Action Research-What and How?

Action research allows professional educators to analyze the environment in which they work, to assess the students with which they work and determine the issues that directly affect both of those areas. They have the unique ability to combine practice with research in order to find real solutions that bring about improved changes. What makes action research an invaluable tool is the active participation of the teachers and others who are invested in the concerns of the school. When teachers invest their own time and energy into the inquiry process, then they have a sense of ownership and are more connected to seeing the process through to its outcome. The inquiry of action research provides better internal communication, opportunities for collaborative work, and aids in the professional development of its participants.

There are five steps in the action research process which include identifying the problem area, collecting and organizing data, interpretation of the data, action based on evidence of the data, and reflection to evaluate results. There are many uses for action research. It is used to promote reflective practice; as a strategy in professional development; to aid in curriculum development; and to foster individual, institutional and community change. There are several different types of action research. These include individual teacher research that focuses on issues within a single classroom, collaborative action research that focuses on multiple classroom with similar issues, school-wide research that focuses on school issues, and district-wide research that focuses on the organization as a whole.

As teachers become more adept in the action research process, they learn that the ability to analyze their own methods of teaching which can be just as beneficial as its impact on student achievement.