The Purpose of Action Research in Schools Essay

The school in which I conducted my action research cycle is a large public school consisting of 560 students located in Western Sydney. I was placed in a composite year 3/4 class of 27 students with high achieving abilities. At this school, the Stage two cohort are assessed and placed into three groups based on their abilities. The class I was assigned was the highest with mixed abilities. My mentor teacher was well trained in current teaching pedagogy, in particular Newman’s strategies for critical thinking and incorporating these into routines. There were high expectations placed on the students both academically and behaviourally, including allowing students to take risks in their learning, demonstrate their problem solving skills and reasoning,

Over the upcoming few weeks, I will be conducting research on the effectiveness of the PBIS program within our school. The following paragraphs will describe how I envision the study will take place, who will participate and where, as well as how data will be collected and analyzed. My chosen research method, as well as the appropriateness of the chosen method will also be discussed.

The school of education offers a doctorate of philosophy (PhD) and a professional doctorate (EdD). The EdD focuses on applying action research methodologies to specific situations to generate localized solutions that must then be supported through a review of the literature. The product of the PhD process and EdD process differ, although scholarly effort is the same. The PhD process is a five-chapter dissertation, which explains the background and significance of the research, contextualize the research within the existing literature on the topic, describes the research methodologies, and presents the results, conclusions, and the recommendations of the research. The five-chapter dissertation combines the outcome with a description of the process by which that answer was developed.

In Admiraal et al. (2016)’s article, four teachers participated in the study and they reported that through conducting their research, they were able to take diverse perspectives on teaching, think of alternative solutions to address the issues, thoroughly reflect on their teaching and their colleagues’ teaching (Admiraal et al., 2016). By researching and reading the literature that is relevant to their topics, these teachers mentioned that they use the findings of the educational research to inform and shape their practices by analysing and translating the research findings to pedagogical practice, and assess the effectiveness of new ways of teaching (Admiraal et al., 2016). Furthermore, Admiraal et al. (2016) proposed suggestions to close the gap between educational research and teachers’ pedagogical practice by offering more opportunities for collaborations between researchers and practitioners, and encouraging teachers to embark academic

Based on my prior knowledge and this week’s resource, I see a little clear why action research can help me address the needs of my students better. This week I have learned the difference between action research/teacher inquiry and education traditional research. Also, I have learned the relationship between action research and teacher professional growth and decision making. Last, I have been able to see what teacher inquiry/action research look like, how they are similar and different.

Teacher education is enhanced by using teachers as researchers. Teachers, who do research, can provide information on student interaction and classroom environments, and have a broad sampling field due to the amount of time spent in scholastic settings. This kind of action research allows a teacher to share with others what she/he has learned. It also offers to them, foundations for decisions regarding appropriate interventions and outcomes for improving students’ education or literacy within their classroom or school. When a teacher/researcher collects data for the purpose of research, they will mostly likely use a qualitative method (Johnson, 2008). Within this research, data is collected through observations and the answering of questions that relate to the data. Using this method, questions are more open ended and less defined, so there is more room for researchers to collect a variety of data. There are many ways that data can be collected for research purposes such as, the use of rubrics, student profiles, logs, and observation records that may consist of anecdotal records, checklists, reflections, conferences, interviews, and surveys. During my CIRG 621 my action research was based around Math. Although these courses are geared toward Reading Language arts I wanted to improve my student’s math scores and my ability to

Research is defined as a ‘systematic, critical and self-critical enquiry that aims to contribute to the advancement of knowledge’ (Stenhouse cited by Grigg, 2015). Critics argue that professional enquiry in the teaching industry is lacking in teachers using action research on a regular basis, which ultimately would improve the quality of teaching (Burgess cited by Grigg, 2015). However, as educational theory is always changing

When investigating teachers there are a number of practical issues that need to be taken into consideration. Teachers may feel that they do not have the time to commit to taking part in a piece of research. Teachers may also need permission from their line manager or more senior management to take part in any piece of research.

Prior to the conduction of this study, the researcher sought the approval of the Institutional Review Board with the Protection of Human Subjects in research. The researcher completed re-certification with the Institutional Review Board training on May 29, 2014 (See Appendix C). The researcher provided IRB with information such as research protocol, interview protocol, Demographic Questionnaire, researcher’s background information, consent form, and investigator’s assurance. Upon IRB approval, the research contacted the contacted the Superintendent of each school district for their permission to conduct the study in their districts. Next the principals of the schools were contacted for their permission to interview teachers in their building. At this point, the research was able to contact the participants for an interview. The Principals, after permission was given for the study, were asked to provide the participants e-mail addresses and phone numbers.

Marzano (85) recommends one action step to successfully implement research-based instructional strategies. Each school should provide teachers with an instructional framework based on their own models to allow variations

As an emerging instructional leader, I believe that research can help educators understand proven instructional practices, provide a basis to make decisions and help with school improvement. Teachers acting as reflective practitioners is a

In the case study about Participatory Action Research (PAR) in a public New England middle school, researchers attempted to implement the PAR approach into a program that moves students who are behind 1 year, at an accelerated rate – 3 years of school over the course of 2 years – allowing them to be in the appropriate grade for their age group. The accelerated program was called Higher Academic Achievement Program (HAAP). Two teachers and their classes participated in the research, taking on the PAR approach two days a week, while continuing their normal academic schedule the rest of the week. The HAAP program was a very traditional and strict program. The academic schedule was to be abided by profusely to ensure that students were being properly prepared for their state exams. While the actual teaching style of the teachers differed, their traditionalistic teaching views were shared. Both students, teachers, and administrators were assessed and interviewed at the conclusion of the study to report feedback about the successes, weaknesses, opinions, and criticisms about PAR. While the program has a unique and engaging approach, there were several large complications in appropriately implementing PAR into the HAAP program.

The first action-plan process we must monitor is the formation of the committee that will develop the action-plan. The principal will make certain all of the members of the committee have a strong desire to be on the committee because their interest in being an integral part of school improvement is imperative. The group development will be monitored through conversations with the committee members throughout the action-plan development and implementation. The principal will also provide a survey administered to the committee to gauge their perceived effectiveness while also maintaining an open door policy with all committee members so they may voice concerns to the principal

Action learning and research involve action and reflection on that action and have learning as one of their goals. As experiential learning is the basis for both the learning part of both action learning and action research.

Werkman.R and Boonstra J, ‘Action research as a method for improving the effectivity of change processes and stimulating learning in organizations’, retrieved 31 December 2015