Frequently Asked Questions of Teachers

Frequently asked questions of teachers
How can I get the students to enjoy learning?

What can I do to make handicapped children feel part of my
class?
How can I make my classroom more interesting for students?
How might we conduct teacher evaluation processes in this school
in ways that will improve teaching and learning?
How can I encourage more parental support for what does on in
the classroom?
How can I adapt an already demanding curriculum to better meet
the specific needs of the students in my class?
How might we work together better as a staff to establish such
things as school objectives, philosophy, and budget priorities?
Jack Whitehead, Action Research,

Principles and Practice, McNiff, 1988, ix
We must find a way of bridging
the traditional divide between
educational theory and
professional practice.
Definition (1)
Reflect
Observe
Action research is a research that ANY of us
can do on his her own practice to improve it.
• It can be conducted with the assistance or
guidance of professional researchers in order
to improve strategies, practices, and
knowledge of the environments within which
they practice.
an
Act
Definition (2)
flect
Observe
Action research is a process in which
participants examine their own
educational practice, systematically
and carefully, using the techniques of
research.
What is action research?
Action research can be described as
afamily of research methodologies which
pursue ACTION (or Change) and
RESEARCH (or Understanding) at the
same time.
What is AR? (Cont’d)

• Action research is inquiry or research in the context of
focused efforts to improve the quality of a PRACTICE.
• It is typically designed and conducted by practitioners
who analyze the data to improve their own practice.
Action research can be done by individuals or by teams
of colleagues. The team approach is called collaborative
inquiry.
Action research has the potential to generate genuine
and sustained improvements in schools.
Why AR?
Elect
Observe
AR gives educators new opportunities to
reflect on and assess their teaching;
• To explore and test new ideas, methods, and
materials;
To assess how effective the new approaches
were;
- To share feedback with fellow team members;
- To make decisions about which new approaches
to include in the practice.
How Action Research

is Done?
lect
Observe
- Using a Cyclic or Spiral process which
alternates between Action and critical
Reflection, and
- Continuously refining methods, data and
interpretation in the light of the
understanding developed in the earlier
leycles.
Characteristics of A.R.
· It is an emergent process which takes
shape as understanding increases;
- It is an iterative process which converges
towards a better understanding of what
happens;
- It is participative (Change is usually
easier to achieve when those affected by
the change are involved) and qualitative.
Scope of AR
Understanding Students (Factors related to Students,
Behaviour/Characteristics):
· Ascertaining the readiness for teaching a particular
concept or principle in a particular subject
· Gender difference in interest towards a subject.
· Reasons of shyness in the classroom for a subject
· Causes of truancy (absenteeism) in a subject.
• Performance of children in a particular subject with or
without private tuition.
• Comparison of performance in a subject of normal
children with those belonging to disadvantaged groups.
Scope of AR
(b) Roles and Functions of Teachers (Factors related to
teachers):
Effect of incentives on the development of improvised
aids in a particular subject.
• Teachers' problems in teaching a particular subject in
primary / secondary / senior secondary schools.
Quality of teacher-pupil interaction and pupils' interest
in the learning of a subject.
Teachers' personality and teacher-pupil interaction.
Comparison of quality of interaction in classes of a
particular subject taken by male and female teachers.
Teachers' applying experience gained by them in in-
service training in a particular subject.
Scope of AR
(C) School climate/infrastructure (Factors related to
school climate):
Changing sitting order in classroom and span of
attention in solving mathematics problems.
Effect of closed and open-air classrooms on increasing
interest in a particular subject.
Changing time of mathematics period and interest of
students in mathematics learning in the class.
Scope of AR
(d) Curricular and Co curricular practices (Factors
related to Curricular and Co curricular Practices):
Management of classroom activities with children of
wide ranging abilities.
• Pupils' performance on different types of test items on
the same content areas of a particular subject.
• Effects of peer teaching on the attainment of mastery
learning.
Effects of different remedial measures in removing
learning difficulties.
Why AR? (Cont'd)

It is the most logical way of doing research on
societal and community issues.
Sometimes, it does not make sense to go to an
outsider ,with often shaky or no knowledge of
the given situation, thinking that with a few
questions, he/she can get enlightening answers.
It is difficult to grasp the issues of a group or
community by an outsider who has limited
interaction with the group.
What is action research?

Action research is systematic inquiry done
by teachers (or other individuals in an
educational setting) to gather information
about, and subsequently improve, the ways
their particular educational setting
operates, how they teach, and how well
their students learn (Mills, 2000).
When do you use action

research?
1. To solve an educational problem;
2. To help educators reflect on their own
practices
3. To address school-wide problems
4. When teachers want to improve their
Practices
Action Research
Interacting Spiral
Plan
Act
Reflect
Observe
Key characteristics of Action

Research
• A practical focus
The educator-researcher's own practices
Collaboration
Dynamic process
A plan of action
Sharing research
Study of the educator-

researcher's own practices
Self-reflective research by the educator-
researchers turns the lens on their own
educational classroom, school, or
practices.
Diagram
A plan of action
The action researcher develops a plan of
action
Formal or informal; involve a few
individuals or an entire community
May be presenting data to stakeholders,
establishing a pilot program, or exploring
new practices
What are the steps in

conducting action research?
Determine if action research is the best
design to use.
Identify the problem to study
• Locate resources to help address the
problem
Identify the information you will need
What are the steps in
conducting action research?
Implement the data collection
Analyze the data
Develop a plan for action
Implement the plan and reflect
How do you evaluate action

research?
.
Does the project clearly address a problem or
issue in practice that needs to be solved?
• Did the action researcher collect sufficient data
to address the problem?
• Did the action researcher collaborate with
others during the study? Was there respect for
all collaborators?

research?
Did the plan of action advanced by the
researcher build logically from the data?
• Is there evidence that the plan of action
contributed to the researcher's reflection as a
professional?
• Has the research enhanced the lives of the
participants by empowering them, changing
them, or providing them with new
understanding?

research?
• Did the action research actually lead to change
or did a solution to a problem make the
difference?
Was the action research reported to audiences
who might use the information?

Frequently Asked Questions of Teachers

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Frequently Asked Questions of Teachers

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Frequently Asked Questions of Teachers

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Frequently asked questions of teachers

How can I get the students to enjoy learning?

Jack Whitehead, Action Research,

What is AR? (Cont’d)

How Action Research

Why AR? (Cont'd)

What is action research?

When do you use action

Key characteristics of Action

Study of the educator-

What are the steps in

How do you evaluate action

How do you evaluate action

How do you evaluate action

You might also like