Action Research - Introduction

How to Get Started on a Project

1. Decide on a focus
   • Start with autobiographical data by locating your best professional self. Some questions you might ask - What are your broad interests in teaching and learning? What are your specific interests? What are manageable questions? Choose something you feel passionate about.
     
     
   • Justify that the project is your best solution to the problem.
   
   
   
2. Develop a plan to gain insights
   • Develop a time-line to gather evidence or data to examine what you are trying to accomplish/resolve/do in light of "what you do not know yet".
     
     
   • Decide what evidence you want to collect. Evidence includes such things as questionnaires/surveys, observations (video or written notes), collaborations ( i.e. video or audio tape of meetings, peer coaching) interviews, tests and records, student work, video and audio tape transcripts, personal journal, library readings, etc.
   
   
   
3. Analyze the data by looking for patterns, or themes across the evidence
   • keep logs and journals, periodically read over the evidence, code data from themes and patterns, draw or chart patterns, try to summarize what you have learned as you go, by noting images, metaphors, and any new questions.
     
     
   • check out your understandings by triangulating evidence (same theme, code, pattern appears in more than two types of data), and by talking to peers, students, friends.
   
   
   
4. Report on what you have learned
   • to your colleagues, to parents, at conferences, in journals.
     
     
   • summarize what you learned -- in an essay, narrative, poster, video, . . . poetry.
     
     
   • tell how the problem changed, didn't change, or became worse because of changes in your practice.

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