Before reading about action research, I had no idea
what it was. As far as I was concerned, action research was the same thing as
traditional, everyday research you hear about all the time. To my pleasant
surprise, that was not the case at all. I was relieved to learn that action
research is based on reflecting on your current state and asking questions
regarding whether you could better yourself and your surroundings. Based on
your inquiry, you can then make the changes necessary to improve the current
situation.
Unlike traditional research, action research is
done by people who are directly involved, such as the principal or the
teachers. University researchers, who have no understanding on what goes on in
each specific school, do traditional research. I have always felt that the
people who are closest to the source are the ones with the greatest chance in
improving it.
Action research can be used for an endless amount of things. I am
planning on doing an action research study on whether or not Istation is a
worthy program for our third grade students. There is a way to pull the data
monthly to see whether or not student performance is increasing, decreasing, or
staying the same. I plan to use this information to decide if Istation is worth
the time spent on it.
I am excited for my action research plan, as well as many more to come after that.
I will be very interested in following your action research! We are also about to begin using istation. I haven't read much on it as of yet. But, will look forward to seeing what you find out! Great topic!
ReplyDeleteThat is very true that action research is different than traditional research. I also share your opinion that it is a useful tool and that working with others is why it is has been proven to be so successful.
ReplyDeleteI am not familiar with istation, but I am eager to follow your research to learn about it. Good luck!
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