CHAPTER 8 & 9 SHARING AND REFLECTING, WRITING UP ACTION RESEARCH Communicating the Results of Action Research

Sharing Action Research: Sharing/ Communicating Results Local Presentations Professional Conferences Academic Journals Electronic Dissemination

Reflecting Stage: Reflecting Stage Sharing And Communicating Results Reflecting on the Process Beginning Action Research Cycle Again...

Local Presentations: 1) Background Information: Summarize literature review Include 3 or 4 highlights 2) Purpose of your Study: Why did you choose this study? What did you hope to accomplish? 3) Methodology Employed: Brief Description of Methodology and Data Collection.

Professional Conferences  State, regional and national conferences.  Annual Conferences  Utah Education Association (UEA,NEA)  Utah Association of Curriculum Development (UASCD, ASCD)  Gifted, Math, Science, Lang. Arts, etc.

Academic Journals:  Refereed Journals -- provide feedback on study, recommendations for publication.  Accept as is.  Accept with revisions. (conditionally)  Reject.  See sample letter on pp  Journal list, p. 180.

Sharing Results Electronically:  Sharing results in an on-line environment.  More global view -- connecting with educators in other areas.  Sites: p. 181  Electronic Journals: p  Can download and print articles.

Reflecting on Action Research Process:  Reflect on: (1) Planning and Future Cycles (2) Classroom practice, student's previous knowledge. (3) What worked, what didn't, revisions. (4) Teacher expectations, student motivation. (see samples pp )

Chapter 9: Writing up Action Research:  Format - APA Style Guide (Website)  Tense, Person, Voice  Tentative vs. Definitive Statements  Clarity, Consistency,  Simplicity  Academic Writing Conventions

Titles of Reports  Initial screening mechanism.  Titles: Describe the study.  Create Interest, but not too 'cutsey'.  Ex: The Mouse or the Pencil? A Psychometric Comparison of Web-Based and Traditional Survey Methodologies."

Person and Voice:  Objective voice.  Infrequent use of first person (I, we)  Personal Observations: Special section at end of report.  Qualitative Research: more subjective. Teacher/researcher is part of the research process.  Use of 'active' and 'passive' voice.

Tentative vs. Definitive Statements:  Clarity when describing methodology.  When reporting results, be more tentative.  Not ethical to present conclusions with absolute certainty. Why?  "There seem to be..."  "It may be critical that..."

Clarity, Consistency, Simplicity:  Clarity: Have 'test' readers read and give feedback on clarity and flow.  Stylistic decisions, word usage, etc. should be consistent throughout report.  KISS: Keep it simple!

Conventions of Format I:  Introduction: (1) Statement of Problem (2) Purpose of the Study (3) Research Questions, Hypotheses (4) Limitations and Delimitations  Review of Related Literature

Conventions of Format I: (cont.)  Methodology: (1) Participants (2) Data Collection Procedures (3) Data Analysis Procedures  Results:  Conclusions and Recommendations:  References:

Conventions of Format II:  Introduction: (1) Area of Focus (2) Defining the Variables (3) Research Questions  Review of Related Literature:  Description of Intervention/Innovation:  Data Collection and Considerations:

Conventions of Format II: (cont.)  Data Analysis and Interpretation:  Conclusions:  Reflection and Action Plan:  See pp : Sample Headings for Action Research Report by Author.

Practical Writing Considerations:  'Baby Steps'.  Write as if you are telling a friend about your study.  Rough Draft.  Edit, revise, edit, revise.  Have a 'reader' give you feedback.  No one writes w/o needing to revise.

Sample Studies:  Action Research: How is a research proposal different than a research report?  What is good about this work?  What could be improved?  Are there some parts left out?  What questions do you have?

References: 1) Mertler, C. A. (2012). Action Research: Improving Schools and Empowering Educators, 3 rd ed. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publishers.