Classroom Action Research

"Action research is the process through which teachers collaborate in evaluating their practice

jointly; raise awareness of their personal theory; articulate a shared conception of values; try out

new strategies to render the values expressed in their practice more consistent with the

educational values they espouse; record their work in a form which is readily available to and

understandable by other teachers; and thus develop a shared theory of teaching by researching

practice." - John Elliott

What is Action Research?

Action Research is a process in which participants examine their own educational practice

systematically and carefully using the techniques of research. It is based on the following

assumptions:

teachers and principals work best on problems they have identified for themselves;

teachers and principals become more effective when encouraged to examine and assess

their own work and then consider ways of working differently;

teachers and principals help each other by working collaboratively;

working with colleagues helps teachers and principals in their professional development.

- Heidi Watts, Antioch Graduate School

 HOW TO DO CLASSROOM ACTION RESEARCH

Classroom Action Research is a method of finding out what works best in your own

classroom so that you can improve student learning. There are many ways to improve knowledge

about teaching. Many teachers practice personal reflection on teaching, others conduct formal

empirical studies on teaching and learning. Classroom Action Research is more systematic than

personal reflection but it is more informal and personal than formal educational research.

The goal of Classroom Action Research is to improve your own teaching in your own

classroom, department, or school. While there is no requirement that the findings be generalized

to other situations the results can add to knowledge base. Classroom Action Research goes

beyond personal reflection to use informal research practices such as a brief literature review,

group comparisons, and data collection and analysis. Validity is achieved through the

triangulation of data. The focus is on the practical significance of findings, rather than statistical

or theoretical significance.

Findings are usually disseminated through brief reports or presentations to local colleagues or

administrators.

Steps to conduct Classroom Action Research

Identify a question or problem:

o What is the effect of X on student learning?
o The question or problem should look at something under the teaching control.
o The problem should also be an area which you are willing to change.

o It should also be feasible.

 Review Literature

o You need to gather two types of information: background and data.

o It may be much less extensive than traditional research.

o The use of secondary sources is usually sufficient.

Plan a research strategy

o It may take many forms: pretest, posttest, a comparison of similar classes to a

descriptive case study of a single class or student.

o Both qualitative and quantitative methods are appropriate.

o It relies on triangulation of data to provide validity.

o To triangulate collect at least three types of data, e.g., student test scores, teacher

evaluations, and observation of student behavior). If all data point to the same

direction, you have some assurance of validity.

Gather data

1. Interviews with students, parents, teachers

2. Checklists of skills, behaviors, abilities, movement, procedures, interactions, resources

3. Portfolios of a range of work from students of different abilities around a particular

topic; a representation of a total experience; a collection of documents for analysis

4. Individual files of students' work (e.g., tapes, samples of work, art work, memos, photos

of models/projects, reports), of students' opinions; of student attitudes, of students'

experiences
 5. Diaries/journals written by teachers, students, parents, class groups, teachers

6. Field notes/observation records - informal notes written by a teacher

7. Logs of meetings, lessons, excursions, school expectations, material used

8. Student-teacher discussion/interaction - records of comments and thoughts generated

by students

9. Questionnaires of attitudes, opinions, preferences, information

10. Audiotapes of meetings, discussions in class or about data gathered, games, group work,

interviews, whole class groups, monologues, readings, lectures, demonstrations

11. Videotapes of classrooms, lessons, groups, demonstrations, a day in a school, lunch

times

12. Still photography of groups working, classrooms, faces, particular students over time, at

fixed intervals in a lesson

13. Time-on-task analysis of students, teachers; over a lesson, a day, a week

14. Case study - a comprehensive picture/study of a student or a group of students

Make sense of the data

o Analyze your data, looking for findings with practical significance.

Take action

o Use your findings to make decisions about your teaching strategies.

Share your findings

o There are many ways to share findings with your peers: journals, conferences,

workshops, teaching tips, websites, newsletters, etc.