Action research is a popular part of many teacher training courses, but understanding what underpins high-quality action research isn’t always straightforward. This book breaks the process down into smaller steps giving you concise, jargon-free guidance on all the issues and key considerations that you will need to tackle when carrying out this type of research. It focuses on being evidence-based, encouraging you to produce evidence-rich research projects that are methodologically sound and stand up to scrutiny.
It takes you through the initial stages of planning and research design, engages with the complexities of data collection, and gives you advice on data analysis and writing up your research project.
Key features:
· Strong focus on ethics, ensuring you understand important considerations
· Real examples from student assignments showing what good practice looks like
· A guide to some common spelling, punctuation and grammar errors in academic writing
This book breaks the Action Research process down into smaller steps giving you concise, jargon-free guidance on all the issues and key considerations that you will need to tackle when carrying out this type of research.
Arvustused
A book that really focuses on, and is tailored specifically to, the needs of new teachers, presenting the research process in a clear, logical format and showing how research can be used to improve classroom practice in an achievable way. It makes action research uncomplicated, accessible and doable, even for busy teachers. -- Alison Hooper There are many books out there on action research and for the uninitiated trainee, they are a minefield. This book gets to the crux of what they need to know and how to go about it. It gets away from the idea that the trainees need to experiment with their pupils and focuses on improving their teaching. It also tackles gaming your research to show improvement. The stages of research, and identifying pitfalls make this book a straight forward guide to aid trainees completing action research in the classroom. -- Lorraine Smith
| About the authors |
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vii | |
| Acknowledgements |
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ix | |
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1 | (11) |
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Part One Planning and preparing for your action research project |
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12 | (56) |
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2 Identifying a focus for your action research project |
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15 | (12) |
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3 Defining clear enquiry objectives |
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27 | (12) |
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4 Engaging with the literature |
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39 | (10) |
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5 Considering ethical issues |
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49 | (10) |
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6 Planning to gather data |
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59 | (9) |
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Part Two Undertaking your action research project |
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68 | (34) |
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71 | (10) |
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8 `Capturing' your evidence |
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81 | (10) |
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91 | (11) |
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Part Three Writing your action research project report |
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102 | (65) |
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10 Writing the introduction to your action research report |
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105 | (8) |
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11 Writing the literature review |
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113 | (12) |
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12 Writing the enquiry design or research plan |
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125 | (10) |
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13 Writing the implementation and analysis section |
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135 | (12) |
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14 Writing the conclusion to your action research report |
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147 | (10) |
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157 | (10) |
| References |
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167 | (2) |
| Index |
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169 | |
Much to the surprise of anyone who meets him now, when he was a young man, Colin Forster spent two years working as an outdoor activities instructor and it was during this time that he developed an interest in education. He began his primary teaching career in south west London before moving to Gloucestershire, where he continued to gain school leadership experience. He is currently a senior lecturer in primary education at the University of Gloucestershire, where he has gained considerable experience of primary teacher education course leadership and in supporting students, at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, with research projects focused on improving practice. His areas of interest include primary science, behaviour management and action research and he has undertaken research into childrens experience of homework in the primary years.
Rachel Eperjesi knew she wanted to be a teacher from the age of 5. However, some rather poor careers advice led her to embark on a medical degree, which quickly resulted in her declaring it too messy and she decided to follow her heart into teaching instead. After completing a BEd Hons, Rachel taught in Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 (also quite messy) in Gloucestershire, as well as undertaking English consultancy for the local authority. She now works at the University of Gloucestershire, lecturing in primary English and professional studies, as well as currently leading the School Direct PGCE Primary course. Rachel has supported many students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, with research projects focusing on improving their educational practice.
