Action Research

What is action research?

diapo 1

One of the main aims of action research is to “identify” a problematic situation or issue in the
class that the participants who may include teachers, students or even parents consider “worth
looking into more deeply and systematically. The central idea is to intervene /ˌɪn.təˈviːn/ in a
deliberate way in the problematic situation in order to bring about changes and even better
improvements in practice. For example, for many teachers action research is carried out in the
classroom by them mainly with the purpose of solving a problem or improving the teaching
learning process.

How can we collect data for action research?

Look for a figure

Teachers can collect information for action research though this information:

a) they can keep a diary to explore his/her feelings of uneasiness

b) they can give students a questionnaire to investigate their preferences and difficulties
in oral and written texts.
c) through the record of a number of oral tests
d) by asking th students for written feedback after the test.
e) by asking a facilitator to interview students after the oral test

Which are the four steps when doing action research?

According to Kemmis and McTaggart who are major authors in this field, action
research involves 4 broad phases in a cycle of research, the first cycle may become a
continuing spyral of cycles which recur until the action researcher has achieved a
satisfactory outcome and feels it is time to stop.

(Model of Cyclical) figure page..9

a) Planning: in this phase you identify a problem and develop a plan of action in
order to bring about improvements in a specific area of the research context.
This is a forward- looking phase where you consider a) what kind of
 investigation is possible within the realities and constraints of your teaching
situation, b) what potential improvements you think are possible.

b) Action: the plan is carefully considered one which involves some interventions
into your teaching situation that you put into action over an agreed period of
time. The interventions are “critically informed” as you question your
assumptions about the current situation and plan new and alternative ways of
doing things.

c) Observation: this phase involves you in observing systematically the effects of

the action and documenting the context, actions and opinions of those
involved. It is a data collection phase where you use “ open- eyed” and “open-
minded” tools to collect information about what is happening.

d) Reflection: you reflect on, evaluate and describe the effects of the action in
order to make sense of what happened and to understand the issue you have
explored more clearly. you may decide to do further cycles of AR to improve
the situation even more, or to share the story of your research with others as
part of your ongoing professional development.

(Mention the example of Isabella (paper) English teacher

What are the similarities and differences between action research and applied
research?

(arma cuadro con similitudes y diferencias-)

Similarities: both action research and applied research share the goal of
addressing practical issues and solving real- world problems. They involve
systematic processes of inquiry to generate knowledge that can be directly
applied to improve situations or practices. Additionally, both methodologies
often emphasize“collaboration- '' between researchers and practitioners,
promoting a hands- on approach to problem solving within specific contexts.
Moreover, both researchers adopt a scientific approach to the grop work tpic
they are investigating.
They are both concerned to go beyond their intuitions about the effectiveness
of group work, and to use a systematic approach to asking questions,
collecting information, analyzing data, drawing out conclusions and
interpreting their findings.
Differences: there are differences in the way they go about planning the
research. the first researcher adopts an “objective stance” in which she
attempts to control the variables that may affect their findings. For example,
differences in language proficiency. The second researcher is not interested in
establishing relationships of this type, but instead wants to explore the best
possible ways of setting up classroom activities. This is a more “subjective
approach” concerned with exploring different ways of teaching and as a result
of the information collected deliberately changing the conditions that exist in
the classroom.