Let’s do Action Research ! Ideas in Motion for our Integrated English Course Paul Kawachi FRSA OU of China, 24 July 2010

Why do action research ? What is action research ? How to do action research ? ( and if time... topics for action research ) overview

Why ?

Why do action research ?

What is it ? and why me ? surely others who have time and interest can do this. And they can tell me the result. or I can read about it when I get time. It’s easier to read what I need to know than bother about doing the research myself. Anyway, I‘m not good at research !

‘Action Research’ is personal about your own feelings in your own classroom ‘Action Research’ is not difficult indeed it is easy, and saves you time ( the idea is to save you time and energy and stress ) it helps you work more intelligently … not harder !

okay... so What exactly is ‘Action Research’ ? and When will I have time to do it ?

You want to make your job easier, and more enjoyable, and fun

You want to make your job easier, and more enjoyable, and fun for your students too. And you want them to get higher grades more easily, rather than having to work harder

You already are working hard to help your college and students get better and better every year... and you yourself get better at teaching with practice, experience and studying...

You already are working hard to help your college and students get better and better every year... and you yourself get better at teaching with practice, experience and studying... so you are already doing ‘Action Research’

You already are working hard to help your college and students get better and better every year... and you yourself get better at teaching with practice, experience and studying... so you are already doing ‘Action Research’ but maybe you still want to make things easier and you want others to respect your hard work !

‘Action Research’ is only about your own classroom ( face-to-face or online ) it is not only about solving classroom problems it is about coping

‘Action Research’ is only about your own classroom ( face-to-face or online ) it is not only about solving classroom problems it is about coping well

‘Action Research’ is only about your own classroom ( face-to-face or online ) it is not only about solving classroom problems it is about coping well and improving your styles in small ways to become more and more efficient and professional

being professional

professional means to - systematically question one’s own teaching - acquire the skills to study one’s own teaching - test out theory in practice - allow other teachers to observe one’s work and - discuss it with them on an open basis Stenhouse 1975 p.144

the motivations to do Action Research : vocational academic personal social

the motivations to do Action Research : vocational extrinsic : intrinsic : academic personal social

the motivations to do Action Research : vocational extrinsic : qualifying for a better job intrinsic : get skills for own future desires academic extrinsic : get more knowledge intrinsic : pursue own study interests personal extrinsic : show capability to others intrinsic : desire for self improvement social extrinsic : outside activities intrinsic : lifelong learning Kawachi 2002

the motivations to do Action Research : vocational extrinsic : qualifying for a better job intrinsic : get skills for own future desires academic extrinsic : get more knowledge intrinsic : pursue own study interests personal extrinsic : show capability to others intrinsic : desire for self improvement social extrinsic : outside activities intrinsic : lifelong learning Kawachi 2002

“ it is not enough that teachers’ work should be studied : they need to study it themselves ” Rudduck & Hopkins 1985 p.93

before looking at what is ‘Action Research’ let’s look at more reasons given by some others for why ‘Action Research’ will help us...

Why do Action Research ? - to adhere to principles of good teaching - to update strategies and increase flexibility - to serve the increasing diversity of students and our students’ modern needs - to provide leadership models to students and society - to improve the quality of our students’ learning - to compete against rival colleges - to broaden open access for more students - to develop now and save $ money in the future Collis 1998, Pajo 2001, Farrell 2002

maybe you can add a lot more reasons why you want to resolve classroom difficulties and help your students learn better

maybe you can add a lot more reasons why you want to resolve classroom difficulties and help your students learn better e.g. We have to keep up with new internet technology

maybe you can add a lot more reasons why you want to resolve classroom difficulties and help your students learn better e.g. We have to keep up with new internet technology Our students must learn new things which we ourselves never learnt before

now let’s look at What is action research ?

action research is a small area,

What is action research ? action research is a small area, essentially private,

What is action research ? action research is a small area, essentially private, personally meaningful...

What is action research ? action research is a small area, essentially private, personally meaningful... a constructive systematic way to resolve our own worries, to serve our own curiosity, to take control of uncontrolled happenings

What is action research ? is one kind of research...

What is action research ? is one kind of research... you need to know some basics about research

What is action research ? is one kind of research... you need to know some basics about research eg there are two kinds quantitative qualitative

What is action research ? is one kind of research... you need to know some basics about research eg there are two kinds quantitative objective qualitative subjective

What is action research ? is one kind of research... you need to know some basics about research eg there are two kinds quantitative objective tests a known theory qualitative subjective describes a situation

quantitative objective from a theory = deductive counts unframed, unlimited qualitative subjective creates theory = inductive describes framed, limited

quantitative objective from a theory = deductive counts unframed, unlimited qualitative subjective creates theory = inductive describes framed, limited action research

What is action research ? is one kind of research... you need to know some basics about research eg there are two kinds quantitative objective tests a known theory qualitative subjective describes a situation

What is action research ? is one kind of research... you need to know some basics about research eg there are two kinds quantitative objective tests a known theory qualitative subjective describes a situation

What is action research ? qualitative subjective very personal

What is action research ? qualitative subjective very personal describes only our own classroom

What is action research ? qualitative subjective very personal describes only our own classroom interprets events

What is action research ? qualitative subjective very personal describes only our own classroom interprets events responsive to social actions

What is action research ? qualitative subjective very personal describes only our own classroom interprets events responsive to social actions discovers new concepts

What is action research ? qualitative subjective very personal describes only our own classroom interprets events responsive to social actions discovers new concepts reveals practice

What is action research ? qualitative subjective very personal describes only our own classroom interprets events responsive to social actions discovers new concepts reveals practice increases understanding

now let’s look at How to do action research ?

How to do action research ? Step-by-Step

How to do action research ? Step-by-Step ( and in small safe steps )

How to do action research ? Step-by-Step reflect and improve one aspect of current course

How to do action research ? Step-by-Step reflect and improve one aspect of current course ( and only one )

How to do action research ? Step-by-Step reflect and improve one aspect of current course ( and only one aspect at a time )

How to do action research ? Step-by-Step reflect and improve one aspect of current course - make the lessons more flexible - more-engage our students - get students more-focused on interactions - more-finely tune our teaching

How to do action research ? Step-by-Step reflect and improve one aspect of current course - make the lessons more flexible - more-engage our students - get students more-focused on interactions - more-finely tune our teaching ( = adapt closer to students’ needs )

okay... so what topics should I look at ?

okay... so what topics should I look at ? any topic is fine ( but only one small aspect at a time )

okay... so what topics should I look at ? e.g. what homework will my students want to do ?

okay... so what topics should I look at ? e.g. what homework will my students want to do ? ask them

okay... so what topics should I look at ? e.g. what homework will my students want to do ? ask them, how long they have, what kinds of things they enjoy doing, what points do they want to improve most

okay... so what topics should I look at ? e.g. what homework will my students want to do ? Design a simple survey

okay... so what topics should I look at ? e.g. what homework will my students want to do ? Design a simple survey with closed and open questions

okay... so what topics should I look at ? e.g. what homework will my students want to do ? Design a simple survey with closed and open questions and ask another teacher too, find if she has same interest, and her students ?

okay... so what topics should I look at ? e.g. what homework will my students want to do ? e.g. what page do my students like best in this chapter ?

okay... so what topics should I look at ? e.g. what homework will my students want to do ? e.g. what page do my students like best in this chapter why ?

okay... so what topics should I look at ? e.g. what homework will my students want to do ? e.g. what page do my students like best in this chapter why, who likes which page, why ?

action research means helping yourself to work less and achieve more summary

action research means helping yourself to work less and achieve more for yourself summary

action research means helping yourself to work less and achieve more for yourself and for your students summary

action research means helping yourself to work less and achieve more for yourself and for your students your students now summary

action research means helping yourself to work less and achieve more for yourself and for your students your students now, and for your students next year ! summary

Action Research should be fun, rewarding, and worthwhile try chatting with a colleague about your own lesson or about his or her lesson together you will enjoy learning summary

for our further discussion : QQ : Open Teach google group : Open-Teach

You can download these slides freely from or by to me at