A Guide to Action Research Digital Education Revolution NSW

Professional Learning and Leadership Development Directorate

A Guide to ACTION RESEARCH

Digital Education Revolution NSW

© Commonwealth
of©Australia 2009
Commonwealth An Australian Government Initiative
of Australia 2009 1
An Australian Government Initiative
 Acknowledgement

This resource is a modification of professional learning materials

developed by the NSW Department of Education and Training,
Professional Learning and Leadership Development Directorate.

© Commonwealth of Australia 2009

2
What is action research?

How might it support teaching changes brought about by

widespread laptop use?

Action research is the term for what is basically the integration of

action (implementing a plan) with research (an understanding of
the effectiveness of this implementation). The original concept was
introduced by Kurt Lewin (1890–1947) while working at the University
of Iowa.

As distinct from other forms of research, those involved in action

research participate in the process. They work in a collaborative
way to identify issues in their organisation and develop processes
for improvement. In education, action research is also known as
teacher research. It is one method teachers use for improvement in
both their practice and their students’ learning outcomes. Thus, the
central goal of action research is positive educational change. The
introduction of laptops in classrooms and the effect this will have
on student learning is a rich area for investigation using the action
research model.

In a school setting, participants could include teachers, students,

parents and community members. As in all forms of research, records
are kept of the process and findings are published or presented to
a wider audience. Findings from any laptop initiative will generate
widespread interest and new technologies provide avenues to
communicate these findings immediately and extensively.

© Commonwealth
of Australia 2009 3
An Australian Government Initiative
 Professional Learning and Leadership Development Directorate

Action research is characterised by being:

„„ integrated—conducted as part of a teacher’s normal daily

practice

„„ reflective—a process which alternates between plan

implementation and critical reflection

„„ flexible—refining methods, data and interpretation in the

light of the understanding gained during the research
process

„„ active—being a process designed to generate change in

small steps

„„ relevant—to the needs of the teacher and/or their students

„„ cyclical—a number of cycles with each clarifying issue

leading to a deeper understanding and more meaningful
outcomes.

“It is based on the following assumptions:

„„ Teachers and principals work best on problems they have

identified for themselves

© Commonwealth
4 of Australia 2009
An Australian Government Initiative
 A Guide to Action Research Digital Education Revolution NSW

„„ Teachers and principals become more effective when

encouraged to examine and assess their own work and then
consider ways of working differently

„„ Teachers and principals help each other by working

collaboratively

„„ Working with colleagues helps teachers and principals in

their professional development.”
Ferrance, E. 2000, Action research, Northeast
and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory
at Brown University, Rhode Island.

Everyday you analyse what worked and did not work in your lessons.
You think of ways to do it better next time. ‘What if’ I do this instead?
The ‘what if’ is a mini research question. Asking around to see if
anyone else has tried your ‘what if’ and what happened when they
tried it is a mini search of previous research. Trying it out in your
classroom, observing what happens, reflecting on the actions and
planning to re-use the strategy complete the action research cycle.
The implementation of laptops as a learning tool across all key
learning areas will certainly generate a great deal of discussion.
Action research as outlined here is a more organised and formal
way of directing such discussion into a process of investigation and
sharing of results.

The following four stages are features of the model:

Planning

„„ identifying the issue to be changed eg. laptops to enhance

collaborative learning strategies.

„„ looking elsewhere for information. Similar projects may be

useful as might professional readings. With new technologies
this information will be readily and immediately accessible.

„„ developing the questions and research methods to be used

„„ developing a plan related to the specific environment. In the

school setting this could involve personnel, budgets and the
use of outside agencies. Online support and communication,
such as chats, blogs or wikis, could be included for more
widespread involvement.

Acting

„„ trialing the change following your plan

„„ collecting and compiling evidence

„„ questioning the process and making changes as required.

© Commonwealth
of Australia 2009 5
An Australian Government Initiative
 Observing

„„ analysing the evidence

„„ collating the findings

„„ writing the report

„„ sharing your findings with participants, colleagues and a

wider audience as appropriate. The establishment of online
avenues for communication, such as websites or blogs, may
be considered.

Reflecting

„„ evaluating the first cycle of the process

„„ implementing the findings or new strategy

„„ revisiting the process.

It might be represented diagrammatically as this:

Planning

evaluating identifying
implementing informing
revisiting organising

Reflecting
Action Acting
research
analysing trialling
reporting collecting
sharing questioning

Observing

Figure 1: an action research cycle

© Commonwealth
6 of Australia 2009
An Australian Government Initiative
 A Guide to Action Research Digital Education Revolution NSW

When working through your action research remember that:

„„ it is cyclical with progress made in small chunks

„„ it is based heavily on critical reflection

„„ you can use a wide range of methods for collecting data but
it may be advisable to limit these to a manageable number

„„ participants benefit from having meaningful roles in the

collection and presentation of data.

Identify action

Plan sec
Reflect

n ex
Action
o n d s te p

t s te p
research
Observe Act

Criti
c al ref lec tion

Figure 2: cycles of action research

When you start action research the first stage of the cycle would be
identifying the issue. In the next cycle the issue would already be
identified from the data collection or from trials in other schools.
Not every cycle will include each of the four stages. The cycles may
be much smaller as you observe and reflect on what is happening in
your classes. From this evidence you may wish to terminate a cycle
and start a new one before the present cycle has concluded.

An example of action research commenced as part of the ‘Digital

Education Revolution’ may be found at:
https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/proflearn/areas/sld/research/watson.html

© Commonwealth
of Australia 2009 7
An Australian Government Initiative
 References

Collaborative Action Research Working together for Improvement

1996, Australian Council for Educational Administration & NSW
Department of School Education.

Dick, B. 2000, What is action research?, available at

http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/ari/arihome.html,
[accessed 26/10/06]

Ferrance, E. 2000, Action research, Northeast and Islands Regional

Educational Laboratory at Brown University, Providence RI.

Hughes, I. 2004, Action Research Electronic Reader, The University

of Sydney, Sydney, available at http://www2.fhs.usyd.edu.au/arow/
[accessed 26/10/06]

Mills, G.E. 2007, Action research: a guide for the teacher researcher,
3rd Edition, Pearson Education, New Jersey.

© Commonwealth
8 of Australia 2009
An Australian Government Initiative