Transcript Educational Action Research

Educational Action
Research
Todd Twyman
Week 1
Ethics of Research
Three basic principles:
1. Respect
2. Beneficence
3. Justice
Respect
Allow participants to make choices
about participating.
Select methods that minimize harm.
Maintain confidentiality.
Beneficence
Try to ensure participants’ well-being
Consider…
• How will the research benefit the
participants in the study?
• How will the research benefit the
population or society at large?
Justice
Consider who ought to receive the benefits
of research and bear its burdens
Who is involved in the research?
 Who will benefit?
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Focus on overcoming your own inherent
biases that will influence your
interpretation of ‘reality’.
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General semantics (from reading)
The Influence of Perspective
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Each of you will be assigned a particular
perspective.
Go outside and observe for 15 minutes
from the perspective you’ve been
assigned.
Return and meet with others who share
your perspective to discuss what you saw /
any meanings it might hold.
Share as a class.
Reflect
The questions you ask
determine:
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Your methodology
Methods of gathering data
Types of analyses you will run
The sort of conclusions you can come to
In short, your questions drive your research
Two Major Traditions
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Qualitative
Attempts to figure out
why things are the
way they are, to
describe cultures,
groups, events
Microscopic look at
phenomena
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Quantitative
Attempts to figure out
the extent to which
something is related
to something else; to
generalize to a larger
population
Wide-angle look at
phenomena
Research
Typically leans most heavily on one or the
other research methodologies.
But may use methods from the other to
present a more well-rounded picture.
Case study with test scores used as one form
of data.
 Treatment/ Control Group Pre- Post-test
design with interviews as one form of data.
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Reflect
Research
Basic
Applied
Action Research
Evaluation
Quantitative
Descriptive
Survey
Correlational
Observational
Qualitative
Group Comparison
Experimental
Ethnography
Quasi-experimental
Case Study
Ex Post Facto
Pre/Post
Control
Single
Measurment
Post Only
Control
One Group
Pre/Post
Static
Group
Interrupted
Time Series
Single
Subject
Nonequivelant
Control Group
Historical
Elements of Research
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Reflection - define the problem
Select a Focus - state a hypothesis or
research question
Collect and Analyze Data - design a study
to gather relevant information
Interpret Data - consider the results in light
of the context
Draw Conclusions - determine what
actions can be taken
Reflection:
Understand the Context
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Action research is conducted within a
context.
Consider the context when identifying the
problem situation.
Review the relevant research that may
inform the situation.
Select a Focus
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Identify:
 What do you want to change?
 What will make a difference?
Frame your focus:
 Measurable
 Observable
Pose a Question
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Research Question
 Open ended approach to research
 Not stated as an expected outcome
Hypothesis
 Focused approach to research
 Clear expected outcome
Null hypothesis: Statistical step; not
needed in Action Research
Collect and Analyze Data:
Select an Approach
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Mixed-Methods v Single Method
Qualitative
Descriptive
 Observational
 Narrative
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Quantitative
Numerical
 Measured outcomes
 Statistical analysis of results
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Collect and Analyze Data:
Select a Design
In Quantitative approaches:
 Identify the target variables
 Determine how you will investigate the
relationship between the variables
 Control for outside sources of error
In Qualitative approaches, these steps may
be more fluid.
Examples
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Spending an additional 20 minutes a day
reading silently in the classroom will
improve student scores on statewide
reading tests.
Students who eat a light snack 1 hour
before reading class will improve scores
on ORF tests faster than students who
don’t eat a snack or who eat a full 800
calorie lunch.
More Examples
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Students prefer using electronic readers
(eBooks) to print texts with identical
content.
Students retain more of the information
presented in class lectures when they are
required to reflect on that information in
writing at least once per hour during
lectures.
Nonexamples
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What can I do to make students pay
attention in class?
How can I deliver this material to make it
more interesting?
Is there any way I can get more money for
my work?
Why did I go into teaching in the first
place?
Homework
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Read Chapters 3 - 4 in Glanz (after class).
Make a list of possible topics for an Action
Research project this term. I’ll collect them
tomorrow morning…
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Purpose: To solidify the skills you’re learning.
Goal: A complete study (including data which you’ve
analyzed) by the end of term.
Remember: This is an exercise; you are building the
‘muscles’ to perform independently in the future!