ACTION RESEARCH

Research Problem - What is it that you are trying to ANSWER or PROVE?

Meaningful Questions
● How can I improve ____?
● What happens to student learning in my classroom when I ____?
● How can I implement ____?
Research Questions
● The context of the classroom
● The context of teaching
● The context of learning
Research Questions focus on:
1. Helping an individual child
2. Improving and enriching curriculum
3. Developing content knowledge
4. Improving or experimenting with teaching strategies and techniques.
Problem/Question
● What is the....
● ...that I want to investigate/ find out/ explore/research
● What happens to student behavior in my classroom when I start my class with a short meditation,
mind-relaxing activity?
● What happens to the reading comprehension of the students in our third grade classrooms when
we systematically differentiate instruction?
● How can I use cooperative learning in my high- school mathematics class to improve student
learning?
● What happens to student learning in my classroom when I use a project centered approach to
teaching the geography?
● One of the most important goals of any problem statement is to define the problem being
addressed in a way that's clear and precise.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
● A problem statement is usually one or two sentences to explain the problem your action research
will address.
RESEARCH QUESTION(S)
● Flow from purpose statement
● Three basic elements
- Central issue/ phenomenon you are going to study
- Participants/target group/ subjects
- Research site
● Research methodology should be kept in mind
TRIANGULATION MATRIX (Millsm, 2003)
HIGHER LEVEL QUESTIONS
1. How
2. Why do
3. What
RESEARCH QUESTION
● Involves investigating or testing an idea; exploring and analyzing issues; explaining a
phenomenon.
LOWER LEVEL QUESTIONS
1. Do.....
2. Is there.....
- The problem with lower level questions is that they tend to have a YES or NO response
Importance of Good Questions
● It is the research question that gives focus, sets boundaries, and provides direction.
● A well-articulated research question can provide you and readers with a tremendous amount of
information about your action research.
1. Narrowing a Topic
● Choose an interesting topic
● Gather background information
2. From Topic to Research Questions
● Explore questions
● Determine and evaluate your research question.
- Is your research question clear? focused? complex?
Clarity
● Unclear
- Why are social networking sites harmful?
● Clear
- How are online users experiencing or addressing privacy issues on social networking sites like
Twitter or Facebook?
Focused
● Unfocused
- What is the effect on the environment from global warming?
● Focused
- How is glacial melting affecting penguins in Antarctica?
A well-defined research question:
● Define the topic - whether your focus is on student achievement or participation of students
● Define the nature of the research endeavor - whether your aim is to discover, explore, explain,
describe, or compare.
● Define the questions you are interested in - whether you are interested in what, where, how, when,
why.
● Indicate whether you foresee a relationship between concepts you are exploring - whether you
are looking for impacts, increases, decreases, relationships, correlations, causes etc.
Characteristics of Good Research Questions
● Worth investigating
● Contribute knowledge
● Improve educational practice
Quantitative Research Questions
Three Rules:
1. They begin with "How", "What", or "Why" and can NEVER be answered by a simple Yes or No
2. Specify the independent and dependent variables
INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT VARIABLES
 What is the effect of incorporating math manipulatives into problem- solving activities on student
performance on open-ended problem-solving tests?
3. If your questions deal with connections among multiple variables, you will again - use relate or
compare - just as you did in the purpose statement
● Relationship Example (using all 3 rules]:
● How does reading engagement relate to reading comprehension of sixth grade pupils?
● Relationship Script: How does (Ind Var) relate to (Dep Var) for (participants)?
● Comparison Script: How does (group 1) compare with/differ from (group 2) in terms of (Dep Var)
for (participants)?
● Comparison Example (using all 3 rules]: How do sixth grade females and males compare in their
reading comprehension?
● Guidelines
1. Ask only a few general questions [no Yes/No questions] to permit participants to share
information with you.
2. Design and write central questions
Central Question Guidelines:
1. Begin with "How" or "What". Avoid "Why" [this is a quantitative term that implies cause and
effect]
- How do students incorporate reading skills into other curriculum areas?
2. List the central phenomenon you plan to explore
3. Identify the participants and research site
Qualitative Central Question Script:
● What is (the central phenomenon) of/for (participants) at/in (research site)?
Qualitative Research Questions
1. How will Computer Assisted Instruction affect the reading achievement of at-risk third grade
pupils at Makati Elementary School?
2. How does remedial reading program affect reading performance of sixth grade pupils of Makati
Elementary School?
Research Questions
Develop questions that breathe life into the area- of-focus statement and help provide a focus
of data collection plan.
WORKSHOP
Writing the Statement of the Problem and Research Questions
MECHANICS OF WORKSHOP
1. The participants will be divided into small groups (7-10 members each).
2. Each team will formulate the research questions to be addressed.
3. Each team will present their output.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
● Effects of Peer Learning/peer tutoring on Science Academic Performance of Sixth Grade Pupils
● Effects of Vocabulary Discussions on Reading Comprehension of Seventh Grade Students
● Use of quipperschool.com to Enhance Math Performance of fourth grade pupils
● Effects of the Library Hour on the academic performance of eight grade students
● The Use of Technology to Enhance Mathematics Achievement
RESEARCH TITLE
● Helping At-risk Students Solve Mathematical Word Problems Through the Use of Direct
Instruction and Problem Solving Strategies

WRITING THE ACTION RESEARCH REPORT: WRITING GUIDELINES

PRACTICAL TIPS IN WRITING AN ACTION RESEARCH PROPOSAL/REPORT

PARAGRAPH
● Use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences.
● Easy to read and understand, sentences are arranged in logical order, and ideas joined by
appropriate transition words.
● When using an acronym, indicate what the letters stand for at the first occurrence of your report.
Example: The Office crafted its second Division Education Development Plan (DEDP).
TENSE
● Action Research proposal is written in present and/or future tense.
● Completed research report is written in past tense.
PERSON
● Use of the first person (I, We, Our), second person (You, Yourself), and third person (He, Him, She)
in writing is acceptable.
● Consistent point of view should be observed throughout a sentence or paragraph

CITING SOURCES

REFERENCE LIST
● All sources cited within your paper should appear in the "REFERENCES" section
● Reference entries include the following information:
- The name of the author(s)
- The year of publication and, where applicable, the exact date of publication
- The full title of the source For books, the city of publication
- For articles or essays, the name of the periodical or book in which the article or essay appears
- For magazine and journal articles, the volume number, issue number, and pages where the
article appears
- For sources on the web, the URL where the source is located
- arranged in order of year of publication, earliest first
● List must be arranged alphabetically by the last name of the first author
● Works by same authors is arranged in order of year of publication, earliest first
● Use hanging indentation for each entry where the first line should be left aligned while any lines
that follow is indented five spaces
HEADING
● Type the heading in all capital letters and centered at the top of a new page
Example: "ABSTRACT", "ACKNOWLEDGMENT", "TABLE OF CONTENTS"
● Double space from the heading to the first line of the text.
● No bold, formatting, italics, underline, or quotation marks.
FORMATTING DOCUMENTS
FONT
● Style: "Times New Roman"
● Size: 12pt.
● Typeface: regular
● Bold and italics to emphasize words
SPACING
● Double-space: between lines, end of every sentence
● One-space: between words, after every comma, semicolon, or colon
Indentation
● 0.5 inch: first line of each paragraph, subheadings
PAPER SIZE
● A4 is the most commonly used paper size
Margins
● 1.0 inch: top, left, bottom, right
PAGINATION
● Title page, Abstract and Acknowledgement do not have numbers but counted as pages i, ii, iii
respectively
● Actual page numbering begins with iv on the Table of Contents.
● body of the document follows the List of Figures and begins with number 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
● Align left all entries
● A period leader may be inserted between an entry/heading and its corresponding page number
● Apply upper Roman numerals (I, II, III) list style for the first level of the entries.
● You may use numbers (1, 2, 3) and letters (a, b, c) for the subheadings.
● Always check page references for accuracy.

SAMPLE TABLE OF CONTENTS OF AN ACTION RESEARCH

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

● Align left all entries after the heading in the list of table/figure page. It contains (observes a
numbering system) the table numbers, captions and page numbers of all tables. Note: Each list
should begin at the top of a new page.
ANNEXES
● Annexes immediate follow after the reference page and should be labelled as Annex A, B, C, etc.
SPELLING & GRAMMAR
● Check for misspellings, typographical errors, etc. or have someone else check the spelling and
grammar. As an alternative, you may use the built-in features of a word processor.
For example, in Microsoft Word click Review on the menu bar then select Spelling & Grammar
GETTING STARTED
PRACTICAL TIPS TO HELP RESEARCHERS MOVE FROM PLANNING TO WRITING THE ACTION
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
● Work in well-lighted and conducive place.
● Try to write at least one paragraph or section each day. Before you know it, you already have
written the whole paper as scheduled or even ahead of schedule. Write. Write. Write. It is better
to write more than less.
● Disciplined inquiry. Make sure to have an index card or notebook with you all the time to scribble
some notes, words, or phrases that you find essential in your writing.
● Collect different sources, organize them by topics or by themes for ease of reference.
● Review your write ups. Never skip feedback. Find a writing buddy to give good and thoughtful
suggestions.
● Forget other paper you want to write. Focus only on the report you are writing.
● Have some fun and write from the heart.
COMPLETED ACTION RESEARCH REPORT

PRELIMINARY PARTS
There are things to consider in writing the different parts of an action research report. The
preliminary part includes:
1. Title Page
2. Abstract
3. Acknowledgement
4. Table of Contents
MAIN PARTS OF THE ACTION RESEARCH REPORT
● Context and Rationale
● Innovation/Intervention/Strategy
● Research Questions
● Methods
● Research Findings
● Reflection
● Action Plan and
● Financial Report
PRELIMINARY PART
● Title Page includes the author's name, title, date of the study and name of university. Title of the
study should not exceed 16 characters in inverted pyramid form and in capital letters.
ABSTRACT
● Concise summary of the research topic described as thesis-in-miniature
● Include methods and final results of the research paper. This is composed of 200-250 words which
runs for a maximum of 1 ½ pages single space.
● By reading the abstract, people should be able to decide whether they should read the full thesis
or not.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
● A one-page containing words of gratitude or appreciation to people or institution who had helped
you along the way.
● The appreciation should be expressed in a concise manner avoiding strong emotive language.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
● The guide of your reader on the study. Readers can easily look for the page that they want to see
in the study.
● This part includes the preliminary pages, List of Tables and Figures and the different outlined
prescribe parts.

PRACTICAL TIPS IN WRITING THE RESEARCH FINDINGS

● Presentation of findings should be done following the order of the research question
● Narrative explaining the interpretation and analysis should come first followed by the table
● Discussion of findings should be clear and concise
PRACTICAL TIPS IN WRITING THE RESEARCH FINDINGS
● Aside from table, data/results can also be presented using graph, chart, maps, etc. which uses
appropriate color and the headings are readable
● Ordering of table may use number or letter
● Results should be stated first stating the numerical values followed by the hypothesis. Include
implication or cite the probable causes of such results
WRITING THE REFLECTION
● Reflection is the part of the action research report wherein the researcher reflects on his/her
learning based on the outcome of the study as well as his/her experiences in the conduct of the
study. This is in a form of a narrative.
SUGGESTED TEMPLATE ON HOW TO WRITE A REFLECTION
● What is your learning based on the outcome of the study?
I learned that __________.
● What is your learning experience/s as a researcher in conducting the study?
I learned that __________.
How to Make an Action Plan
● Action Plan involves several steps or activities to be undertaken based on the results of the study
in order to further improve the teaching and learning process or for the strategy or approach to
succeed.
● This also includes dissemination and utilization of the research results and may come in narrative
or tabular form.
SUGGESTED TEMPLATE FOR AN ACTION PLAN

Preparing the Financial Report

● Liquidation/Reimbursement report includes supporting documents required for liquidation such
as:
● Cost Estimates
● Summary of Expenses
● Official Receipts
● Certification of Expenses not Requiring Receipts

SUMMARY OF EXPENSES TEMPLATE

Piagets: The 4 Stages of Cognitive Development

BACKGROUND AND KEY CONCEPTS OF PIAGET'S THEORY:

● Jean Piaget's assumption of cognitive development recommended that children persuaded
through four incompatible junctures of phrenic burgeoning. His opinion focuses not only on the
apprehension howchildren obtain their expertise, but also on the cognizance the nature of
perception.
PIAGET'S STAGES ARE:
1. Sensorimotor stage: birth to 2 years
2. Preoperational stage: ages 2 to 7
3. Concrete operational stage: ages 7 to 11
4. Formal operational stage: ages 12 and up
ABOUT THE PSYCHOLOGIST
● Born in: Neuchatel Switzerland When: 9 August 1896
● Died: 16 September 1980, Geneva, Switzerland
● Full name: Jean William Fritz Piaget
THE STAGES
● Through his consideration of his children, Piaget developed a stage theory of intellectual
development that included four perceptible stages:

THE SENSORIMOTOR STAGE

Ages: Birth to 2 Years
Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:
● The infant knows the world through their gesticulation and commotion
● Children learn about the world through basic movements such as sucking, grasping, looking, and
listening
● Infants learn that commodities continue to survive even though they cannot be perceive (object
permanence)
● They are unambiguous beings from the people and objects around them
● They realize that their movement can cause contrivance to happen in the world around them
● During this earliest stage of cognitive development, infants and toddlers obtain knowledge
through sensory experiences and exploiting objects.
● A Child's continuous experience at the earliest era of this stage transpires through basic intuitive,
perception and motor responses.
● The cognitive development that occurs during this era takes place over a fairly meteoric interval
of time and involves a great concern of growth.
● Children not only absorbed how to execute physical actions.
● They also learn a great deal about language from the people with whom they interact. Piaget
also broke this stage down into a number of different substages.
● It is during the final part of the sensorimotor stage that early representational thought emanate
THE PREOPERATIONAL STAGE
Ages: 2 to 7 Years
Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:
● Children begin to think emblematic and learn to utilize words and pictures to represent objects.
● Children at this stage tend to be narcissistic and struggle to see things from the perspective of
others.
● While they are getting better with language and thinking, they tend to think about things in very
concrete terms.
● At this stage, kids learn through dissimulated play but s t i l l grapple with argumentation and
taking the point of view of other people.
● They also often struggle with apprehension the idea of constancy
THE CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE
Ages: 7 to 11 Years
Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes
● During this stage, children begin to thinking logically about concrete events.
● They begin to understand the concept of conservation; that the amount of liquid in a short, wide
cup is equal to that in a tall, skinny glass, for example Their thinking becomes more logical and
organized, but still very concrete.
● Children begin using inductive logic, or reasoning from specific information to a general principle
● While children are still very concrete and literal in their thinking at this point in development, they
become much more adept at using logic. The egocentrism of the previous stage begins to vanish
as kids become better at meditative about how other people might view a situation.
● During this stage, children also become less egocentric and begin to think about how other
people might think and feel. Kids in the concrete operational stage also begin to understand that
their thoughts are distinctive to them and that not everyone else undoubtedly shares their
thoughts, feelings, and opinions.
THE FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE
Ages: 12 and Up
Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:
● At this stage, the adolescent or young adult begins to think abstractly and reason about
hypothetical problems Abstract thought emerges
● Teens begin to think more about moral, philosophical, ethical, social, and political issues that
require theoretical and abstract reasoning
● Begin to use deductive logic, or reasoning from a general principle to specific information
● The final stage of Piaget's theory involves an increase in logic, the ability to utilize deductive
reasoning, and a perception of abstract ideas. At this point, people become capable of seeing
multiple potential solutions to problems and think more scientifically about the world around
them.

IMPORTANT CONCEPTS
To better understand some of the things that happen during cognitive development, it is
important first to examine a few of the important ideas and concepts introduced by Piaget.
SCHEMAS: A schema describes both the mental and physical actions involved in understanding and
knowing. Schemas are categories of knowledge that help us to interpret and understand the world.
ASSIMILATION: The process of taking in new information into our already existing schemas is
known as assimilation. The process is somewhat subjective because we tend to modify experiences
and information slightly to fit in with our pre-existing beliefs
EQUILIBRATION: Piaget believed that all children try to strike a balance between assimilation and
accommodation, which is achieved through a mechanism Piaget called equilibration. As children
progress through the stages of cognitive development, it is important to maintain a balance between
applying previous knowledge and changing behaviour to account for new knowledge

Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior that Occurs through experience. It involves
new ways of doing things and it operates individual attempt to overcome barrier or to adjust new
situation.
NATURE OF LEARNING:
1. LEARNING IS UNIVERSAL: Every creature that lives learns. Man learns most. The human
nervous system is very complex, so are human reactions and so are human acquisition.
2. LEARNING IS THROUGH EXPERIENCE: Learning always involves some kind of experience,
direct or indirect (vicarious).
3. LEARNING IS FROM ALL SIDES: Today learning is from all sides. We learn from
parents,teachers, environment, nature, media etc.
4. LEARNING IS CONTINUOUS: It denotes the lifelong nature of learning. Every day new
situations are faced and the individual has to bring essential changes in his style of behaviour
adopted to tackle them. Learning is birth to death.
5. LEARNING IS ADJUSTMENT: Learning helps the individual to adjust himself adequately to the
new situations. Learning consists in modifying, adapting, and developing our original nature. In
later life the individuals acquire new forms of behaviour.
6. LEARNING COMES ABOUT AS A RESULT OF PRACTICE: It is the basis of drill and practice. It
has been proven that students learn best and retain information longer when they have
meaningful practice and repetition. Every time practice occurs, learning continues. Learning is a
relatively Permanent Change.
7. LEARNING AS GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT: It is never ending growth and development. At
each stage the learner acquires new visions of his future growth and new ideals of achievement
in the direction of his effort.
TYPES OF LEARNING
1. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING: Classical conditioning is a process by which we learn to associate
events, or stimuli, that frequently happen together; as a result of this, we learn to anticipate
events
2. OPERANT CONDITIONING: Operant conditioning is the learning process by which behaviors are
reinforced or punished, thus strengthening or extinguishing a response.
3. OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING: Observational Learning occurs through observing the behaviors
of others and imitating those behaviors- even if there is no reinforcement at the time.

Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development

LAWRENCE KOHLBERG (1927-1987)
● While pursuing his doctoral degree kohlberg became interested in jean piaget's work on the moral
development of children
● Kohlberg's theory was highly influential, especially in psychology and education.
Kolhberg's Theory of Moral Development
● Kohlberg believed that moral development follows a series of stages
● The best known moral dilemma created by kohlberg is the "heinz dilemma
● After presenting people with various moral dilemmas, kohlberg reviewed people's responses and
placed them in different stages of moral reasoning.
● Each level of morality contains two stages, which provide the basis for moral development in
various contexts
Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development
LEVEL 1: PRECONVENTIONAL: A child with pre- conventional morality has not yet adopted or
internalized society's conventions regarding what is right or wrong, but instead focuses largely on
external consequences that certain actions may bring
● STAGE 1 OBEDIENCE-AND- PUNISHMENT ORIENTATION: Focuses on the child's desire to
obey rules and avoid being punished
● STAGE 2: INSTRUMENTAL ORIENTATION: Shows a limited interest in the needs of others, only
to the point where it might further the Individual's own interests
LEVEL 2: CONVENTIONAL: Adherence to rules and conventions is somewhat rigid during these
stages, and a rule's appropriateness or fairness is seldom questioned.
● STAGE 3 GOOD BOY, NICE GIRL ORIENTATION: Children want the approval of others and act
in ways to avoid disapproval
● STAGE 4 LAW-AND-ORDER ORIENTATION: The child blindly accepts rules and convention
because of their Importance in maintaining a functioning society.
LEVEL 3: POSTCONVENTIONAL: A person's sense of morality is defined in terms of more abstract
principles and values. post- conventional moralists live by their own ethical principles- principles that
typically include such basic human rights as life liberty, and justice-and view rules as useful, but
changeable mechanisms, rather than absolute dictates that must be obeyed without question
● STAGE 5: SOCIAL- CONTRACT ORIENTATION: The world is viewed as holding different
opinions, rights, and values. This is achieved through majority decision and inevitable
compromise.
● STAGE 6: UNIVERSAL-ETHICAL- PRINCIPAL ORIENTATION: Moral reasoning is based on
abstract reasoning using universal ethical principles The chosen principles are abstract rather
than concrete and focus on ideas such as equality, dignity, or respect.

Critiques Of Kohlberg's Theory

● Carol Gilligan (1982), a research assistant of Kohlberg, criticized her former mentor's theory
because it was based so narrowly on research using white, upper-class men and boys.
● Critics argue that Kohlberg's stages are culturally biased-that the highest stages in particular
reflect a westernized ideal of justice based on individualistic thought.
● Another criticism of Kohlberg's theory is that people frequently demonstrate significant
inconsistency in their moral judgements.