpose. Such an approach will
most likely result in superficial findings.

As you move through the book, you will be asked to develop plans for several different types of
research. For some forms of data, it is helpful to know how the data is analyzed before trying to
develop a plan. For these forms of data, the analysis will be presented before you are asked to
create a plan.
Collect Data : During the data collection phase, actions are taken to carry out your action
research project. These actions include implementing new teaching strategies and collecting data
on them. Data collection could include administering tests, observing students, and conducting
surveys and interviews. In each chapter, you will be shown the types of actions that are aligned
with that particular form of data collection.

Analyze: During the analysis phase, teachers carefully examine and analyze their data. The
analysis could include observations of student interactions, the analysis of student work, the
analysis of surveys and interviews, the analysis of pre and post tests, or the analysis of
standardized achievement tests. Analysis during action research consists of a two-step process.
First, action researchers should construct an objective description of student performance. This
description should be thorough, detailed, objective, and as free from judgments or inferences as
possible. The more detached and objective the description, the better it lends itself to analysis
and interpretation. Second, to multiply their observations action researchers should examine
their data from different perspectives. Expanding your observations by shifting perspectives
provides a wider basis for making interpretations in the next phase of your action research
project. This can be accomplished by making comparisons and contrasts, by integrating different
observations in different ways, and by viewing the data through different conceptual lenses.
These techniques are explained and illustrated in various places throughout the book.

Reflect: The reflection phase consists of a three-step process. The first step is interpreting and
explaining your observations. When interpreting your data, it is useful to generate as many
plausible explanations as possible. You will find having a variety of explanations is helpful in
the second step of the reflection process, which is developing new teaching strategies. Most new
teaching strategies come from one of the following four sources: your past experience, data from
your study, techniques shared by other teachers, or the educational literature. The third step of
the reflection process is to justify your new teaching strategies by supporting them with data,
best practice, educational research, or educational theory. Justification is critical because the
thinking processes associated with developing a new strategy are often based on inspiration or
intuitive thinking. Justification requires a more a carefully reasoned rationale based on an
analytical approach that links data, literature, and past experience. Throughout the book, you
will be asked to engage in this three-step process of reflection when analyzing sample data.
 Graphic Illustration of Plan, Collect Data, Analyze, and Reflect

Plan

Collect
Data
and
Analyze

Standardized
Test
Observing
Analysis
Students
Survey

Pre and Post

Testing
Observing
Teachers Interview

Reflect

Develop
Interpret New Justify
Strategies
4.2 By systematically and thoroughly working through the four step process illustrated above,
you can improve your ability to think objectively, to collect relevant data, to collaborate
harmoniously with colleagues, and to cultivate your research persona. In the space below,
describe a time when you have introduced a new teaching strategy, adjusted your teaching style,
altered a lesson, or introduced a new resource to improve learning. Try to fit your description
within the model for action research described above (plan, collect data, analyze, and reflect).
To what degree does the model fit your description?

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#5 Research Ethics

5.1 Action research requires a high level of ethical behavior. Like teachers, action researchers
must not act in a way that causes either physical or psychological injury to a child. Usually, this
means taking a very sensitive approach to sharing information collected from test scores,
interviews, surveys, videotaped observations or other sources of data. The degree to which you
have to be concerned about protecting your students’ confidentiality is determined by your
purpose for doing action research. For example, if the intent of your project is simply to inform
your own instruction, and you do not plan to use your data outside of your school; then you need
not be concerned about taking additional precautions to protect your students’ privacy. In this
case, your ethical obligations as a teacher are sufficient. As a rule, teachers are expected to
exhibit great care in protecting their students’ confidentiality.

However, your purpose for doing action research may broaden as your capabilities grow. If you
decide to present or publish information from your classroom outside of your school district,
then greater care must be taken to protect both the privacy and the rights of the child. Presenting
and publishing action research can offer a significant benefit to the action researcher, possibly
through an increase in professional status or in the form of pay for an inservice presentation.
Unfortunately, there have been numerous past examples of researchers who took advantage of
research participants to serve their own purposes. Therefore, extra considerations to protect the
rights of the child are necessary. In the space below, describe two possible scenarios in which
sharing information about a child in a public forum could cause harm.

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5.2 In the following spaces put an “A” if the teacher’s action research requires additional ethical
considerations beyond those ordinarily taken by teachers as part of their professional
responsibilities. Put an “N” if there is no need for additional procedures to protect the rights of
the child.

______1. Observe an individual child for the purpose of differentiating instruction.

______2. Share the findings from your action research project with other fourth grade
teachers in your school for the purpose of developing new instructional strategies.
______3. Use your action research to do an inservice session for a group of teachers from
a neighboring school district.
______4. Publish an article on the effectiveness of a new strategy discovered through
action research.

5.3 For those who plan to share their findings outside of their school district, additional steps are
needed to ensure the rights of your research participants. For those of you who are already
prepared to make such a step, this section will serve as a short introduction to those procedures.
But please understand that the following is a brief introduction to research ethics and that the
authors highly recommend additional reading. Those of you who are interested solely in
improving your classroom instruction may want to skim this section. You can return to it later
when you become interested in presenting or publishing your data.

To protect the rights of research participants, research universities have established Institutional
Review Boards (IRB), which are governed by a set of federal regulations written to safeguard the
rights of research participants. All research conducted at research universities for the purpose of
wider dissemination, either through publications, presentations, websites or other electronic
communication, must be approved by the IRB. Teachers who plan to disseminate their findings
through publication or presentation and who are associated with a university through a graduate
program should obtain permission for their action research project through the IRB. The IRB
application requires researchers to describe in detail their research procedures and their plan to
safeguard the rights of the participant. This includes describing the purpose of the study, the
potential risks and benefits to the participants, the procedures for recruiting participants, and a
plan for protecting the privacy of the participants.

What differences do you see between your professional ethics as a teacher and your professional
ethics as an action researcher?

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All research participants have the right to make an informed decision regarding their
participation in a research study. Because action research often occurs as part of normal
classroom activities within the prescribed school curriculum, asking for informed consent is
somewhat different than other forms of research. It is the teacher’s prerogative to decide what
activities are beneficial for the child; therefore, the teacher has the right to determine whether or
not a student should participate in a given activity. However, if the teacher desires to present
data from the activity outside of her school district, then she must obtain informed consent from
both student and parent.

In order for action research participants and their parents to give their informed consent, two
elements must be present. First, they must fully understand the nature of the research in which
they are asked to participate. The IRB requires that all research participants sign a letter of
informed consent. The letter explains the procedures, any possible risks, and any potential
benefits of the research. It also outlines the participants’ rights, which includes their right not to
participate and their right to quit the study at anytime. When research participants are under the
age of 18, both the student and a parent must each sign separate letters of consent. The letter
should be written in simple, direct language to enable the participants to make an informed
choice about their participation. Letters of consent should use language appropriate to the
child’s age level. For more information about the work of IRB’s, you may consult the website of
any university that conducts research. Detailed information on their procedures for protecting
research participants will be posted.

Second, consent must be voluntary. Potential participants must feel free to refuse to participate,
and they must be free to stop participating anytime they choose. Enabling this choice can be a
challenging issue. Previous research has clearly demonstrated that people will act in conflict
with their desires in the presence of an authority figure. Because teachers are important authority
figures for students and parents, asking your students to participate in an action research study
may not really offer them much of a choice. Their desire to please you could cause them to hide
their true feelings.
5.4 Fortunately, there are several remedies for avoiding any appearance of coercion when asking
for your students’ permission. The first is to ask them after the course or school year has ended,
and they have received their final grades. This eliminates the possibility of any potential adverse
consequence for their refusal. A variation of this approach is to have a third person (e.g., another
teacher) ask your students for their permission. The consent forms could be collected and sealed
in a manila envelope to be opened only after the school year has ended. This method achieves
the same purpose as the first approach, while simultaneously eliminating the difficulty of
contacting students after the course is over. A third way is to do your action research project in
another teacher’s classroom. In this case, coercion is eliminated because you are not working
with your own students. To obtain comparable data on your students, the other teacher could
reciprocate in your classroom. Thus, this approach makes it possible for you to use the data right
away. However, there are disadvantages to this approach. First, working in another classroom
requires a greater time commitment, and second you lose the benefit of collecting the data
firsthand, which can be very instructive. In the space below, briefly describe a plan for offering
informed consent to your students.

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The IRB will probably not be a consideration for teachers who are not associated with a
university. Schools that do not work with universities sometimes have a governing board that
regulates research activity. Clearing your research project through such a board is highly
desirable. Making public your intentions and getting prior permission will reassure parents about
the nature of your work, legitimize your project among your colleagues, and may provide a
source of support in case a problem arises during the project. If there is no official group that
sanctions action research projects in your school, you should at least inform your principal and
other administrators of your intentions.

It may be also be helpful for you and other school personnel to know that university researchers
are required to have IRB approval before collecting data in your school. To receive approval,
they must obtain a letter of cooperation from a school official and include it in their IRB
application.
 #6 Summary

6.1 This brief introductory chapter introduced you to action research by identifying action
research as a form of qualitative research, by characterizing the differences between more formal
educational research and action research, and by providing short definitions of action research.
The idea of teachers as researchers extends back to the 19th century in the United States and is
currently experiencing a resurgence of interest. Four benefits of action research for teachers
include promoting student achievement, improving teaching strategies, enhancing professional
development, and facilitating school improvement. Learning to think like a researcher means
cultivating a research persona. Cultivating a research persona depends both on the systematic
acquisition of research dispositions and habitually addressing problems through a four-step
cycle: plan, collect data, analyze, and reflect. You will be asked to engage in this cycle of action
research repeatedly throughout the book. Finally, the chapter concluded with a brief
introduction to research ethics. Teachers in graduate programs who wish to present or publish
their action research findings should gain permission for their research project from the
Institutional Review Board. Teachers not affiliated with an IRB should ask permission of their
students, the students’ parents, the principal, and any local governing board, if one exists.