This article was originally published in the October issue of Direct Connection (Learning Forward Kansas) Talking
Points: How do you see collaborative action research being used to bring about
improvement/change in your district, school and/or classroom? Why is
collaborative action research an effective tool for bringing about desired
change?
Embedding Professional Learning Through Action Research
Penny Schuckman, Director of the Learning Center, USD 261 Haysville
Is there anything you would like to change about your district,
your school, your classroom or yourself? If you answered yes, then Action
Research is an effective tool you can add to your toolbox to bring about that
change you desire!
What? Action
Research is studying your own situation to change the quality of processes and
results within it. To do Action Research is to empower yourself to study
your action so that your future actions will be more effective.
Why? Do
Action Research because it is……..
Practical – Insights that you get from data lead to
practical changes in your classroom or in your school during and immediately
after the inquiry.
Collaborative – As action researchers, you and your
students or you and your colleagues collect data about a real issue in your
shared situation.
Empowering – All of you together can influence and
contribute equally to the research.
How? Collaborative
Action Research has five sequential steps:
Problem Formulation – The team identifies the issue that is of
the greatest professional concern. Researchers identify what they already
know about the issue, what they still need to know about it, and their
understanding of the variables affecting the issue.
Data Collection – The credibility of any research effort
lives or dies on the quality of the data used to support its conclusions.
To ensure adequate data collection, action researchers and their colleagues are
expected to assemble three sets of data for each research question.
Data Analysis – Most action researchers find this step
to be the most enjoyable of the entire process. It involves looking
systematically at all the data collected to see what trends or patterns emerge
and what conclusions can be drawn.
Reporting Results – Inviting others to peer over our shoulders
and learn from our practice is one of the most powerful and rewarding aspects
of collaborative action research. It is imperative that teams of action
researchers find as many appropriate forums as possible to share what they are
learning about teaching and learning.
Action Planning – Since the purpose of collaborative Action
Research is to improve our professional practice, the process won’t be complete
until we have put in place plans incorporating what we’ve learned as a result
of our systematic inquiry.
I need to conclude this article with a warning. Action
Research is addictive! As you begin to see your district, school,
classroom, students and self change for the better, you will be compelled to
repeat the process. Enjoy your Action Research journey !
Resources:
Sagor, R. (1992). How
To Conduct Collaborative Action Research. Alexandria:
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Schmuck, R. A. (2006). Practical
Action Research For Change. Thousand
Oaks: Corwin Press, Inc.
http://arj.sagepub.com/
An online Action Research Journal
http://cadres.pepperdine.edu/ar/c9/burker/ar-blog.html A blog of one teacher’s
Action Research journey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg83f72_6Gw Video of the Action Research
Process
