Adapted from Anne Burns by Karen Bueno
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WHMPZ6WAiY
What is Action Research?
 Parsons
&Brown (2002) define Action
Research as “a form of investigation
designed for use by teachers to
attempt to solve problems and
improve professional practices in their
own classrooms”.
 In other words, it is the act of
exploring the needs of the teaching
context.
In order to carry out a successful action
research, considerations such as
questioning and self-reflexion should be
taken into account for the later
development of new ideas and
alternatives.
Action Research (AR) Process


The Cyclical AR Model based on
Remmis and McTaggart (1988) explains
its process:
Planning
 Action
 Observation
 Reflection
Planning
Identify the problem or issue.
 Develop a plan of action in order to
improve it.

Consider:
Possible kind of investigation
Possible potential improvements
Action
Deliberate, critically informed
interventions over an agreed period of
time.
 Plan new and alternative ways of doing
things.

Observation
Observe the action effects
 Document context, actions and opinions
of the people involved.

Note: Be ”open-minded” and “openminded”
Reflection
Reflect on, evaluate and describe the
action effect.
 Decide to do further cycles of AR to
improve situation even more.
 Share your research

Action Research Examples
The Perceptions of Students toward Online Learning at a
Midwestern University: What are Students Telling Us and
What Are We Doing About It?

“This action research explored attitudes and perceptions of students at a Midwestern
university enrolled in at least one fully online course during fall 2012. Our objective was
to initiate a study that gathered comprehensive information about the diversity of the
online phenomenon at our university so that we could seek improvement as online
designers and professors and subsequently share our findings with other instructors on
campus who teach students within the targeted population. The study focused on
student perspectives toward web-based instruction and student expectations and
experiences in the areas of course format; technological support; interaction with
faculty and peers; course flexibility and pace; assessment and feedback; and overall
communication.An electronic survey blended a quantitative component in the form of
23 fixed response items with a qualitative element accomplished through two narrative
response questions. For such responses, content analysis was employed to compress
many words of text into fewer content categories based on explicit rules of coding. A
total of 1,085 participated, with numbers varying for individual survey items. The critical
themes that emerged spoke to the necessity for clear instructions, timely responses,
instructor availability, and an overall course design that integrates appropriate, yet not
overpowering, technology.”
(Huss, 2013)
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning within
Action Research: Promise and Possibilities

“Herein the idea that Action Research (A.R.) and the
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) are very
much related is explored. For instance, educational action
research demands a series of commitments; it is a
journey of self, through reflective inquiry, that is social. We
do it to improve our teaching and self. We desire to
improve praxes (practices) and understanding within the
contexts in which these understandings are implemented.
The action can be described as a quest to improve just as
the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) can be
viewed as a systematic, even recursive effort to
illuminate, improve and grow through dialogue, reflection
and often strategic self-study which eventually is made
public and shared.”
(Ryan, 2013)
References

Parsons, Rick D., and Kimberlee S., Brown, 2002. Teacher as Reflective
Practitioner and Action Researcher. Belmont, Calif.:Wadsworth/Thomson
Learning.

Burns, A., 2010. Doing Action Research in English Language Teaching: A Guide
for Practitioners (Online) New York and London: Routledge. Available
at: http://lenguas.ujed.mx/virtualtutors/pluginfile.php/8276/mod_resource/content/
1/Doing%20Action%20Research%20in%20English%20Language%20Teaching.p
df
(Accessed February 18, 2014)

Ryan, Thomas G.. (2013). The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning within
Action Research: Promise and Possibilities. i.e.: inquiry in education: Vol. 4: Iss.
2, Article 3.
Available at: http://digitalcommons.nl.edu/ie/vol4/iss2/3

Huss, John A. and Eastep, Shannon. (2013). The Perceptions of Students toward
Online Learning at a Midwestern University: What are Students Telling Us and
What Are We Doing About It?. i.e.: inquiry in education: Vol. 4: Iss. 2, Article 5.
Available at: http://digitalcommons.nl.edu/ie/vol4/iss2/5