PEER

EDU696

Week 4 Instructor Guidance

Week 3 required a look back, reflecting on the link between assessments and report cards that reflect CCSS. Additionally, the idea of creating high quality assessments was debated, as well as the concept of the Flipped Classroom. This time, the flipped classroom concept was related to the Common Core State Standards and teacher decision-making based on student assessments. Last, the assignment in Week 3 required you to connect high quality assessment with 21st Century Learning and Innovation Skills. This week you will share your peer reviewed research study with your fellow learners.

Now is the time to look ahead to Week 5 to prepare for the group activity if you have not already done so, as well as ask questions in the Ask Your Instructor discussion if you are unclear about any of the requirements for the group activity.

Action Research

Action Research (AR) is both process and product. The AR process has well known steps: Developing the research question, conducting the literature review, designing and implementing the study design (to include the data collection and analysis), and writing up and presenting your findings. The AR product, of course, is the results, as well as the final report for presentation.

Action Research (AR) is a key type of research aimed specifically at what is sometimes called “street level practitioners.” O’Brien (1998, para 23 and 24) notes that

Kurt Lewin is generally considered the ‘father’ of action research. A German social and experimental psychologist, and one of the founders of the Gestalt school, he was concerned with social problems, and focused on participative group processes for addressing conflict, crises, and change, generally within organizations. Initially, he was associated with the Center for Group Dynamics at MIT in Boston, but soon went on to establish his own National Training Laboratories. Lewin first coined the term ‘action research’ in his 1946 paper “Action Research and Minority Problems”, characterizing Action Research as “a comparative research on the conditions and effects of various forms of social action and research leading to social action”, using a process of “a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action, and fact-finding about the result of the action.”

AR, when considered from an education viewpoint, is tied with the work of John Dewey, whose experiential view of education was directed to both students and teachers. As such it is very versatile. While conducting AR, teachers seek to find solutions to practical classroom problems. Some examples of AR can be found in all curriculum subjects, student management issues, improvements of teaching technique(s), etc. AR can be conducted by individuals, teams of teachers, or entire schools. In sum, AR works well for educators.

Understanding the conduct, potential value, and professional necessity of research in general, and action research in particular, arms you with the necessary tools to not only conduct your own research, but to enhance our profession. By offering a substantial alternative to post-modern modes of thinking as applied to education, you can proceed with your professional practice with renewed confidence.

Week 4 Assessments Overview

Review the full instructions for each assessment below on the Week 4 homepage in addition to using this guidance.

Discussion –Share your Action Research Study

In this discussion, you participate in reciprocal sharing of your peer reviewed action research study with other classmates in the course who will appreciate the knowledge you gained through the action research peer review process. A link to your Folio will be included as well as a reflection on the redesigned activity from your Week 3 assignment. Sharing your peer reviewed action research study provides you a time for reflection on the study. In this discussion, really reflect on the study and offer other viewpoints to classmates on their action research peer reviewed study. Having a time for collaboration and review will enhance our understanding of the AR process and the study you did for peer review.

Assignment – Research and Educational Change

In this assignment, you take your discussion and convert it into a poster that you could use at an academic conference.

Regardless of the length of time any action research encompasses, whether a month or an entire academic year, it is important to share the process and the results with the rest of the academic community. You will put together your report following APA formatting and writing, highlighting what you read about in your peer reviewed study. This is the product component of Action Research and should be attended to with utmost attention and quality.

There is often a presentation aspect to any Action Research product as well. Whether you are presenting your findings to your colleagues, the local school board, or preparing it for publication in an online action research journal, the goal is the same—to present your project and findings as professionally as possible.

One key to this is to be fully prepared ahead of time. If the presentation is to be public, rehearse. Practice what you intend to say, do not read the presentation verbatim to the audience, prepare your handouts, slides, or other information, and use them while you practice. Anticipate the questions you could be asked and practice responding to them. And do this more than once—we have all endured presentations in which the speaker was clearly not prepared, and you do not want to fall into that.

A second key is to keep it brief. Oftentimes, you will have a finite time to present your project and respond to questions, so it is important to adhere to this. Finding out how much time you are permitted ahead of time allows you to frame your rehearsal work.

Remember, too, that you are the expert here. You did the work of the peer review and are now telling people about it. This should inspire confidence—you are providing knowledge others do not have. Finally, if you are making a professional presentation, look the part. This not only is appropriate to the task, but adds a measure of personal confidence—If you look professional, you will present a more confident and professional demeanor. This will, in turn, enhance your presentation.

 

References

O'Brien, R. (2001). Um exame da abordagem metodológica da pesquisa ação (Links to an external site.)  [An Overview of the Methodological Approach of Action Research]. In Roberto Richardson (Ed.), Teoria e Prática da Pesquisa Ação [Theory and Practice of Action Research]. João Pessoa, Brazil: Universidade Federal da Paraíba. (English version). Retrieved from http://www.web.ca/robrien/papers/arfinal.html#_Toc26184672 (Links to an external site.)

Additional Resources

Borgman, C. (2007). Scholarship in the digital age: Information, infrastructure, and the internet. Boston: MIT Press.

Ma, L. (1999, 2010). Knowing and teaching elementary mathematics. Teachers understanding of fundamental mathematics in China and the United States. New York: Routledge

Trochim, G. (2006).  Social research methods database (Links to an external site.) . Retrieved from http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/index.php