ACTION RESEARCH

Miss. Sahaya MaryHM,ZIET Faculty

A Bengali Teacher of English wanted to increase the amount of English she was using in the classroom. As first step she tried to find out how much Bengali she used in the class and the purpose for which she was using. To find this out she recorded four classes , observed and listened to them and found that she was using 50% English in the class. She also found that the purposes for which she used the same to be classroom management, explanation of content and giving feedback.She then drew up a plan to reduce the amount of Bengali used by her. She familiarised with English expressions that could be used on cards and put them before her. This reminded her of the plan. Each day a different card was in focus. She then continued recording her lessons and after a few weeks she listened to her tape and found that the use of Bengali had reduced considerably

DEFINITIONS

Action Research is on the spot research aimed at the solution of an immediate classroom problem. ( Mouly)

According to Kurt Lewin, “Action Research is applying scientific thinking to real life problems(classroom for teachers) and represents a great improvement over teacher’s subjective judgements and their limited personal experiences

INFERENCEThere are two main features of Action Research-1.Action research is conducted by

a Participant2.It involves immediate application

CRITERIA FEATURES OF ACTION RESEARCHOBJECTIVES Find solution to problems in specific context

TRAINING Limited Training Needed

SELECTION OF PROBLEMS Participating, Teaching identifies the problem

HYPOTHESIS Specific statement of the Problem serves as Hypothesis

REVIEW OF LITERATURE Not essential

SAMPLE Students in the class form the sample

RESEARCH DESIGN Procedures are planned and evolved

ANALYSIS OF DATA Simple

CONCLUSION Applicability of the solution to the problem specified

APPLICATION OF RESULTS Findings are used in the classroom situation by participating teacher to improve their own practice

Basic Criteria for Action Research

• The purpose of Action Research is to make teachers reflect on their own teaching, which is an essential part of the teacher’s Professional Development (Schon 1987, Calderhead 1989)

Purpose of Action Research

Benefits of Action Research

Gives owner

ship

Helps to move from practice to

theory

Helps in solving problems

Empowers teachers

Helps in evaluating one’s own Teaching

The Method

Planning

ActionObservation

Reflection

Identification of the PlanEvaluation of the Action Plan

Pin-Pointing the ProblemDiagnosing the causes of Problems

Formulation of Action Hypothesis

Designing the Action PlanImplementation of the Action Plan

• Narrowing down the area and looking at the problem as specific questions

• Ex-• Low Achievement in Math• Spelling Problem• Absence of Reading Habits• Problems in Writing

Pin-Pointing the Problem

Hypothesis are intelligent and logical “guesses” about possible differences, relationships, causes and solutions• Logical• Testable• Clear• Direct in terms of outcome• Testable in short time

Formulation of Action Hypothesis

Factors governing the Formulation of a Good Hypothesis

• The problem is clear• The goal to be achieved is specific• There is readiness to look at

problems from different perspectives• The social context is closely

examined

The Tools for Data Collection

• Teaching Journals• Lesson Reports• Questionnaires• Audio-Video Recording• Class Observation

DATA ANALYSIS

Quantitative- % calculated

Qualitative- Description of events

• Rationale/Background• Objectives• The Questions/Problem Statement• Plan of Action• Time• Steps• Sample• Participants• Tools Used• Types of Analysis• Interpretation• Conclusion and Implications• Books Referred ( Bibliography/Work Citations)

WRITING REPORT-

Sources of Data on research on Teaching and Learning

Microsoft Word Document

CHANNELS AND AVENUES

• KVS AWARD FOR INNOVATION AND EXPERIMENTATION IN TEACHING-

• Teachers with two years of service may apply

• All tech aided Awards such as KVS- Intel, Microsoft ITLA NCERT ICT Awards have a framework of Action research

Collaborative Action Research

NCERT Awards for School Innovation for whole school Innovation / Action Research

Action Research encourages a Teacher to be reflective of his own practice in order to enhance the quality of education for himself /herself and the pupils.It is a powerful means of bridging the gap betweenThe theory and practice of education,For her teachers are encouraged to develop their own personal theories of education from their own practice -(Jean McNiff)

Teachers –the makers of Knowledge

An Action Researcher….