Full Description
Action Research: Using Strategic Inquiry to Improve Teaching and Learning helps educators use research to guide decision-making and determine the effectiveness of various instructional strategies. The book leads the reader through the action research process using a model of self-regulation, which focuses on task definition, goal setting and planning, enacting research, and adaption. Written specifically for educators who may not feel prepared to measure the impact of interventions on student learning outcomes, the book provides very practical and useful tools, containing specific examples that are relevant to teachers' everyday reality. The text also reinforces how action research can improve the teaching and learning process by reinforcing or changing perceptions about the use of informal data, including anecdotal notes or observations, in the research process.
Contents
PREFACE
Acknowledgments
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
PHASE I—TASK DEFINITION
CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS ACTION RESEARCH?
Guiding Questions
Chapter Aims and Goals
Setting the Context: Research in the Age of Accountability
Taking Action: Using the CAPES Framework
Summary
Key Terms
Case in Point: Introducing the Research Log
Activities and Additional Resources
PHASE II—GOAL SETTING AND PLANNING
CHAPTER 2: IDENTIFYING A RESEARCH TOPIC
Guiding Questions
Chapter Aims and Goals
Setting the Context: Choosing a Research Topic
Taking Action: Developing the Research Topic
Developing a Plan or a Product: Completing a Topic Proposal Form
Evaluating Against the Standards: Are You Ready to Move On?
Summary
Key Terms
Case in Point: Developing a Topic
Activities and Additional Resources
CHAPTER 3: CREATING A REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Guiding Questions
Chapter Aims and Goals
Setting the Context: Sources of Information
Taking Action: Locating and Synthesizing Information
Developing a Plan or a Product: Writing the Synthesis of Literature
Evaluating Against the Standards: Are You Ready to Move On?
Summary
Key Terms
Case in Point: Annotated Bibliography Entries
Activities and Additional Resources
CHAPTER 4: CREATING A RESEARCH PLAN
Guiding Questions
Chapter Aims and Goals
Setting the Context: Examining Characteristics and Components of Research Methods
Taking Action: Developing a Preliminary Research Plan
Developing a Plan or a Product: Initiating the Research Plan Proposal Form
Evaluating Against the Standards: Are You Ready to Move On?
Summary
Key Terms
Case in Point: Research Plan (Pre-implementation)
Activities and Additional Resources
CHAPTER 5: METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION
Guiding Questions
Chapter Aims and Goals
Setting the Context: Choosing Data Collection Methods
Validity and Reliability
Sources of Data
Taking Action: Selecting Data Collection Methods
Developing a Plan or a Product: Revising the Research Plan Proposal Form and Creating a Timeline
Evaluating Against the Standards: Are You Ready to Move On?
Summary
Key Terms
Case in Point: Revising the Research Plan and Timeline
Activities and Additional Resources
PHASE III—ENACTING
CHAPTER 6: ANALYZING THE DATA
Guiding Questions
Chapter Aims and Goals
Setting the Context: Analyzing Your Data
Taking Action: Selecting the Method of Data Analysis
Developing a Plan or a Product: Completing the Research Plan Proposal Form and Timeline
Evaluating Against the Standards: Are You Ready to Move On?
Summary
Key Terms
Case in Point: Final Research Plan and Timeline
Activities and Additional Resources
PHASE IV—ADAPTATION
CHAPTER 7: REFLECTING ON RESULTS AND PLANNING FOR ACTION
Guiding Questions
Chapter Aims and Goals
Setting the Context: Reflecting on the Results of Action Research
Taking Action: Creating a Plan for Action
Developing a Plan or a Product: Completing a Plan of Action
Evaluating Against the Standards: Are You Ready to Move On?
Summary
Key Terms
Case in Point: Reflecting on Results
Activities and Additional Resources
CHAPTER 8: THE ACTION RESEARCH REPORT: SHARING RESULTS
Guiding Questions
Chapter Aims and Goals
Setting the Context: Determining the Audience, Format, and Outlet
Taking Action: Crafting the Abstract and Policy Implication Statements
Developing a Product: Creating the Action Research Report Outline, Presentation, and Summary
Evaluating Against the Standards: Are You Ready to Move On?
Moving Forward: Potential Challenges
Summary
Key Terms
Case in Point: Action Research Summary
Activities and Additional Resources
CHAPTER 9: LEADING A COLLABORATIVE ACTION RESEARCH TEAM
Guiding Questions
Chapter Aims and Goals
Setting the Context: Organizing for Collaborative Action Research
Taking Action: Collaborative Action Research
Developing the Product: Forming the Collaborative Action Research Team
Summary
Key Terms
Case in Point: Developing a Collaborative Action Research Study
Activities and Additional Resources
APPENDIX A: EXAMPLES OF ACTION RESEARCH REPORTS
Examining the Impact of Readers' Theater on Struggling Readers' Fluency Levels
Using an Investigation Model in Ninth-Grade Science Class: Impact on Lower-Level Readers
APPENDIX B: POTENTIAL PUBLICATION OUTLETS FOR ACTION RESEARCH
GLOSSARY
INDEX
