Research to Practice: Guidelines for Planning Action Research Projects
(Edited and adapted from Ohio Literacy Resource Center): Research to Practice: Guidelines for Planning Action Research Projects by Nancy Padak and Gary Padak
This action research project will focus on new ideas in instructional strategies and activities to improve teaching and learning in all classrooms, grades kindergarten through twelve, in the Hazleton Area School District. This research process involves more than simply “trying out” the new ideas and teaching strategies. "Trying out" often involves trial-and- error. Research is planned and systematic inquiry based on one or more questions related to the new ideas. The following guidelines will provide structure for all teachers conducting action research to foster effective teaching and learning and then documenting that research in the form of an Action Research Project.
The stages of the Action Research process include:
1. Area of Focus Statement to identify the focus of the study
2. Formulate Research Question(s) to guide the action research (Big Idea)
3. Collect Student Performance Data to answer the question(s)
4. Analyze Data that has been collected to identify specific student performance deficiencies that you wish to address
5. Interpret Data to select appropriate instructional activity(ies) or strategy(ies) to improve student performance
6. Measure student performance results AFTER teaching activities and strategies have been administered for at least 5 Weeks
AREA OF FOCUS STATEMENT
The area of focus identifies the purpose of your study. Your focus statement should complete the following: “The purpose of this study is to…”
An example of an area of focus statement is as follows:
The purpose of this study is to describe the effects of an integrated problem-solving mathematics program on student transfer of problem-solving skills and the retention of basic math facts and functions.
FORMULATE RESEARCH QUESTION
First, the issue you have chosen to explore must be important to you, to your program, and to your students. The issue will be a performance problem that needs to be solved or something new in a program, activity, or strategy that needs to be evaluated.
A second quality of good research questions is that it directly relates to the issue or problem that you have chosen to explore. If you develop more than one question, each needs to relate to the other, and together they need to be related to the overall issue or problem.
A third characteristic of good research questions is that they are answerable and also has to do with the type of information that is available to you.
A good way to develop answerable questions is to brainstorm about the larger problem or issue. You can ask, "What intrigues me?" or "What do I want to know more about?" Rule out "yes or no" questions. Good questions usually begin with "why," "how," or "what." Pose your question(s) so that the answers will be based on descriptions or observations. Use your question(s) to dictate which activity or strategy you will add to your instruction.
Examples of research questions are as follows:
What is the effect of incorporating mathematics manipulatives into problem-solving mathematics activities?
What is the effect of problem-solving mathematics activities on student performance on open-ended problem-solving tests?
COLLECT STUDENT PERFORMANCE DATA
Any information that can help you answer your questions is data. List all data sources you utilized for your action research project.
You will collect BEFORE and AFTER data. The BEFORE data will be collected BEFORE you employ a new activity or strategy into your core classroom instruction. The AFTER data will be collected at least 5 weeks AFTER you have employed the chosen activity or strategy over that time period.
"Good" data are directly related to the questions; that is, they provide direct answers. We recommend that you use more than one strategy or source of information for each question because this helps to ensure that the results will be valid. For example, suppose you were interested in students' attitudes about reading. You could certainly ask them questions, but you would probably want to observe their in-class behaviors as well. If answers to your interview questions match the picture you see from observation, you can be more certain that you have answered your question adequately.
Look for readily available information that can serve as data to answer your questions. This is not only efficient, but it also lends validity to the findings. For example, if you wish to explore changes in learners' writing ability, you might think about the types of writing learners do in your program and then select writing samples for analysis. No time is taken from instruction and the samples are likely to match your interests exactly.
Data can come from almost anywhere. Tallies (e.g., lists of books read) can be data, demographic information can be data, surveys can be data, and test results can be data. Observations, interviews, and documents can also be data. You may observe learners in action as they work with new activities or instructional strategies that you employ over the course of time. Record your observations somehow and keep track of them over time; they could help you determine the impact of your instructional changes. Remembering what you have seen is the hardest part of using observations as data. You will either need to keep a daily journal or make and save on-the-spot notes about your observations. Interviews or conversations with groups or individuals are another good source of data. These can be either planned or spontaneous. In addition, you can either develop questions beforehand or simply invite conversation about an issue. In any event, you will need to decide how you will remember what students have said. If you decide to take notes, try to make them as complete as possible and reread them immediately so that you can add your own insights and any missing information. You can also tape record interviews or conversations and then later make notes from the tapes or transcribe them word-for-word.
Finally, documents can be data. You might collect student journals or other examples of their writing. You might collect attendance information, test scores, or anything else that already exists and might help to answer your questions.
Research ethics must be considered as projects are planned and data are collected. You will not use students’ actual names or any other identifying information in reports of the action research project.
DESCRIBE THE INTERVENTION
Use the student performance data to select appropriate instructional activity(ies) or strategy(ies) to improve student performance. Briefly describe the instructional activity(ies) or strategy(ies) that you plan to implement in your classroom to improve teaching and learning.
Example:
I will implement a standards-based integrated problem-solving mathematics curriculum.
ANALYZE THE DATA
Measure student performance results AFTER teaching activities or strategies have been administered for at least 5 weeks.
Data analysis involves examination of the data in order to answer your questions. To prepare, you will want to make sure all your data are on paper, and you will probably want to read everything over at least once. You may want to discard (or at least set aside) data that does not directly relate to the question(s) you posed.
The last stage of the action research process is to share your findings with others. Much of this sharing will be informal--planned or spontaneous conversations or discussions-- but more formal sharing is also important.
Write a brief summary that constructs and conveys meaning from your data. The summary should answer your action research question. Writing serves at least two critical purposes. First, as you write, additional insights often occur. The act of writing can lead to further analysis or interpretation. Secondly, writing leaves a permanent record of your research that can be used by others in your school and/or district. Whether you share through writing or speaking, this final stage in the research process is important because others can benefit and learn from your project.
CONCLUSION
Some people have preconceived and negative notions about their ability to do action research and about the usefulness of this research for improving programs and practices in all classrooms. They think that the research process is difficult and highly technical; they feel unqualified to engage in this sort of scientific endeavor. It doesn't have to be that way. The research process is basically the inquiry process--posing questions and searching systematically for answers. Action Research is pertinent to issues facing you as a teacher and to your colleagues throughout the district. This type of research can enable you to explore issues or problems, and it can also serve as a model for evaluating students, instructional activities and strategies, or some aspect of your instructional delivery. It has everything to offer those in the "real world" of what we call ‘school’.