Chapter 8 & 9 Sharing and Reflecting, Writing Up Action Research Communicating the Results of Action Research

Sharing Action Research:

Reflecting Stage:

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. 178-79. 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. 182. 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. 184-190)

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. 202-203: 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, 3rd ed. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publishers.