QUICK RESOURCE SHEET #46

Action research

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Definitions of Action Research on the Web:

• School and classroom-based studies initiated and conducted by teachers and other school staff. Action research involves teachers, aides, principals, and other school staff as researchers who systematically reflect on their teaching or other work and collect data that will answer their questions.
  www.k12.hi.us/~atr/evaluation/glossary.htm
• research conducted by classroom teachers, often concurrent with their teaching.
  www.crede.org/tools/glossary.html

If you’d like to use action research to explore more deeply issues affecting your teaching, here are some resources to get you started.

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/methodology/action_research.shtml

“If you have never done action research before, start small. Ensure that the problem you try to solve is manageable. And don't be afraid of making mistakes. As all teachers know, we learn through our mistakes.”

http://www.aston.ac.uk/lss/research/prodd/TDTR92/tdtrdn.jsp

“…action research is justified on the grounds that it is a valuable professional development tool. It represents what I would call an inside out approach to professional development. It represents a departure from the ‘outside in’ approach (i.e. one in which an outside ‘expert’ brings the ‘good news’ to the practitioner in the form of a one-off workshop or seminar). In contrast, the inside out approach begins with the concerns and interests of practitioners, placing them at the centre of the inquiry process.”

http://www.nelliemuller.com/Action_Research_Projects.htm

“The principle of action research is to plan a change, implement the change, collect any necessary information, and analyze what happened. Action research can make use of data already being collected or needed for classroom practice.”

http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~mryder/itc/act_res.html

Links to more articles on the topic.

Previous editions of the QUICK RESOURCE SHEET

#1 – Creating quizzes (and more) online                                                         

#2 – Vocabulary builders

#3 – Online discussion groups for English teachers                                    

#4 – Grammar headaches – and how to cure them

#5 – Resources for new teachers                                                     

#6 – International Education Week

#7 – Mentoring programs                                                                    

#8 – Education publications online

#9 – Applied Linguistics                                                                   

#10 – English for Young Learners

#11 – World AIDS Day                                                                      

#12 – Online writing guides

#13 – E-mail exchanges                                                                      

#14 – Free online English courses

#15 – Effective e-mail communication                                             

#16 – Libraries online

#17 – American Studies                                                                     

#18 – Teaching methodologies

#19 – Internet tutorials                                                                       

#20 – Using the newspaper – Part I

#21 – Making books                                                                           

#22 - Using the newspaper – Part II

#23 – Human rights in language teaching

#24 – Blogging

#25 – Poetry and language teaching

#26 – The communicative approach

#27 -  Idioms

#28 – Earth Day

#29 – Alternative assessment

#30 – Peer assessment

#31 – Self-assessment

#32 – Portfolio assessment – Part I

#33 -  Portfolio assessment - Part II (Online Portfolios)

#34 – Intercultural communication

#35 – Teaching Adults

#36 – Learning disorders / Special needs

#37 – Using computers in reading instruction

#38 – Use of authentic materials

#39 – English for Medical Purposes

#40 – Sources for authentic materials

#41 – Education and technology

#42 – Academic writing

#43 – Teaching and stress

#44 – Back to school

#45 – Motivating students