бичлэгIntroduction
The goal of action research is to understand some aspect of your classroom work better by collecting data. Data are any form of information, observations or facts that are collected or recorded. Action research is not writing what you think is true about your classroom. It is about collecting data, reflecting critically on the data and the methods by which they were collected. Then you can draw conclusions based on the data and your critical reflection. Collecting data in an action research project is not a snapshot of a single incident like a cricket test score. Nor should data collection rely on a single type of data, such as only questionnaires, or only homework scores. You can better assure your data and interpretations if you use varied informants, several different methods, different ways of asking the same questions and so on. Comparison between them provides part of the check on their adequacy. A comparison of two or more sources of data enables you to focus on agreements and disagreements. This is commonly called “triangulation”. Action research is a series of quick looks taken at different times and in a variety of ways. More than one person has said that action research is like collecting soil samples: you collect them in different places over a period of time.
Any biases in yourself of which you are aware should be stated up front, so that readers are able to take this into account. You are examining what is happening in the classroom and you are allowing them to share your thoughts as you analyze and interpret what you see and experience. In this sense, you are acting as a sports analyst as you describe what is happening in your classroom and break it down so that others can understand it – both in the narrow (classroom) and wider (beyond the classroom) contexts.
Therefore, action research needs to be systematic. This means that before the research begins, a plan is in place that describes what data you will collect, when, how and how often you will collect it. You also need to be able to justify why you use certain research tools (e.g. questionnaires, interviews, etc.) and your methodology - that is, the way in which you use the tools). There are many types of data that can be collected: test scores, quiz scores, audio or video recordings, student writing or other products of lessons, homework, student journals, one-to-one interviews with an individual student, group interviews, questionnaires, observation by the teacher-researcher (or other adult), attitude ratings, the teacher-researcher’s research journal in which (s)he is writing daily field notes, etc.
However, you need to keep your action research simple and focused. Trying to collect too many kinds of data will result in confusion and burnout. Probably, 3 or 4 types of data will be sufficient in the first instance. Depending on the findings of your analysis and your interpretation, you may want to collect one or two more sets of data in order to shed additional light on a particular question. You need to collect data using methods that best suit your research question and your teaching situation. Start small and simple!
You will need to decide who your research participants will be – a group or a whole class of students?
They and their parents will need to be appropriately informed of the purposes and methods of the research as well as the intended outcomes. Confidentiality is a key aspect of this, as is the necessity of keeping the real students anonymous in any research report. Naturally, nothing that is done in the name of research should ever harm a student. Permission for the research will need to be sought from the head of your school and the students’ parents. It is usually best to get this permission in writing.
When you have collected your information (data), you need to analyse, synthesize and deconstruct it as well as consider the context of the research in order to interpret your findings (decide what the data mean).
Making sense of the data: analysing and interpreting data
When you write up your research report, it will be important to describe succinctly how you analysed and interpreted your data. You will find one possible way of doing this below and, of course, this can be adapted to best suit your situation. For example, some of the questions may not be useful, so you may wish to leave them out and substitute others. But whatever you choose to do, it needs to be systematic across all data types.
1. Divide your data by type (E.g. put together in one pile all the observations. We can call this data set 1. Put in another pile all the interviews. We can call this data set 2. Place in another pile all the artefacts such as children’s work. We can call this data set 3. Place in another place your personal research journal. We can call this data set 4.)
2. Read through your data and analyse it Read through data set 1 and analyse it by responding to the following questions.
a) What do these data seem to indicate?
b) What do these data not indicate?
c) What is repeated in this data (words, behaviours, attitudes, occurrences.)?
d) What is surprising, perplexing, disturbing in this data?
e) What information seems to be missing from the data or what data is contradictory? (Do you need to collect more data to shed light on an issue? Do you need to do another observation, another interview, questionnaire, etc?)
As you read Data set 1 and respond to these questions a) – e), make notes in the margins of the data set or on separate pieces of paper which you should attach immediately to the data set, so that they do not get lost.
Repeat this process with data sets 2, 3, 4, and so on.
3. Read through your data and synthesize it. Read through data set 1 and synthesize the data by considering the following questions.
a) What patterns emerge across the whole set of the data? Is there a trend?
b) What is the classroom context that is giving rise to the pattern/trend?
c) What are the contradictions, paradoxes and dilemmas in the data? (What does not seem to fit? These things that do not fit are often the lynchpins of new understandings, so it is valuable to pay careful attention to them. Do you need to collect more data to shed light on an issue? Do you need to do another observation, another interview, questionnaire, etc?)
d) What are people’s emotional and intellectual reactions to this data?
e) What data confirm or disaffirm your beliefs or the beliefs of others concerning the research question?
Again, write your responses to the questions in the margins or on pieces of paper that you attach to the data set, so that they do not get lost.
Repeat this process with data sets 2, 3, 4 and so on.
4. Deconstruct data sets Deconstruct data set 1 by responding to the following questions.
a) Are there any places in your analysis or synthesis where you have said, “Either it’s this, or it could be that?” In these situations, how can these either/or conclusions be looked at from a different perspective?
b) What are the limitations of the analysis and synthesis? (What DO YOU NOT KNOW and what CAN YOU NOT KNOW?)
c) What assumptions are being made in the analysis and synthesis? What values and beliefs underpin these assumptions?
d) What would students, parents, a cooperating teacher, an advisor or authors in the literature say about your analysis and synthesis?
When you write comments in this section, refer to specific pieces of data and also include your hunches (“best guesses” – what you think might be happening).
Repeat this process with data sets 2, 3, 4 and so on.
5. Consider the wider context of the action research project
a) How does your role as the teacher influence the data and the interpretation of the data? (E.g.
Could the fact that you were sitting next to students when you were collecting data have
influenced their responses?)
b) In what ways did the action research project conclude in the way you as the teacher-researcher wanted? How does this reflect your own beliefs and values?
c) How do the interpretations reflect your beliefs/values about what “good” teaching is, “good students” are, and a “good” curriculum should be? (E.g. Does the fact that you were brought up, educated and trained to be a teacher in a certain way influence the way you view and interpret the data? In other words, how far do your own beliefs and values about education influence the way you view and interpret the data?)
d) How do the interpretations mirror values and beliefs you hold as a teacher-researcher, given your ethnic, gender and social standings? How are your interpretations limited by these same labels?
e) How do the interpretations align with the stated school and community values and beliefs where the project was conducted?
6. Emerging interpretations In your teacher-researcher log book (where you write your daily field notes), keep a constant record of any “brainstorming sessions” that you have, any questions that occur to you, etc., as you go along. Write down your thoughts on possible interpretations and issues that you would like to follow up on. An important part of the process is looking back over all of your notes and taking special note of “areas” that are repeated in the responses across the different categories of data. In comparing two or more sources of data, you can pay particular attention to elements that are mentioned more than once. Your sources either agree or disagree.
- if they agree, collect some additional data that search for exceptions to this, by asking
research participants questions that specifically probe for exceptions.
- If they disagree, collect more data that searches for explanations by asking research
participants questions which probe specifically for explanations.
In this way, your questions and methods, your data and interpretations become more focussed as you proceed and may lead you to new insights.
Your interpretations will emerge piece by piece. Do not be afraid of this. Devise ways of testing your interpretations. For example, this can be done by sharing with main findings with students and asking them to what extent they would agree or disagree with your interpretations.
As you go along you will need to think about whether or not the main research question still seems relevant? Do the data that you have collected change your perception and thus the focus of your research? If so, what new data would you like to collect concerning what new issue or question? (E.g. You might be researching about “Assessment” and the your actions in assessing students. Then the data may help you to become aware that student ownership of certain aspects of assessment and “student ownership of learning” are also important. Thus a new, important research question might be, “How can assessment be used to motivate students?”)
You may need to refine/add to your data collection methods to better answer your main research question or any new ones that seem particularly relevant or important? What changes will you make? (E.g. Will you redesign your interview schedule for students? Will you observe student behaviours from the other side of the classroom instead of sitting at the desk where they are working? Will you ask someone else to accompany you when observing a particular group of students from a distance – so that the two of you can compare findings and share interpretations?)
When you write up your research, you will need to give a description of the particular methods used for data collection and intepretation and say why these were justified in your particular research situation. So be systematic! Good luck!
