Action Research Project

Laurel McCartney

EDUC 648

Action Research Project

Research Question

            This is my first year teaching a gifted class. I have three classes of Math

students. I was distressed to find that one of the classes had students who were

very critical and often made unkind comments to each other. I wanted to find a

strategy to implement in the classroom that would help to build a team building

approach that would result in a more positive atmosphere in the classroom.

Recently, our parish has adopted the Positive Behavior Support program that

is part of the No Child Left Behind Act. Our school has just completed In-service

on this program which also includes the Fish Philosophy and CHAMPS program.
I had already designed a program to implement in my class which I call Celebrate

Success. Therefore, I will be combining all of these in my team-building program

for my class.

            The question that my action research project will attempt to answer will be

“Does positive reinforcement of group behavior influence the learning

atmosphere of the classroom?” This will not only be important for the academic

reasons and classroom management, but also for the social/emotional attitudes of

the individual students.

      

Research

            Students need to control their own behaviors and become decision

makers. They need to learn meaningful ways to shape their behavior. There is

usually success when rules and structure are put together. The school-wide

rules give a clear layout of the expected behaviors. I also have expectations

for my classroom routines. I have found through research that a token

system can be used to address some of these issues. There are different forms of

token systems that have been designed as...

Action Research Plan

Action Research Plan

We all want our students to do their best. In today’s world where standardized testing can greatly
impact not only the student’s life, but also the teacher’s job, the question arises concerning the
optimal time to teach students reading, writing, language arts, social studies, science, and math.
Does the time of day effect how well a student learns? Is morning or afternoon more compatible
with analytical thinking? What about creative thinking? To find out these answers, I would look
at previous data collected by researching scholarly journals. I would also attempt to collect data
within my own school by having students learn math, social studies, and science in the morning.
I would have the students learn reading, language arts, and writing in the afternoon during the
first semester of school. During the second semester, I would place the students in reading,
language arts, and writing in the morning. I would place the students in math, science, and social

studies in the afternoon during the second semester of school. Using standardized tests after each
semester, I would test the students on what was taught during these semesters. I would attempt to
discover which time was optimal for learning these different subjects.
Using scientific research, I would first hypothesize. In this scenario, I would hypothesize analytical
thinking would be better done in the morning, whereas creative thinking would be better in the
afternoon. Therefore, I would have the students learn math in the morning, and reading/language arts
in the afternoon. Then I would do the fieldwork, which includes a literature review of previous scholarly
work as well teaching math in the morning for one semester. I would then evaluate how well the
students learned through standardized testing. I would then place the students in reading and language
arts in the morning for a semester, and then evaluate how well the students learned using standardized
testing. I would then...

Action Research Outline- Teaching For Deep Understanding

2. Action Research   -   Summary

The focus area for the action research is teaching and assessing for deep understanding. Being
able to assess for deep understanding, means being able to teach for deep understanding. The aim
of this research is to explore teaching strategies that will assist students in their deep
understanding in areas of Mathematics. This understanding must be meaningful and applicable to
their everyday lives. Students would then be able to apply this understanding to other situations.

The action research model will be based on ‘Plan, Act, Observe, Reflect’. The research will be
conducted on thirty two, year 4 students (aged 9-10years). Research will be conducted over a
three week period (25th March to 11th April).
(Please note NSW school holidays are 12th April to 28th April.)

Initially, the ‘planning’ stage of the action research will begin with the review of literature on
teaching for deep understanding and quality assessments (Quality Teaching in NSW Public
Schools). The Mathematics content to be taught to students will be looked at closely to ensure complete
understanding by the teacher while teaching the lesson.

Once the above information has been analysed students will then complete a questionnaire that will
identify the type of learner each student is, according to Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. A class
discussion will be had where students will be asked about how they think they can learn best and what
assessment tasks they think may show understanding.

The next stage will be the ‘acting’ stage where teaching strategies will be implemented into lessons
followed by assessment tasks later on. Where possible, the class will be questioned about lessons and
their understanding of the content being taught. Discussions with teaching peers will be ongoing.

The ‘observation’ stage will, at times, be occurring during the previous stage also. This stage involves
identifying key issues and experiences that make a difference and...

TEACHER RESEARCH

Introduction

Traditional educational research has limited usefulness for

classroom teachers. It often requires the carrying out of specific
research projects to the exclusion of their teaching. When
educators talk about teacher research, or teaching as research
they envision teachers extending their role to include critical
reflection upon their teaching. Some examples of teaching as
research include educators who wish to undertake research in
their classrooms or schools for the purpose of improving
teaching, to test educational theory, or to evaluate and
implement an educational plan. Teacher researchers have
adopted the label "action research " to describe their particular approach to classroom research.

Kurt Lewin (1946) has been credited with the development of the idea of action research. The
evolution of an action research agenda within education has been influenced by people such as
Kemmis (1983), Ebbutt (1985), Elliott (1991), Hopkins (1985) and others. Hopkins (1985:pp 58-
60) offers good advice on teacher research when he advocates the development of teacher's
professional expertise and judgment. He provides a basis for the selection of classroom research
by teachers:

 the teacher's primary role is to teach and any research project must not interfere with or
disrupt this commitment;

 the method of data collection should not be too demanding on the teacher's time;

 the methodology used must be reliable enough to allow teachers to formulate hypotheses
confidently and develop strategies applicable to the classroom situation;
  the teacher should be committed to the research problem under study;

 teachers must follow ethical procedures when carrying out research; and

 classroom research where possible should adopt a perspective where all members of a
school community build and share a common vision.

Often the hardest part in classroom research is deciding on a focus. Teacher research does not
require a precise hypothesis. In fact you do not have to begin with a problem. Hopkins (1985:pg
63) suggests that " All you need is a general idea that something should be improved. Your
general idea may stem from a promising new idea or the recognition that existing practice falls
short of aspiration." Once the focus of the research has been decided, planning for data
collection, followed by actual data collection and analysis occurs.

How to Get Started on a Project

Borrowing heavily from Hollingsworth (1994) and Hopkins (1985) I offer the following practical
suggestions for the teacher research process:

1. Decide on a focus
o Start with autobiographical data by locating your best professional self. Some
questions you might ask - What are your broad interests in teaching and learning?
What are your specific interests? What are manageable questions? Choose
something you feel passionate about.

o Justify that the project is your best solution to the problem.

2. Develop a plan to gain insights

o Develop a time-line to gather evidence or data to examine what you are trying to
accomplish/resolve/do in light of "what you do not know yet".

o Decide what evidence you want to collect. Evidence includes such things as
questionnaires/surveys, observations (video or written notes), collaborations ( i.e.
video or audio tape of meetings, peer coaching) interviews, tests and records,
student work, video and audio tape transcripts, personal journal, library readings,
etc.

3. Analyze the data by looking for patterns, or themes across the evidence
 o keep logs and journals, periodically read over the evidence, code data from
themes and patterns, draw or chart patterns, try to summarize what you have
learned as you go, by noting images, metaphors, and any new questions.

o check out your understandings by triangulating evidence (same theme, code,

pattern appears in more than two types of data), and by talking to peers, students,
friends.

4. Report on what you have learned

o to your colleagues, to parents, at conferences, in journals.

o summarize what you learned -- in an essay, narrative, poster, video, . . . poetry.

o tell how the problem changed, didn't change, or became worse because of changes
in your practice.

A key component of Action Research is sharing what you have learned. A number of techniques
ranging from videos to formal presentations have already been suggested, but consider the
following as potential audiences as well:

1. Colleagues at a staff development day

2. Parents and students
3. Email discussion groups (see On-line Resources)
4. Publications from professional organizations
5. Journals such as "Teacher Research: The Journal of Classroom Inquiry" - a journal by
teachers, for teachers. Brenda Power

Once teacher research is shared it allows for further action on the part of the teacher, or the
broader educational community to continue. The educational community has become increasing
supportive of teacher research. At a recent meeting on science education in California that I
attended Bob Polkinghorn, the Director of the Statewide Subject Matter Projects in California
called for the documentation of evidence of change in practice at the classroom level by teachers.
If you have not undertaken teacher research in your classroom now is the time to try!

Ownership Concerns

When two or more teachers are working together perhaps in partnership with a university
researcher, the issues of ownership of data gathered in a school context, publication authorship,
meeting presentation responsibilities, and obtaining approval for case studies are best discussed
early on. A clear understanding of who has the final say about what happens in the classroom
should be established. Teachers need to be supported as researchers, but their experiences, their
students and district documents may also need protecting. For instance, it may be difficult to hear
"outside" collaborators talk or write about you and/or your classroom, particularly if they retain
authorship of the paper. Even more complications arise if royalties are involved.
Examples of Action Research

The science standards have become a focus of reform for many science teachers. Teachers who
want to bring about such systemic reform in science teaching are now engaging in research into
their own practice and sharing the outcomes with others. Two illustrations of on-going teacher
research projects where teachers are engaged in exploring ways to increase inquiry based science
instruction in the classroom come from CSP-SENA (California Science Project - Science
Education Network Academy):

 Merle Boxill (Chemistry) and Sandy Waston (Biology) at Andrew Hill High School, San
Jose are exploring how to introduce open-ended inquiry science into their teaching.

 Norma Rodriquez at San Antonio Elementary School, San Jose is exploring ways to
increase inquiry based science instruction at her school site for all students (not just her
own class).

 Carolyn Csongradi at Burlingame High School, Burlingame has explored how to involve
more writing and female participation in her chemistry classes

Such grass roots efforts are what are needed to bring about systemic reform in science education.

http://www.goucher.edu/x23708.xml

SAMPLE ACTION RESEARCH OUTLINE

Research Question

            Is the poor performance of tenth graders on the science section of Casey High School

(CHS) CAPT over the 2000 to 2003 period related to a lack of required skills development in

curriculum or practice testing strategies? 

Project Research

Initial Findings:

Data was collected 2000 through 2003 Connecticut Mastery Scores and Connecticut

Aptitude Performance Tests (CAPT) data for Casey Hill School (CHS).  CHS performance

exceeded the state average by 3.6 percent for the year 2001; however, fell short of the state

average by 10.2 percent for 2002.  Compared to their economic resource group (ERG), CHS

shows a steady decline in CAPT science scores with the most recent results 16.0 percent lower. 
When comparing CHS to Pearson High School (PHS), a very similar district within the same

(ERG), CHS performed significantly worse than PHS science CAPT scores.  A summary

analysis of CAPT scores are shown in Table 1 below.  A detailed analysis of CAPT scores is

provided in Table 2 (Appendix A).

Table 1

  1999-00 2000-01 2001-02

       
CHS Science 48.00 47.00 33.00
PHS Science 37.00 61.00 49.00
       
CHS v.

PHS 11.00 (14.00) (16.00)

       
CHS Science 48.00 47.00 33.00
ERG

Science 43.00 47.00 49.00

       
CHS v.

ERG 5.00 0.00 (16.00)

       
CHS Science 48.00 47.00 33.00
State

Science 37.30 43.40 43.20

       
CHS v.

State 10.70 3.60 (10.20)

 

            My research focused on identifying differences between CHS and PHS science

curriculums that may explain the significant CAPT score variances.  As a result, I found possible

differences between CHS and PHS curriculums and CAPT testing, which is presented below.
Teacher Experience:

Teachers in the PHS is substantially more in years than at CHS and several have a broad

science knowledge base that is included in core subject classes.  This can be a factor in

classroom instruction, practice test design and quality of overall freshman and sophomore CAPT

preparation.

Science Curriculum:

            CHS and PHS school districts do not have an Earth Science curriculum; however, PHS

includes a remedial Earth Science component in instruction of other courses (e.g., Chemistry also

include a lesson component about the composition and of rocks).  Integrating PHS teacher

knowledge across the science curriculum is encouraged.

            Another substantial difference is the course sequence of the science curriculums.  For

example, PHS teaches Physics to sophomores while CHS teaches the course to seniors.  Offering

more analytical courses to earlier grade levels may also contribute the preparedness of students

for CAPT.

CAPT Practice Preparation:

            PHS has a solid multiple year baseline data that has tracked state CAPT results and

individual performance on practice tests.  Both freshman and sophomores are provided

instruction for strategic test taking using the baseline data.  Students are taught how tests are

scored, such as point values, and how to focus on understanding what the test is asking them to

do.  For example, time management on lower versus higher point value questions and circling

and underlining key words of questions to improve understand of what is expected is considered

crucial at PHS.  The results of student performance of CAPT practice questions influences what

curriculum content modifications are needed to address weaknesses.

 Activities

      The following summarizes activities completed at the time of writing this report:

            1.    Reviewed and discussed CHS science CAPT data with the chairperson of the science

department

                 (November, 2003),

            2.      Met with the principal, chairperson of the science department, and chairperson of the

guidance department at PHS    

                  and discussed methods of preparing freshman and sophomore for science CAPT

(December 5, 2003),

            3.    CHS science teachers analyze and critiqued PHS science CAPT preparation methods

(December 17, 2003),

            4.    Completion of new freshman CHS CAPT practice tests (January 30, 2004), and

            5.    Testing of freshman science CAPT practice at CHS using newly designed tests in

consideration of PHS test

                  preparation methods (March, 2004).

Assessment Procedure

      The assessment procedures used to determine the success of this project are:

            1.    Identification of differences and analysis of CHS and PHS science curriculums to

determine what best prepares

                 students for CAPT (January 9, 2003),

            2.      Initial proposal for improving CHS CAPT preparation at CHS based on findings

obtained from PHS (February 6,

                  2003),
            3.      Implementation of newly designed freshman CAPT practice tests during 2004 state

testing period,

            4.      Meeting with science department coordinators and teachers from various schools to

discuss strategies for improving

                  CAPT results (May, 2004)

            5.      Determine results of CHS freshman performance on the newly designed 2004 CAPT

practice test

                  (summer of 2004); this will begin the baseline data for future CAPT,

            6.      Implementation of practice testing strategies adopted from PHS for freshman and

sophomore students (October,

                  2004), and

            7.      Measurement of the effectiveness of practice testing strategies used for freshman and

sophomores – modifications

                  also to be determined (beginning October, 2004).

Action Research Model

Establish a Baseline of Data:

            At the initiation of this project, CHS had virtually no school data pertaining to student

performance of CAPT with the exception of state reported results.  Critical data about individual

freshman and sophomore performance was not collected year-to-year; therefore, collection of

individual student performance data began with the 2004 CAPT.  The practice tests given to

freshman in prior years were used to review questions and answers with students and were not

saved or tracked.  In addition, no analysis was conducted regarding areas of strengths and
weaknesses that could be helpful in developing improved practice tests (e.g., multiple choices,

critical thinking, essay, etc.).

Analyze Baseline Data:

            Detailed student performance for freshman will begin during the summer of 2004. The

only data currently available for analysis is the state reported results, which is shown in Table 2

(Appendix A).

Baseline Findings – Actions:

            A lack of individual student CAPT practice performance data did not prevent

implementing needed improvements.  New practice test designs were implemented covering all

sections in the 2004 science practice CAPT.  Multiple choice, critical thinking, and essay type

questions were included in order to effectively measure individual student performance. 

 Administer Interim Assessment:

            The newly designed freshman practice CAPT is the current interim assessment.  Upon

completion of the scoring during the 2004 summer, modifications will be considered for new

tests that can be implemented with the sophomores (those who took the 2004 practice CAPT)

and the freshman (first time taking the 2005 practice CAPT). 

This process will begin in October, 2004.

Interim Findings – Actions:

            This will be completed in October, 2004.

Summative Assessment:

            This will be completed in November, 2004.

Conclusions from Findings:

            This will be completed in November, 2004.

Research Question Answer:

            This will be completed in November, 2004.

Recommendations:

This will be completed in November, 2004.

How Technology Cheats Girls

by Carolyn Csongradi

Abstract

The project involved integrating history, philosophy, and science by requiring students to read about the
origins of scientific thinking beginning with the Greeks. The students then discussed the changing roles
of women in science, the influence of religion and Plato's and Aristotle's view of the universe. She
shared her project at a meeting in the form of a paper. Her hypothesis development and subsequent
statistical analysis are a part of Action Research, but not a requirement.

Introduction

Chemistry is a college preparatory science taught at Burlingame High School, an ethnically diverse,
urban public school of about 1300 students located in San Mateo County. The class requires one year of
algebra as a prerequisite and therefore contains students who are not fully representative of the
school's population. Each year approximately 200 students, primarily juniors, are enrolled in the
chemistry sections.

During the first semester, 90 students were assigned a research project which asked questions
about the history of science in the context of western civilization. One of the goals of the project
was to develop a framework for integrating information from other subjects taught at
Burlingame. A second goal was to provide a type of assignment which might encourage young
women in the area of science.

For the past several years, research has shown that females are less likely to pursue careers in the
field of physical science than are males. Lack of appropriate role models, test biases and
perceptions of science as being "male domain" have been cited as reasons for this observation.
This project was structured to take advantage of areas in which female students have traditionally
performed well - philosophy, history and relationships. Additionally, the required reading and
related questions pointed out that historically females have been largely denied a voice in the
evolution of scientific thinking beginning with the classical age of the Greeks.

Design
  Prior to the project, individual students were asked to construct a chart comparing and
contrasting the views of Plato and Aristotle. Information for the chart was found in a teacher
prepared written summary. No other sources were suggested.

 The main project required reading a teacher prepared summary of portions of a western
civilization book The Passion of the Western Mind. Essay questions about the origin of various
scientific ideas were asked followed by a vocabulary list and historical timeline. Students were
also encouraged to seek other sources of information. Two of the five questions required female
points of view in the answers.

 Students were permitted to work alone or in pairs of their own choosing for the main project.
No class time was devoted to the project nor were computer or library research techniques
taught.

Project Results and Comparative Data: N = 42 males & 48 females

Aristotle and Plato pre-project assignment:

Average Score Out of 25 Points

47 females submitted the chart 20.8

35 males submitted the chart 17.2

excluded from analysis:

7 males and 1 female who did not submit an assignment

Main Project:

Average Score Out of 100 Points

10 female students worked alone 91.1%

15 female student worked in pairs 87.3%

5 females worked with a male partner 76.8%

15 males worked alone 89.0%

8 males worked with a male partner 89.6%

excluded from the data analysis:

2 females who did not complete all the work
2 males who failed to do the project
1 female whose parent objected
2 males who did not complete all the work
Final Examination: 100 multiple choice questions

Average Score Out of 100 Points

48 females 56.9 %

42 males 60.4%

Semester Grade (1/3/96), before including the project or the final examination:

Average Percent

48 females 75.9%

42 males 75.5%

Observations and Analysis:

 The comparative chart of Aristotle and Plato was completed on a piece of legal size paper
provided by the teacher. Most of the charts were submitted in handwriting. Although many
charts also had artistic touches which were not required or suggested, no additional credit was
given. Females performed significantly better than males on the assignment (p<.001). 7 males
and 1 female did not turn in the assignment and were not a part of the analysis.

 No statistically significant differencesbetween males or females working alone or with the same
sex were found in the final project grades, although females working alone had the best scores.
However, when females worked with a male partner, their grades were significantly lower
than any other combination (p<.001).

 The average final exam score was higher for males than females. Although the difference was
not statistically significant (p<.13), this bias is reported elsewhere when multiple choice exams
are used.

 Males and females were equal in semester grades prior to the final and the project scores.

Conclusions

A working hypothesis for the design of this project had been that females should perform better than
males on a project which emphasizes writing, philosophy and history. In the main, this hypothesis was
not supported. Except in the case where females worked with a male partner, the final project grades
were statistically equal.
While reading the projects, an additional variable became apparent. The computer and peripheral
equipment played a key research as well as word processing role. A follow-up survey of student
computer use for this project showed that about two-thirds used on-line and/or CD ROM
technology to gather information. The majority found these sources very helpful. Unfortunately,
computers are viewed as part of the male domain, particularly when introduced in the context of
math classes. This observation is true despite the fact that chemistry students began playing
video games and using computers at the same average ages (9 or 11 years), regardless of gender.
However, one difference is the fact that males are statistically more likely to be frequent users of
games AND have a greater interest in on-line interactive computer research tools such as the
Internet and World Wide Web. The computer portion of this project may have not only been a
grade "equalizer", but reinforced the sense of male domination in science.

When the assignment did not involve computer use, the females not only had superior scores, but
16% of the males failed to do the work. While this is one explanation for how the females' lower
test scores on the final exam can be off-set in calculating the final semester grades, females
reportedly give more credence to test scores than grades.

References

AAUW Report: How Schools Shortchange Girls, 1992

Sadker: Failing at Fairness, 1994
Tarnas: The Passion of the Western Mind, 1991

Carolyn Csongradi
Chemistry Teacher
Burlingame High School
(415) 342-8971 ccsongradi@aol.com
1/25/96

Virtues and Values within the School

Research Question

How does a school promote key virtues and values to all stakeholders in a consistent and
meaningful way?

Research Overview

“Virtues are the gems hidden in the mind of the true self. Unless we see them, name them and use
them, they are lost, although like treasures, they are always waiting to be found” -  L.Popov

Windale Public School incorporates a Values and Virtues program across Pre-School to Year 6.
Windale Public School was identified as a community of greatest disadvantage in NSW and
Victoria by the Vinson Report. Initially values such as Kindness, Courage, Tolerance and
Compassion were incorporated into the school education programs so as to provide children with
guidance and purposefulness in a community stigmatised by the media as having high levels of
unemployment, violence, crime, domestic violence and child abuse.
Staff initially utilised a selection of virtues, as listed by Linda Kavelin Popov. The NSW DET
later released the Core Values for NSW Schools. It was decided to formalise the project and
meld the two ideas together. In 2007 staff and parents were surveyed as to the values and virtues
they perceived as most pertinent to the students at Windale Public School. This information was
then collated and a two year Scope and Sequence was designed. A series of lesson notes and
matching teacher resources were developed. Peer Support lessons created to enable senior
students to take leadership roles in presenting the program to students K-6.
The project focused on gaining positive outcomes for students, staff and the community by
encouraging students to display acceptable social behaviours and attitudes to each other and the
broader school community.

Research Findings

 The preliminary parent and staff survey provided a starting point, identifying the most pertinent
values and virtues within the community.
 A Scope and Sequence, with a two year cycle, was developed which ensured all stakeholders are
aware of the current Virtue/ Values being taught.
 A folder with matching lessons, listed literary resources and laminated posters for each Virtue/
Value was created for all teachers Pre-School to Year 6 ensuring the project is implemented
consistently.
 The creation of Peer Support lessons, that incorporate the Virtues/Values of the week, enable
the senior students to relay them in a meaningful way to the younger students. The even year
cycle of Peer Support lessons are yet to be developed. Sample documents
 The staff, students and parents are using the language of Virtues/Values in their everyday lives,
identifying appropriate ways that students have conducted themselves in the classroom,
playground and in the wider community.
 This program appears to have been beneficial in creating a school culture of respect and
improved self-image. Data indicates a significant decrease in suspensions last year (reduced
from 56 in 2006 to 31 in 2007) and continued monitoring of this and similar data would be
useful in ascertaining the success of the project.