ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT Requirements ED 496/497 Fall 2015

How do I craft an effective and meaningful Action Research Question? Ask yourself: 1. Is it a REAL question? 2. Is it a part of something I’m already doing or intend to do in my field placement? 3. Is the data I will collect manageable, or am I adding too much extra work for myself or taking on a project that is not practical within the time constraints and duties I have as a student teacher? 4. Where am I in the work? What is my action? 5. Is it representative of who I am/want to be as a teacher/teacher candidate? 6. Is it meaningful/relevant to a larger Education audience (teachers, parents, administrators, etc.)? Why do we care?

ENTRY 1: Introduction Include the following: 1. Describe the demographics of your district/school and classroom (e.g., gender, ethnicity, ELL population, IEP population) 2. Describe the “story of the question” (Why is this an important question in this classroom working with these students? How did you come to ask this question? Why is it important for you to know for your own professional development?) 3. Tell us what your research question is. Note: You do not need to tell us how you will answer your research question in this entry (save that for “Entry 2: Action Plan”)

ENTRY 2: Action Plan What is your action plan and how will you be assessing it? 1. GOAL & SUBJECTS: What is the goal of your action research? Who and what are you hoping to learn about or influence? 2. PLAN: What is your plan? (For instance, will you be designing a behavior modification, planning and implementing content lessons, incorporating technology in instruction, combining various types of social and academic interventions, etc.)? [Elaborate in answer to bullet 3.]

ENTRY 2: Action Plan (continued) 3. STEPS & TIMELINE: What are the steps involved in designing and implementing the plan? What is the timeline? Be specific. (For instance, is this something you will implement one period a day, from 9:30-10:30 a.m., for 3 weeks?) Are there parts of the plan that will be implemented in different stages? If so, explain. 4. DATA COLLECTION: How will you collect data? In other words, in what ways will you document the experience (e.g., using observation notes, student interviews, teacher interviews, student work products, reflective journals, etc.) to answer your research question?

ENTRY 3: Reflections on Intervention, Part I 1. IMPLEMENTATION UPDATE: What aspects of your Action Plan have you implemented thus far? Be specific. 2. PRELIMIANRY FINDINGS & REFLECTIONS: What have you noticed since implementing your action plan? What are your preliminary findings or patterns in your data? What is your evidence? What is going well? What is your evidence? What is not going well? What is your evidence? What did you need to change or tweak about your plan so far? What was your rationale for the changes?

ENTRY 3: Reflections on Intervention, Part I (continued) 3. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN GOING FORWARD: What aspects of your plan do you still need to implement? What questions do your preliminary findings and reflections raise for you? Based on your preliminary findings and new questions, what additions or changes to your original action plan do you recommend for the remainder of your data collection? Why are you making these changes or recommendations? 4. APPENDIX: Do you have any documents (lesson plans, children’s work samples, etc.) that support your claims? [Pick a representative sample.]

ENTRY 4: Reflections on Intervention, Part II 1. IMPLEMENTATION UPDATE: What aspects of your Action Plan have you implemented since you wrote Entry 3? Be specific. 2. PRELIMIANRY FINDINGS & REFLECTIONS: What have you noticed? What are your preliminary findings or patterns in your data? What is your evidence? What is going well? What is your evidence? What is not going well? What is your evidence? What did you need to change or tweak about your plan so far? What was your rationale for the changes?

ENTRY 4: Reflections on Intervention, Part II (continued) 3. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN GOING FORWARD: What aspects of your plan do you still need to implement? What questions do your preliminary findings and reflections raise for you? Based on your preliminary findings and new questions, what additions or changes to your original action plan do you recommend for the remainder of your data collection? Why are you making these changes or recommendations? 4. APPENDIX: Do you have any documents (lesson plans, children’s work samples, etc.) that support your claims? [Pick a representative sample.]

ENTRY 5: Conclusions & Final Reflection 1. RESTATE YOUR STUDY DESIGN: What was the purpose of your action research? What was the initial (and final– if changed) question you were trying to answer? Summarize in 1-3 sentences the plan you put in place to answer the question. 2. FINDINGS & CONCLUSIONS What did you find in answer to your research question? What is your evidence? What patterns are in your data? What were you unable to find out? Why? What are your conclusions based on your data analysis?

ENTRY 5: Conclusions & Final Reflection Part II (continued) 3. ACTION PLAN EVALUATION: What aspects of your plan worked well? What is your evidence? What aspects of your plan did you need to change in the midst of the action research? Why? What aspects of your plan did not go as smoothly as expected? Why do you think so? What is your evidence? If you were to implement this plan again, what would you do differently? Why?

ENTRY 5: Conclusions & Final Reflection Part III (continued) 4. TEACHER REFLECTIONS: What did you learn in general as a result of this action research project? What did you learn about your students and how did that help you as a teacher? What did you learn about teaching? What did you learn about teacher research? 5. APPENDIX: Do you have any documents (lesson plans, children’s work samples, etc.) that support your claims? [Pick representative samples.]

Appendices Start each appendix with a capital letter, a title and a new page. EX: Appendix A: Student Participants Appendix B: Student Scores for October

References The reference list should be in APA 6 th Edition format. EX: Au, W. (Ed.). (2014). Rethinking multicultural education: Teaching for racial and cultural justice. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools, Ltd. Burant, T., Christensen, L., Sawson Salas, K., & Walters, S. (Eds.). (2010). The new teacher book: Finding purpose, balance and hope during your first years in the classroom. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools, Ltd.