Action Research行动研究.docx

Action Research行动研究.docx

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ActionResearch行动研究

ActionResearch：

行动研究

ActionResearch

RichardDonato,UniversityofPittsburgh

Actionresearchcaninformteachersabouttheirpracticeandempowerthemtotakeleadershiprolesintheirlocalteachingcontexts.Mills（2003）providesthefollowingdefinitionofactionresearch:

Actionresearchisanysystematicinquiryconductedbyteacherresearcherstogatherinformationaboutthewaysthattheirparticularschooloperates,howtheyteach,andhowwelltheirstudentslearn.Theinformationisgatheredwiththegoalsofgaininginsight,developingreflectivepractice,effectingpositivechangesintheschoolenvironmentandoneducationalpracticesingeneral,andimprovingstudentoutcomes.（p.4）

Actionresearchisconductedbyteachersandforteachers.Itissmallscale,contextualized,localized,andaimedatdiscovering,developing,ormonitoringchangestopractice（Wallace,2000）.Thedefiningfeaturesofactionresearchalsoreflectthequalitiesofleadersincollaborativeculturesofchange.Thesequalitiesincludeadeepunderstandingoftheorganization,visionandinsight,aquestfornewknowledge,adesireforimprovedperformance,self-reflectiveactivity,andawillingnesstoeffectchange（Fullan,2000a,2000b）.ThisDigestdiscussesaframeworkforconductingactionresearchanddescribesanactionresearchstudycarriedoutinanelementaryschoolSpanishprogram.

AFrameworkforActionResearch

Areviewofactionresearchframeworksrevealsseveralcommonfeatures.Anactionresearchprojectseekstocreateknowledge,proposeandimplementchange,andimprovepracticeandperformance（Stringer,1996）.KemmisandMcTaggert（1988）suggestthatthefundamentalcomponentsofactionresearchincludethefollowing:

（1）developingaplanforimprovement,

（2）implementingtheplan,（3）observinganddocumentingtheeffectsoftheplan,and（4）reflectingontheeffectsoftheplanforfurtherplanningandinformedaction.Newknowledgegainedresultsinchangesinpractice（seealso,Fullan,2000a）.Actionresearchisoftenconductedtodiscoveraplanforinnovationorinterventionandiscollaborative.BasedonKemmisandMcTaggert's（1998）original

formulationofactionresearchandsubsequentmodifications,Mills（2003）developedthefollowingframeworkforactionresearch:

Describetheproblemandareaoffocus.

Definethefactorsinvolvedinyourareaoffocus（e.g.,the

curriculum,schoolsetting,studentoutcomes,instructional

strategies）.

Developresearchquestions.

Describetheinterventionorinnovationtobeimplemented.

Developatimelineforimplementation.

Describethemembershipoftheactionresearchgroup.

Developalistofresourcestoimplementtheplan.

Describethedatatobecollected.

Developadatacollectionandanalysisplan.

Selectappropriatetoolsofinquiry.

Carryouttheplan（implementation,datacollection,data

analysis）.

Reporttheresults.

Thisdeductiveapproachimplementsaplannedintervention,monitorsitsimplementation,andevaluatestheresults.Amoreinductiveapproach,formulatedbyBurns（1999）,istocarryoutactionresearchtoexplorewhatchangesneedtobemadeorwhatactionsneedtobetakeninaspecificinstructionalsetting.Burnssuggeststhefollowinginterrelatedactivities:

Exploreanissueinteachingorlearning.

Identifyareasofconcern.

Observehowthoseareasplayoutinthesettingofthestudy.

Discusshowtheissuemightbeaddressed.

Collectdatatodeterminetheactiontobetaken（e.g.,student

questionnaires,observationreports,journalentries）.

Planstrategicactionsbasedonthedatatoaddresstheissue.KemmisandMcTaggert'sapproachfocusesonimplementinganactionplan,whereasBurns’focusesonplanningforaction.

Commonlyuseddatacollectiontoolsinactionresearchprojectsincludeexistingarchivalsourcesinschools（e.g.,attendancereports,standardizedtestscores,lessonplans,curriculumdocuments,）,questionnaires,interviews,observationnotesandprotocols,videotapes,photographs,journalsanddiaries,andnarratives（e.g.,storiestoldbyteachers,seeHartman,1998）.

AnActionResearchProjectinPittsburgh:

ElementarySchoolSpanish

Thefollowingprojectillustrateshowteacherscanassumeleadershiprolestosupporttheirprograms,contributetotheknowledgebaseontheteachingandlearningofforeignlanguagesintheirschoolandschooldistrict,andpromotewell-informedchangesinpractice.

In1996,aschooldistrictinsuburbanPittsburgh,Pennsylvania,decidedtoimplementaforeignlanguageintheelementaryschool（FLES）program.Afterconsiderablediscussionofissuessuchasscheduling,teacheravailability,andthenecessityofdevelopinglong-termarticulationfromonegradetothenext,thedecisionwasmadetoformaprogramsteeringcommitteeandproposetotheschoolboardtheimplementationofaSpanishFLESprogramthatwouldbegininSeptember1996foralldistrictkindergartners.Theproposalrecommendedextendingtheprogramonegradeleveleachyear.Thatis,allkindergartnersandfirstgraderswouldparticipateintheprograminthe1997-1998schoolyear,allkindergartnersandfirstandsecondgradersinthe1998-1999schoolyear,andsoon.TheBoardofSchoolDirectorsformallyapprovedtheplanandauthorizeda5-yearpilotproject.

Teachersasresearchers.After5yearsofimplementation,theprogramsteeringcommitteehadtoprepareapresentationfortheschoolboardthatwoulddemonstratethattheprogramwasworking,thatthechildrenwereprogressing,andthattheapprovalof5moreyearsoffundingwaswarranted.

Respondingtothischallengecalledforbothleadershipandresearch.Toachievetheresearchgoal,itwasdecidedthatthefiveSpanishteachersneededtoaddanewroletotheirwork—theywouldbecomeresearchers.

Asresearchers,theywouldreflectontheirpractice,collectinformation,makedecisions,anddevelopactionplans.

Theprogramsteeringcommitteeneededsolidinformationtopresenttotheschoolboard.Theywantedtopresentthecurrentstateofstudentprogress,alistofrecommendations,andaplanforinformedandresponsiblefutureaction.Thesteeringcommitteehopedthepresentationwouldconvincetheboardthattheinvestmentoverthepast5yearshadresultedinadequategrowthinstudentlanguageproficiencyandculturalknowledge.ThefiveFLESteachersbecameinvolvedinasmall-scaleactionresearchprojectthatfocusedonstudentproficiencyateachgradelevelintheprogram.Theteachersfeltthattheyweresucceedingwiththeirearlyforeign

languageinstruction,buttheyhadnocleardatatosupporttheirintuition.

Measuringstudentprogress.TheteachersattemptedtodocumentstudentprogressinrelationtotheACTFLPerformanceGuidelinesforK-12Learners（AmericanCouncilontheTeachingofForeignLanguages,1998）.BasedondescriptionsintheACTFLguidelines,acando/can’tdoassessmentwasdevised.This“TeacherAssessmentofStudentProgress”askedtheteacherstoratehowwellandhowaccuratelytheirstudentsunderstoodandspokeSpanish,andtoratethestudents’vocabularyknowledge,

communicationstrategies,andculturalunderstandingbycheckingcandoorcan’tdoontheassessment.Teacherswerealsoaskedtodocumentthequantityoflanguageeachchildproducedduringclass.Teacherscompletedthequestionnairesindividuallyandwithoutconsultationwiththeircolleagues.

Results.Theteachers'ratingsweretalliedandcomparedacrossclassesandgradelevels.Resultsshowedthatthemajorityofchildren,regardlessofgradelevel,haddevelopedtheabilitytodothefollowinginSpanish:

Usememorizedmaterial

Imitatepronunciationwell

Speakwithaccuracywhenpresentingpracticalmaterial

UnderstandkeywordsandphrasesinSpanish

Comprehendandsayeverydayvocabulary

PickupSpanishvocabularyfromothersources

ReciteculturalfactsaboutSpanish-speakingcountries

Saywords,phrases,andfullsentences

Additionally,itwasfoundthatitemsforwhichsystematicgrade-leveldifferencesdidappearwerethosethatinvolvedcomplexlanguagetasksrequiringdiscourse-levelability,thenegotiationofmeaning,linguisticcreativity,andliteracyskills.Thatis,thekindergartenchildrenwerereportednottoperformanyoftheseadvancedtasks,whereasthestudentsinGrade4werereportedtocontrolallofthem.SystematicgrowthinabilitywasobservedatintervalsinGrades1to3.Theconclusionfromthisstudyisclear.Thestudentsdemonstratedprogresseachyearinspecificlanguageskillsandculturalknowledgeanddevelopedmoreadvancedlanguagefunctionsthroughouttheirlanguagestudy.Analysisindicatedquitedramaticallythatthesestudentsadvancedintheirproficiency,thatthecurriculumwaswellarticulated,andthatwitheachpassingyear,thechildrencouldsayanddomorewiththeirnewlanguage.

Theresultsofthisactionresearchledtheteacherstorealizetheneed

forchildlanguagelearnerstohaveextensiveopportunitiestohearandproducethetargetlanguageandtheneedforteacherstoincludemorediscourse-leveltasks（e.g.,storytelling）inthefifth-gradecurriculum.Theresultsalsoindicatedtheneedtopreparestudentsforcontent-basedSpanishstudybeginninginsixthgradeandtoaddressliteracyskillsevenmorevigorouslyinfifthgrade.ItalsoalertedteachersinthelowergradestoincludemorestorytellingintheirclassesasameansofpreparingthechildrentounderstandandproduceSpanishindiscourse-levelcontexts.

FeaturesofActionResearch

ThisprojectillustratedseveralfeaturesofactionresearchidentifiedbyBurns（1998）andMills（2003）.Itwashighlycont