GRADING RIBRIC MUST BE FOLLOWED

Report describing and reflecting on your action research study results (3-5 pages).

Introduction

As with any other instructional work you do as a teacher, reflection in action research is a large part of the outcome of your work. Not only should you engage in descriptive reflection, in which you think objectively about what happened during your action research study, but you should also engage in critical reflection—a more evaluative position in which you consider multiple reasons why things may have happened the way they did or in which you view the events and outcomes from various perspectives. Thinking deeply about your action research will help you plan for future cycles.

Instructions

Create a report that describes your action research study and your findings. Address all of the following sections.

Background

Explain the problem that was studied, describe the purpose of the completed study, and explain who might benefit from the findings and why. This includes the key question(s) that were asked.

Analysis of the Situation

Describe what you have discovered about the topic to inform the study design. What key concepts and studies are relevant to the study?

• Complete a review of at least three related peer-reviewed research articles on the topic studied.
• Identify what has been studied on the topic and what has not been studied or studied very little. In addition, identify areas where findings are not in agreement on the topic you studied. Identify the leading theory you found.

Diversity

Explain embedded diversity issues within the study topic and how this research could be used to enhance learning for students of all cultural backgrounds and learning needs.

Design and Implementation

• Describe how data were collected from baseline data to post-test data.
• Describe the population and sample from whom the data were collected, and provide a rationale for targeting the population and selecting the sample.
• Describe what instruments were used to collect data and how they were shown to be valid and reliable.
• Provide information or baseline data that you gathered through interviewing or surveying individuals, archival data collected on students or others (for example, tests or grades), observations you made related to the problem, and so on.
• Describe how data were physically collected using a step-by-step approach (a blueprint of what you did).
• Include rationale for what technology was integrated to enhance the research; this could have been via the application and/or the assessment and potential outcomes.

Ethics

Name the primary stakeholders involved in gaining access to the site and the ethical considerations that were needed. Address any issues that arose in terms of ethics.

Data Analysis

Describe how data were analyzed and processed to generate findings in order to inform decision making and practice.

• How were data analyzed and interpreted? Did you stay true to the original design plan?
• How can findings be interpreted? Would a different action have had better results? What was unexpected?
• What can you conclude from the information/data analysis? Are your conclusions based solely on the evidence?

Reflection

Describe the proposed actions of the reflecting stage of the study, such as the possible implications of the findings on future practice and decision making, how the findings might be used or applied in the respective setting, how results will be shared and communicated, and a reflection on possible factors and other variables that may affect the findings.

• What can be concluded about what needs to happen next?
• What are the implications for the next steps in the cycle?
• How does the next action reflect previous learning?
• What feedback did your stakeholder(s) provide you, and how will you address that?

As you reflect on what you found in your data and how you used this to create a plan of action for the next step in improvement, you might want to review the 5 Ws you discussed in Assessment 1, and adapt them to capture the next stage of the change cycle.

• What? What changes will you need to make next, and what resources will be needed?
• Who? Who is responsible for making these changes?
• When? When will you need to implement these changes?
• Where? Where do these changes need to occur?
• Why? Why will implementing your proposed changes make a difference?

Resources: Action Research Report

• PRINT
• These readings will help you put together your research report and see how you will need to plan for future change cycles.
  • Mertler, C. A. (2018). Action research: Improving schools and empowering educators (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Available in the bookstore.
    • Chapter 7, “Next Steps and Future Cycles,” pages 219–231.
    • Chapter 8, “Writing an Action Research Report,” pages 232–255.