Action Research for Shool Teachers - 110305

7/29/2019 Action Research for Shool Teachers - 110305

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ACTION RESEARCHfor

SCHOOL TEACHERSDR. NGEOW YEOK MENG

SKET, Universiti Malaya

5 March 2011


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Learning Outcomes:

Definition of Action Research

The need for better teaching &learning

How to start?

Research procedures / cycles

Research designs

Some ideas to start off with

Literature review on action research


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What is Research?

We search and re-search to gainbetter knowledge and insights

We research.

when we go shopping, watch movies,

buy a property, choose a school,select a course for our children, starta business, choose our spouse etc.


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Definition of Action Research

A new approach in teaching, focusingon the outcome of certain actions weimplement in class

Discovery into own practices with (alot of) self-reflections

A series of investigations to examineown actions implemented in research


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The need for better

teaching & learning

Teaching as research

Teachers who teach with an impactoften examine their own practices

Excellent teaching is excellent research

(with or without teachers knowing it)


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The need for better

teaching & learning

Research as teaching

The ultimate purpose of all researchand/or knowledge creating activities

is to help others learn.

Excellent research is excellent teaching


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Activity Time

Give teachers the appropriate tools,knowledge & skills and they can domiracles to their students.

Think-Pair-Share

Have you experienced it as a student?As a teacher? As a parent?


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How to start?

Is there a problem?

No problem? this is a big problem

What action can I implement toaddress the problem?

How can I measure my own action in

class? Will this affect my schedule in

teaching and learning?


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Prior to conducting research

IMPORTANT: Review before we start

1.IDEA

Come up with originalideaWhat are the problems that arise? How

do others solve these problems?

2.INTERESTWhat interests you?

Students learning style? New pedagogy?


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3.THEORY

Which theory that you know best explainthe scenario/issue?

None that we know of? Do the theoriesexist without our knowledge?

Do some literature review to see whetherthey truly exist.


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4. With idea, interest and theory, we canconceptualize using certain keywords inmass comm. studies

5. We can now operationalize owndefinition to be used in the study

6. We are able to determine ourpopulationand sampling method


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Research Procedure 1

1. Select a topic

2. Identify the problem

3. Determine research design4. Implement the action

5.

Collect data


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Research Procedure 2

1. Analyze & interpret the results

2. Present findings and outcome of

our action3. Draw conclusions

4. Provide useful suggestions &

recommendations


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Choice of research design

1) Qualitative

Intensive interview

Focus group

Field observation

Comparative research

Case study

Ethnography


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Choice of research design

2) Quantitative

Content Analysis (to measure certainaspect of students original work)

Experiment (to measure what variesbefore and after the experiment)

Survey (using questionnaire as themain tool)


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Are you ready for it?

Do you

recognize the needs to examineown teaching practices?

Are you

open-minded about making publicown teaching practice?


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Activity Time: Think-Pair-Share

1. Name two (2) teaching methodsused by your favourite teacher(s);

2. Find a partner, compare these withhis/her favourite methods;

3. Do you want to implement suchtechniques in your class? Share withthe rest of us, if your name is beingcalled.


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Consider these ideas

Story telling

Drama

Debate Think, pair, share

Start, stop, continue

Minute paper Jigsaw


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My own research with Dr Reza

Sensors, sensibility, sensitivity

Objectives: to help poor achieversgain confidence and knowledge

Outcomes: only students who arewilling to get help, can be helped

5 out of 60 students with low CGPAimproved in terms of confidence andknowledge level


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If you wish to read on further

Some renowned practitioners among others:

Ernest Boyer

Lewis EltonLave and Wenger

Tony Harland

Schon, D.A.Shulman

Stenhouse


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What we have learnt today

Action Research (AR)

AR procedures

AR designs

The need for better teaching &learning

Some ideas to start off with

Literature on action research


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THE END

Teachers,

THANK YOU for

your attention! Any questions?


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Reliability

To be useful a research instrumentmust possessed two factors asfollows:

Reliability is an instrument tomeasure what is supposed tomeasure, dependable.

Validity the instrument is stable &consistent over time.


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Validity

Are the results accurate?

What about the factors of validity?

Is it sound and valid in reasoning?

Validity is a valid measuring device

that measures what is supposed tomeasure.


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Internal Validity

A property of a research study such thatresults are based on expected conditionsrather than on extraneous variables.

Internal validity such as history,maturation, testing, instrumentation,statistics, experimental mortality,

sampling, demand characteristics,biasness etc. Internal validity rules outplausible but incorrect explanations ofresults.


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External Validity

External Validity such as: howwell the results of the study can

be generalised across population,setting & time.

External validity is the degree to

which the results of a researchstudy are generalisable to othersituations


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Validity

Cook & Campbell (1979) make 3suggestions to overcome the question ofvalidity:

1. Use random sample.2. Use heterogeneous sample or replicate

study several times.

3. Select the sample that is representativeof the group so that the results could begeneralised.


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Validity

1. Face validity is achieved byexamining the measurement deviceto see whether on the surface of it, it

measures what it appears to measure.

2. Predictive validity result of thescores is capable to predict theoutcome with high degree of accuracy.


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Validity

3. Concurrent Validity themeasuring instrument is checkagainst some criterion imposed on it.

4. Construct Validity it involves themeasurement related to some overalltheoretical framework to ensure thatthe instrument is logically related tothe other concepts in the framework.


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Concept

The essential elements of research areconcept & construct

A concept expresses an abstract ideaformed by generalizing from particularobservations.

e.g. advertising effectiveness, readability,

ownership and control, media usage.


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Concepts

Concepts are important for tworeasons:

1. to formulate ideas into generalcategories.

2. To communicate a sharedunderstanding of something of

specific meanings.


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Concept

Watchdog refers to therole of media

Agenda setting refers to acomplicated mindset of

media owners orpractitioners


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Construct

A construct has three characteristics:

1. An abstract idea broken down into

several dimensions.

2. Cannot be absorbed directly.

3. Designed for a particular purpose.


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Construct

advertising involvement:

a construct that encompasses threeother concepts, i.e.

attention, interest, & arousal.

authoritarianism:a construct that describes a certaintype of personality in oneself.


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Variable

Variables are important in observations as

they link with the empirical world

(observations).

It is a phenomenon that can be measured.

Variable can have more than one value in

a continuum from a positive to a

negative responses.


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Variables

satisfaction with TV programme

can be measured as:1. most satisfied

2. somewhat satisfied

3. satisfied4. somewhat not satisfied

5. most not satisfied.


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Variables

Variables are classified in terms oftheir relationship with one another.

It is customary to talk aboutindependent variable anddependent variable.

The dependent variable is what theresearcher wishes to explain.


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Independent Variables

Independentvariable is consideredas causation factor.

Dependentvariable is considered aseffects factor. They are observed asa result of the independent variables.


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Dependent vs. Independent

Education will result in upwardsocial mobility and increase inincome.

Education = independentvariable

Upward social mobility &

Increase in income = dependentvariable.


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The dependent variables to bemeasured than is the evidence of thekinds of upward mobility or increased

in income measured.

Then in this case, if the researchers

assumption is correct those withbetter or higher education resulted inhigher paying jobs or increased intheir income.


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Note: please keep in mind that thedistinctions between types of variablesdepends on the purpose of the research.

In many cases research involvedexamining more than single dependentvariables. In example no. 1, theresearcher could also study newscastersmannerism, style, closing programme other variables, other than just cameraangle.


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Discrete Variables

Discrete variables are often used inmass media investigation.

A discrete variables include only a finite

sets of values and it cannot be divided.

E.g the number of children in a family is adiscrete variable. It does not make sense

to say the family size is 2.4. Because howdo you conceptualize 0.24 of a person? Other example political affiliation, gender,

population these are all discrete

variables.


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Continuous Variables

Continuous variable on the other handallow take on any value (includingfractions and decimals).

E.g. height is a continuous variables. Youcan say that the average age of theundergraduate at UTAR is 21.5 years old.

Other examples time spent watching TV.

Number of hours listening to the radio andso on.


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Variables

Other types of variables:

Predictor variables (causal variables) Antecedent variables (predicted variables)

Criterion variables (causal variables) Control variable (i.e the variable that is used to

ensure that the result of the study are due to theindependent variables & not because of otherfactors.

e.g. in studying the relationship betweennewspaper readership and reading ability,researchers knew that IQ will effect therelationship and therefore must be controlled.Thus subjects must be selected based on IQscores.


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Measurement

Research rely on measurement.

The idea of measurement is simple. Aresearcher assigns numbers to objects,events or proprieties (or in shortvariables) according to certain rules.

E.g no 1. Unemployment increased by

1 %.

E.g. no. 2. Geogjakarta experienced anearthquake measuring 8.5Richer Scale.


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Measurement

Note that measurement contains threecentral concepts:

a. numbers b. assignment c. rules

Firstly: numbers In example no 1, 1 % is a measure of

unemployment. In example no 2, 8.5 Rechter scale is a

measure of how strong the earthquake is.


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Measurement

Secondly: assignment In e.g no. 1 it implies that number/s are

attached to the variable with somemeaning.

In e.g no 2, it implies some form of aquantum of the earthquake.

Third, rules In e.g. No. 1 & 2 numbers signify a

system of counting i.e. the lower thenumber the smaller or less significant thevariables are. The higher the numbers themore significant the variables are.


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Measurement

A numericalhas no implicit quantitativemeaning (mathematical or statisticalmeaning).

Assignment is allocation of numbers tovariables (events / objects).

E.g. 1 is assigns to people who obtainmost of their news from TV.2 is assigns to people who obtain most oftheir news from a newspaper.

3 is assigns to people who obtainmost of their news from some othersources.


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Measurement

Therefore a number is used to associates to atype of descriptions that you are trying tomeasure.

Numbers can be easily sed for calculation orstatistical computation.

Numbers can be attached to rules.

Rules are the heart of any measurement system. E.g. rules use for positive and negative

responses. no. 1 is assigns to positive (+)strongly agree while (-1) is assigns to negative

(-) strongly disagree.


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Measurement

Measurement system is said to beisomorphic (identity / similarity) toreality. This is because there is a directrelationship between the variables being

measured and the numbers assigned tothem.

E.g. imagine a researcher is trying todevelop a scale to measure persuasibility

of an advertisement. A test is developed and given to 5 people

(A,B,C,D,E).

Result of the scores are as follows:


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Measurement

Person Test score True scoreA 1 0B 3 1C 6 6D 7 7

E 8 12

In this data two people (C,D) test scores correspond exactlyto the true scores. The other scores (A,B,E) miss the truescores but there is a correspondence between the rankorders.

Note that the persuasibility scores range from 0 to 12 and themeasurement scales ranges from 1 to 8.

Summary: thee is a general correspondence between test andreality, but the test is far from an exact measure of whatactually exist.

In other words in this case a VALIDITY is involved.


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Levels of Measurements

There are four levels ofmeasurements:

A. Nominal level

B. Ordinal level

C. Interval level

D. Ratio level


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1. Nominal Measure (label only)

Nominal level is the weakest form ofmeasurement. It is used to classify people,objects, or characteristics.

E.g. rock can be classified into three types:

1 = igneous rock2 = sedimentary rock

3 = metamorphic rock

Note that numbers are simply labels that stand for

specific category of rock. A rock that is placed incategory 3 did not have more rockness ascompared to category 2 & 3. It is just a label.


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Nominal Measure

E.g. 1 = viewers depended on TV asthe main source of news.

2 = viewers depended onnewspaper as the source of

news.3 = viewers depended on other

sources as the source ofnews.

In this example you will find that thenumbers are just simply identifying thetype of news received. Nothing more.


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Nominal Measure

Therefore nominal data can be saidthat it is a measure that isexhaustive and mutually exclusive.

However, nominal measurement maybe used in higher order statistics if it

is converted into another form. Theresult of this conversion is known asdummy variables.


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Nominal Measure

E.g. political party affiliation such as:

UMNO 1

MCA 2

MIC 3Other 4

This measurement scheme could beinterpreted to imply that a personclassifies as other is three units betterthan a person classified as in 1 or 2 or 3.


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Nominal Measure

To avoid this problem we have to assign anequivalent value to each category and to record itas dummy variable that create the categoryother as the same as the rest. We then changeit to:

UMNO 001

MCA 010

MIC 100

Other 000

This scheme treats each affiliation equivalenty andallows the variable to be used in higher orderstatistical procedures.


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2. Ordinal Measure

Ordinal measure is usually rank along to somedimension such as from smallest to the biggest.E.g. one might want to measure the variablesocio-economic status of the respondentdifferent category as:

1=lower

2=lower middle

3=middle

4=upper

5=upper middle

6=upper

Note that there is some form of order isestablished.


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Ordinal Measure

An ordinal scale possesses theproperty ofequivalence.

Ordinal scales can be use for

ranking (from lower to higher) andrating (most important to leastimportant) variables.


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3. Interval Measure

When a variable is involved in some formof intervals of equal value between itemsmeasured, then interval measurement is

applied. E.g. a simplest measure of temperature.

i.e. the same amount of heat is requiredto warm an object from 30 to 40 degrees,

or from 50 to 60 degrees. Here it applied equal differences.


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Interval Measure

One disadvantage of an interval scale itlacks a true zero point.

E.g. a person with an IQ of 100 is not

twice as smart as someone with an IQ of50. or a person who scores 30 in a test ofaggression is not three times asaggressive as a person who score 10.

Despite of this advantage intervalmeasurement is often used in measuringfrequency scales.


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4. Ratio Measure

Ratio measurement have all theproperties of interval scale plus onemore. That is the existence of a true

0 point. e.g since time and distanceare ratio measures, one can say thata car traveling 50 miles per hour is

going twice as fast as a car traveling25 miles mph.


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Measurement Scales

A scale represents a compositemeasure of a variable and it is basedmore than one item.

Not all variables can be measuredusing scales. E.g. age, newspapercirculation, number of radio in the

house can be measured withoutusing scaling.


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Rating Scales

Selecting the type of scales is largely a matter ofpersonal preference. The type of scale can be:

1 to 2 scale (yes /no)

1 to 3 scales (yes /dont know / no) 1 to 4 scales (s. agree/ agree /disagree / s.

disagree) 1 to 5 scales (s. agree / agree / dont know

disagree / s. disagree)

1 to seven scales (1-------7) Osgoods scales. 1 to 10 scales 1 to 100 scales 0 to 9 scales


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When selecting scale one must consider thefollowing:

1. A scale with more points rather than fewerpoints allows for greater differentiation on theitem being measured.

E.g the higher the number the more importantthe scale will be. Which one would be better 1to3 or 1 to 10?

Broader the differentiation in opinions,perceptions, feelings the is important because it

gives the researcher more information which isknown as (factor fusion which means thatopinions, perceptions and feelings are squeezedinto smaller space.


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Rating Scales

2. The use of 1 to 10 scales refer to10 is a perfect or highest scoresand 1 is the lowest

3. When using the simple ratingscales scores it is useful to tell therespondents that the higher thenumber the more you agree andvi-se-vis.


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Types of scales

1. Thurstone scales uses equal interval scales.

2. Guttman scales is based on the idea that items can bearranged along a continuum in such a way that a

person who agrees with the items will also agree with allother items.

1. Indecent TV programme is harmful to society.2. Children should not be allowed to watch indecent TV shows.3. TV station managers should not allow indecent programme on

their station.4. Government should ban indecent TV programme.

Note a person agrees with statement no 4 will also agree toother (1-3) statements.


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Types of scales

3. Likert scales with range of five scaling out of whichone of the item is neutral.

E.g.

1 Strongly agree

2 Agree

3 Neutral4 Disagree

5 Strongly disagree

4. Semantic DifferentialScales also known as

Osgoods scale.e.g.

Biased ____:____:____:____:___:___:___ Unbiased

Unfair ____:____:____:____:___:___:___ Fair

V l bl W thl

Action Research for Shool Teachers - 110305

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