Doing Action Research: An Overview

Every teacher is an action researcher. Everyone can do it. Teachers and students can do it
together.

This episode focuses on doing action research as one of the roles of the teacher. Every teacher
should take interest to know how students learn, wants to make innovations in the curriculum and
desires to improve teaching practice. In order to achieve these, a teacher has to do action research on
the everyday practical problems. These problematic situations and observed discrepancies emerge
between what is intended and what actually occurs in the classroom.

There is a general agreement among action research community that action research is about
ACTION: taking action to improve practice and RESEARCH: finding things out and coming to a new
understanding that create new knowledge.

Action research is not new. It dates back to the time John Dewey in 1920 when he introduced
the idea of inquiry. This was followed by Collier, 1945; Lewin, 1949; Corey, 1953 and many others who
came later. Schon introduced the notion of action research as a habit of continuing inquiry. Inquiry
begins with situations that are problematic, confusing, uncertain and conflicting, and so does Action
Research.

It was Stephen Corey (1953) who defined Action Research as the process through which
practitioners like teachers, study their own practice to solve their personal or professional practical
problems. Further on, John Illiot in 1993 clarified that action research is concerned with everyday
practical problems experienced by the teachers, rather than theoretical problems defined by pure
researchers.

Action research is grounded on the reality of the school, classroom, teachers and students.
Sometime it is labelled as Teacher Action Research (TAR) but is popularly known simply as Action
Research (AR).

Action Research is a process that allows teachers to study their own classrooms, schools and
educational setting in order to understand them better and to improve their quality and effectiveness.
The processes of observation, reflection and inquiry lead to action that makes a difference in teaching
and learning. It bridges doing (practice) and learning (study) and reflection (inquiry).

You must have experienced in your past subjects, doing some activities or accomplishing tasks
similar to an action research. These are activities that required you to do Reflection and Make Action or
the other way around. Schon (1987) distinguishes Reflection in Action or Reflection on Action as two
different things.

Perhaps your mentor teacher has already done an Action Research. Now is the opportunity for
you to participate and assist in ways that you are capable of doing.

Here is what you will do.

Perhaps your mentor teacher has already done an Action Research. Now is the opportunity for
you to participate and assist in ways that you are capable of doing.

Here is what you will do.Inventory of Sample Action Research Conducted by Teachers
(https://www.teacherph.com/sample-action-research-about-education/ )

List of Completed Action Research Titles Author/Authors

Ex. Differentiated Instruction in Teaching Mary Joy Olicia
English for Grade Four Classes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Based on your activity on Making a List of Completed Action Research Titles, let’s find out what
you have noticed by answering the following questions.

Questions My Answer
1. What have you noticed about the 1. Identified problem to be solved in title
action research titles? Do the action no.1
research (AR) titles imply problems to
be solved? Yes____ No____ 2. Identified problem to be solved in title
no.2

If YES, identify the problems from the title you 3. Identified problem to be solved in title
have given. Answer in the space provided. no.3

4. Identified problem to be solved in title

no.4

5. Identified problem to be solved in title

no.5

2. What interpretation about action Title of the Action Research:

research can you make out of your
answer in Question No. 1?

3. Write the title and your interpretation From the title, I think, the study
of the study from the title. __________________. . .

4. What do you think did the author/s do I think the author/s. . . . . .

with the identified problem as
presented in their titles?
 Action research seems easy and familiar. Since teaching seems to be full of problematic
situations and that the teacher has a responsibility of finding solution for everyday problems at school,
hence teachers should do action research. This is an exciting part of being a teacher problem solver!

Let us continue to examine and analyze what you have noticed and interpreted in the previous
activity.

Key Questions My Answer

1. From what source do you think, did
the authors identify the problems of
their action research?
Choose from the options given. You may check more
than one answer.
Choices:
___ Copied from research books
___ From daily observation of their teaching practice.
___ From difficulties they observed of their learners.
___ From their own personal experience.
___ From the told experiences of their co-teachers.

2. What do you think is the teacher’s Choices:

intention in conducting the action
research?
___ To find a solution to the problematic situation.
___ To comply with the requirement of the principal
___ To improve teaching practice
___ To try out something, if it works
___ To prove oneself as better than the others

3. What benefit do you get as a Choices:

student in FS 2 in understanding and
doing action research?
___ Prepare for my future job
___Get good grades in the course
___ Learn and practice being an action researcher
___ Improve my teaching practice
___ Exposure to the realities in the teaching
profession
___ Become a better teacher everyday

4. In what ways, can you assist your ___ By co-researching with my mentor
mentor in his/her Action Research ___ By assisting in the design of the intervention
Activity? ___ By assisting in the implementation of the AR
___ By just watching what is being done

Reflect

Based on the readings you made and the previous activities that you have done,

1. What significant ideas or concepts have you learned about action research?

I learned that _____________________________________________________________

 2. Have you realized that there is a need to be an action researcher as a future teacher? Yes___
No____. If yes, complete the sentence below.

I realized that ________________________________________________________________

OBSERVE

From what teaching principles of theories can this problem be anchored?

 I have observed and noticed that Action Research begins with a problem or a problematic
situation.
Write an example of a problematic situation that you have observed and noticed.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

REFLECT

What have I realized? What do I hope to achieve?

I realized that for every teaching problem, there is a solution.

Write a problematic solution to the problematic situation above.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

PLAN

What strategies, activities, innovations can I employ to improve the situation or solve the
problem?

 As a future action researcher I can plan for an appropriate intervention like

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

ACT

If I conduct or implement my plan, what can be its title?

 If I will implement my doable plan in the future, my title would be

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________