4. What is action research?
LOOK: notice an opportunity or problem, then
systematically collect information about your
classroom and your students
THINK: reflect about that information - by
yourself, or with your students or other teachers
DO: use these new understandings to change your
teaching - this is the ACTION
11. What do you look at in the classroom?
Teacher
Students
Students
Activities
Students Materials
12. Ways to understand your classroom
ask: ask your students to write comments about your class
give your students a questionnaire
interview your students
watch: observe yourself and make notes / record yourself
observe your students / record your students
keep a ‘teaching portfolio’
read: get students to keep a ‘learning portfolio’
give students ‘learning tests’
13. Ways to understand your classroom
ask:
Ask
ask your students to write comments about your class
give your students a questionnaire
interview your students
33. Ways to understand your classroom
Read
read: get students to write a language learning history
get students to keep a ‘learning portfolio’
give students ‘learning tests’
37. Ways to understand your classroom
ask: ask your students to write comments about your class
give your students a questionnaire
interview your students
watch: observe yourself and make notes / record yourself
observe your students / record your students
keep a ‘teaching portfolio’
read: get students to keep a ‘learning portfolio’
give students ‘learning tests’
39. How do you think about your classroom?
look
do think
40. Ways to think about your classroom
write: reflect about your lesson plans
write structured and unstructured reflections
keep a teaching journal
analyze: analyze the information that you have created
talk: talk with a friend or colleague
present: make presentations here at NUFS or at conferences
write up your research for the NUFS report
41. Ways to understand your classroom
Write
write: reflect about your lesson plans
reflect about your class – unstructured and structured
keep a teaching journal
42. reflect about your lesson plans
Lesson Plans Comments Reflections
(before class) (in class) (after class)
1.
2.
3.
43. reflect about your class –unstructured reflection
Note: Just write generally about how your feel the class
went, and note any ideas that you have. You could look at
your class notes as you do this.
Example:
Today’s class went well. I was feeling relaxed,
and fully prepared. All of the students had
done their homework, so we could start the
speaking activity immediately …..
44. reflect about your class –structured reflection
Note: You could write your answers to a list of questions.
Example questions:
What went well in the class today?
What didn’t go well?
What will I do differently next time?
What did I learn about my students?
What did I learn about my teaching?
54. Ways to share your ideas and get feedback
Present
present: make presentations here at NUFS or at conferences
tell your colleagues what you’re learning
62. managing your data
write research numbers eg S1Q1, S1Int1
keep different data in separate folders
make photocopies – and store originals
63. displaying and analyzing numerical data
displaying data:
summarize on a master sheet
do quickly as soon as possible
create simple visual graphs
use simple charts to help you understand your data
64. Pie graph – shows proportions (few groups)
Time in Class
Listening
Reading
Writing
Sleeping
65. Bar chart –shows many groups of data
Changes in U.S. Family Structure,1970-2000
90
80
70
60
2 parents
50
mother
40
father
30
no adult
20
10
0
1970 1980 1990 2000
66. Line graph – shows changes over time
Changes in U.S. Family Structure, 1970-2000
90
80
70
60
2 parents
50
mother
40
father
30
no adult
20
10
0
1970 1980 1990 2000
67. displaying and analyzing numerical data
analyzing data:
descriptions – describe basic facts
comparisons – compare groups of information
relationships – explain relationships
68. displaying and analyzing textual data
displaying data:
number each piece of text
cut each piece out, ready for analysis
analyzing data:
put data in groups
label each group, and write a description
69. first cycle: from text to groups
first
• grouping the data
step
second
• labeling the groups
step
third
• defining the groups
step
71. first step: grouping data
• It’s easy!
• Group data together that is similar …
• … and separate data that is different.
72. second step: labeling groups
• giving each group a label = a ‘code’
• these codes are:
• usually a WORD or A PHRASE
• concrete
• describes the group’s data
• created by the researcher(s), or using
words from the data (in vivo coding)
73. third step: defining groups
• define each group
• write one or two sentences to define each
group – to explain what data is in each
group (and perhaps what is not!).
• use your own words, but try to include some
words or phrases that the participants wrote.
74. second cycle: from groups to themes
first
• putting similar groups together into ‘themes’
step
second
• labeling these themes
step
third
• defining these themes
step
75. second cycle: finding patterns
• grouping and labeling
• Group similar groups together …
… and separate different groups.
• Label these new, larger groups using words or phrases.
• These labels are usually more abstract, like STUDENT
MOTIVATION, LEARNING GOALS.
• Define them.
• Note: these new groups are called ‘themes’.
