Getting Started
Quick Tips for Planning and Implementation
Step 1: Consider your reasons for being interested in action research.
Do you...
- often think about making changes to the way you teach?
- wonder why students behave as they do at certain times?
- worry about your students' performance?
- discuss your teaching with your colleagues?
- want to find out more about teaching and learning?
- want to change the way you manage your classes?
- want your students to recognize you as a good teacher?
Step 2: Frame your research question. (download)
Articulate your concerns or observations
- I've noticed that...
- I've always wondered why...
- I'm concerned about...
- I wonder what would happen if ...
- It's funny how my students always...
Step 3: Review the literature on your problem. (download)
- Other action research projects?
- Other classroom research
Step 4: Develop and refine your research question.
- What do you already know about this topic?
- What do you believe about this topic?
- What particular questions do you want to address?
- Critique your own questions
- Is this question important to you?
- Does it focus on you and your students and your teaching learning relationship?
- Will there be practical benefits from this research?
- Will you be able to accept outcomes that go against your expectations?
- Is the question framed in an objective
Step 5 : Decide on techniques for observation.
Records
- Diary/journal
- Documents
- Tape/video recording
- Class attendance
Feedback from students
- Questionnaire
- Interview
- Focus groups
- Email correspondence
Diagnostics
- Student assessment
- Student evaluation of teaching
- Learning inventories
- Interaction schedules
- Diagnosis of conceptions of teaching and learning
Step 6: Review the feasibility of your project. (download)
- Have you simplified the question to the extent that it can be acted on in about two action research cycles?
- Have you narrowed the scope of the project to fit the time and resources available?
- Will the planned data collection place unreasonable demands on you, your students or your colleagues?
- Will you be able to analyze the data you collect in the time available
Step 7: Draft your action research plan. (download)
- Research question
- Benefits
- The research team
- Outside consultants/critical friend
- Action plan/intervention
- Techniques for observation
- Equipment
- Costs
Step 8: Schedule your project. (download)
- Start by...
- Schedule for actions/interventions
- Evaluation/monitoring schedul
- Write up first cycle
- Start second cycle
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