Action Research Description

I have learned that action research is a process that helps a person reflect on one’s own practices and develop better methods that are more efficient. Traditional research does not include the person doing the research therefore the person cannot provide insight into their own practices. The benefit of this is not only does it provide principals more powerful information into the questions being asked but it gives the staff and school a great role model to follow and practice their own action research. Another benefit to action research is the fact that it can be used on a wide range of topic and from as little as one person to a campus issue. Some of these issues include school performance, professional development, or even the material being focus on in a classroom. This process is cyclical so that once a person has reviewed the research and made adjustments it is still possible to reevaluate the question and reflect on the new adjustments and make even more improvements. Action research is not always an easy process and does require the person to take time and make the commitment to review and reflect. Since they are reflecting their own processes it should also be stated that one must be honest in their review of their processes as not to make unnecessary or biased adjustments.

As an upcoming second year teacher I feel I can use action research to analyze many of the staff development training's I have attended over the summer. After having my data from last year and making the transition to interactive notebooks this coming year I can use action research to see how this differentiation is affecting overall student performance. I could also use action research to see how discipline issues are changing by using the new style of teaching with interactive notebooks. There may be little to no change in discipline but it’s always something to look at and the results may be surprising. Without action research I would have no data to support any of these claims.