Different ways to prepare action

research and innovations

Lecture 4, Day 2 ( National Seminar on Action
Research)
By: Erlinda Abletes-Cayao, BSE, MA, Ed.D.
Overview of the Methodological
Approach Of Action Research
 Action Research Defined
 Benefits/Importance/Effects of Action
Research
 Action Research Process
 Principles of Action Research
 Types of Action Research
Truth about action research…
 For TEACHERS and ADMINISTRATORS of modern school,
the myriad of questions, issues and concerns and problems
dealing with students, teachers, curriculum and resources is a
point of inquiry, posing a great challenge to education
profession. Some questions usually addressed by educators
today are the following (Crason, 1989):

 How can I motivate the students to enjoy learning?

 What can I do to make students with problems feel
part of my class?
 How can we work together as a team to achieve
school objectives, philosophy and budget priorities?
 How can I make my classroom interesting to my
students?
…continued
 How can we conduct teacher evaluation
process in the school in ways that will improve
teaching and learning?
 How can I adapt an already demanding
curriculum to better meet the specific needs
of the students in my class?
There are many ways to meet and solve the
research puzzle, but their success depends on
how well the actions are formulated to improve
the educational situation.
This is the reason why educators do the
research wanderings in real-world
situations by doing TRUE-TO-
REALITY problems with direct
applications to what has been learned.
This is what action research is about, a
discipline meant to apply the proverbial
“putting the act together” to better
understand and thus, improve educational
practice.
WHAT IS ACTION RESEARCH?
 Action research- is “learning by doing,”
when a group of teachers identifies a
problem, finds solution to it, and tries how
this solution satisfies the needs of the
school.
 Action research is a deliberate, solution-
oriented investigation that is done by
group or personally owned and conducted, It
is characterized by cycle of problem
identification, analysis, data-driven action
taken, and finally, problem redefinition.
 Action research- Corey (1953) defined
action research as the process through
which professionals study their own
practice to solve their practical problems.
- Very often, action research is collaborative
activity where practitioners work together to
help one another in designing and conducting
investigations in the classrooms.
 Action research- according to John Elliot,
is “concerned with the everyday practical
problems experienced by teachers, rather
than the theoretical problems defined by
pure researchers within a discipline of
knowledge.”
 Others refer to action research as “on-
the-job research.
 Kemmis and Mctaggart (1998) defined
action research as the combination of
both action and research. The essential
features of this method is:
 Trying out in practice as a means of
increasing knowledge about/and or
improving curriculum, teaching, learning.
 Action research – attempts to make us
understand our educational
practices in order that we may act in
ways that may bring about both
improvement and understanding of
these practices.
 Action research- aims to contribute both to
the practical concerns of people in an
immediate problematic situation, and to
further the realization of the goals of
education.
 Thus, there is a dual commitment in action
research to study a system in collaboration with
its members, to change it to what is regarded as
more desirable, thus stressing the importance of
co-learning as a primary aspect of the research
process.
To sum up, action research is known
by other names, including:
 Participatory research
 Collaborative inquiry
 Emancipatory research
 Action learning
 Contextual action research
 Learning by doing
Action research model by Kemmis,
1993
Detailed model by Susman, 1983
 Susman, 1983, gave more elaborate process
action research with 5 phases:
 1. The problem is identified and data are
gathered for more detailed diagnosis
(DIAGNOSING)
 2. The solutions from which a single plan
emerges (ACTION PLANNING)
 3. Data on the results of the intervention
are collected and analyzed, and the findings
are interpreted in the light of how successful
the action has been (TAKING ACTION)
 4. The problem is re-assessed and the
process begins another cycle
(EVALUATING)
 5. The process continues until the
problem is resolved. (SPECIFYING
LEARNING)
Why action research?
One should consider participating in
action research because it:
 Deals with our questions and our
problems, not someone else’s
 Has proven itself as one way in which
educators, such as ourselves, can come to
develop a better understanding of, and
thus improve our educational practices
 Can lead to a better teaching and
learning process
 Makes us gain greater control over
our own teaching practices
 Helps us to develop a greater
understanding and appreciation of
ethics involved in education
 Will provide us with alternative ways
of viewing and approaching our
educational questions; with new ways of
seeing our educational practices
The effects of action research…
 Teachers engage in action research attend
more carefully to their methods, their
perceptions, their understandings and their
whole approach to the teaching and learning
process than those who do not.
 Teachers who are doing action research
increase their understanding of the
schooling process. What they have learned
will have great impact on what happens in
the classrooms, schools, districts in the
future.
 The future directions on the staff-
development programs, teacher
preparations, curricula as well as school
improvement initiatives, will be impacted
by the things teachers learn through the
critical inquiry and rigorous
examination of their own practice
and their school programs that action
research requires
Action research benefits faculty in
terms of the ff:
 Focus on school issue, problem, or
area of collective interest
 Form of teacher professional
development
 Collegial interactions
 Potential to impact school change
 Reflect own practice
 Improved communications
Conducting Action Research: A
Simple Methodology
 Step 1: Identify a question, issue or a
problem
 Step 2: Define a solution
 Step 3: Apply the solution and
collect data
 Step 4: Analyze your findings
 Step 5: Take action