Submitted By:

Mehak Sathya Puri

Roll No.: 14168
B.Ed 2014-2015
Section :B

Action Research

Concept of Action Research:

Action research is either research initiated to solve an immediate
problem or a reflective process of progressive problem solving led
by individuals working with others in teams or as part of a
"community of practice" to improve the way they address issues
and solve problems. There are two types of action
research: participatory action research and practical action
research. Denscombe writes that an action research strategy's
purpose is to solve a particular problem and to produce
guidelines for best practice.
Action research involves actively participating in a change
situation, often via an existing organization, whilst
simultaneously conducting research
Kurt Lewin, then a professor at MIT, first coined the term action
research in 1944.
Major Theories of Action Research:
1. Stephen M. Coreys View : The process by which
practioners attempt to study their problems scientifically in
order to guide ,correct and evaluate their decisions and
actions is what a number of people hav called action
research.
2. Goods View: Action Research is a process for studying
problems by practioners scientifically to take decision for
improving their current practices.
3. Moulys View: Many of problems facing the education
require immediate attention. Such on the spot research
aimed at the solution of an immediate problem is generally
known in education as action research.

4. Research in Education: Action research is the research ,a

person conducts in order to enable him to achieve his
purposes more effectively. A teacher conducts action
research to improve his teaching. A school administrator
conducts action to improve his administrative behaviour.

Procedure Of Action Research

Three Purposes for Action Research

As stated earlier, action research can be engaged in by an
individual teacher, a collaborative group of colleagues sharing a
common concern, or an entire school faculty. These three
different approaches to organizing for research serve three
compatible, yet distinct, purposes:

Building the reflective practitioner

Making progress on schoolwide priorities
Building professional cultures
Building the Reflective Practitioner
When individual teachers make a personal commitment to
systematically collect data on their work, they are embarking on a
process that will foster continuous growth and development.
When each lesson is looked on as an empirical investigation into
factors affecting teaching and learning and when reflections on
the findings from each day's work inform the next day's
instruction, teachers can't help but develop greater mastery of
the art and science of teaching. In this way, the individual
teachers conducting action research are making continuous
progress in developing their strengths as reflective practitioners.
Making Progress on School wide Priorities
Increasingly, schools are focusing on strengthening themselves
and their programs through the development of common focuses
and a strong sense of esprit de corps. Peters and Waterman

(1982) in their landmark book, In Search of Excellence, called the

achievement of focus sticking to the knitting. When a faculty
shares a commitment to achieving excellence with a specific focus
for example, the development of higher-order thinking, positive
social behavior, or higher standardized test scoresthen
collaboratively studying their practice will not only contribute to
the achievement of the shared goal but would have a powerful
impact on team building and program development. Focusing the
combined time, energy, and creativity of a group of committed
professionals on a single pedagogical issue will inevitably lead to
program improvements, as well as to the school becoming a
center of excellence. As a result, when a faculty chooses to focus
on one issue and all the teachers elect to enthusiastically
participate in action research on that issue, significant progress
on the schoolwide priorities cannot help but occur.
Building Professional Cultures
Often an entire faculty will share a commitment to student
development, yet the group finds itself unable to adopt a single
common focus for action research. This should not be viewed as
indicative of a problem. Just as the medical practitioners working
at a quality medical center will hold a shared vision of a healthy
adult, it is common for all the faculty members at a school to
share a similar perspective on what constitutes a well-educated
student. However, like the doctors at the medical center, the
teachers in a quality school may well differ on which specific
aspects of the shared vision they are most motivated to pursue at
any point in time.
Schools whose faculties cannot agree on a single research focus
can still use action research as a tool to help transform
themselves into a learning organization. They accomplish this in
the same manner as do the physicians at the medical center. It is
common practice in a quality medical center for physicians to
engage in independent, even idiosyncratic, research agendas.
However, it is also common for medical researchers to share the

findings obtained from their research with colleagues (even those

engaged in other specialties).
School faculties who wish to transform themselves into
communities of learners often empower teams of colleagues who
share a passion about one aspect of teaching and learning to
conduct investigations into that area of interest and then share
what they've learned with the rest of the school community. This
strategy allows an entire faculty to develop and practice the
discipline that Peter Senge (1990) labeled team learning. In
these schools, multiple action research inquiries occur
simultaneously, and no one is held captive to another's priority,
yet everyone knows that all the work ultimately will be shared
and will consequently contribute to organizational learning.

Conclusion:
In the light of above definitions it can be concluded that action
research is the research undertaken with a view to find out a
solution for the various practical problems of educational
institutions .Its conducted by those actually involved in the
teaching process .
There is clear evidence to suggest that action research is a
valuable exercise for teachers to undertake. It offers teachers a
systematic , collaborative , and participatory process of inquiry
that actively seeks to address areas of concern or redress.
Additionally, action research provides teachers with the technical
skills and specialised knowledge required to effect positive change

within classrooms, schools, and communities. Ultimately, the

solutions-based focus, emphasis on fostering practitioner
empowerment, and pragmatic appeal of action research
collectively render this research methodology a worthwhile
professional development activity for teachers. There is unlimited
scope for teachers wishing to develop 'customised' action research
projects of their own, as topics for investigation are as
multifarious as the daily vignettes evidenced in the teaching
profession. To conclude, universities must include action
research as a core unit in teacher preparation degree programs either at the undergraduate or postgraduate level, as the action
research sequence holds significant value to improving practice
within classrooms, schools, and communities.

Action Research Project Real School Teaching

Topic : The Back Benchers Of The Class Room

1. Title of The Project: The Back Benchers Of The Classroom.

2. Need Of the project: Teaching large classes has always
been a problem to many teachers. This situation becomes
even more difficuilt when the teacher has to deal with a

bunch of students who are unresponsive and avoid any

interaction with the teacher . Usually these types of
students are found sitting at the back of the classroom.
Therefore the focus is to undesratnd why they behave in
this manner and how to improve and motivate the
students to be participative.
3. Statement of the problem: To improve and motivate the
back bencher students to be participative.
4.

Action Hypothesis: The improvement in the back

bencher can be made by:

a. Providing proper attention to the back benchers.

b. Changing the climate of the class by observing the back
benchers more.
c. Giving questions to solve more to the back benchers and
asking them to analyse the situations.
d. By making adequate movements in the class and discussing
the lessons.
e. By focussing and giving more attention to the back
benchers.
5. Design of the project: Design of the project is as follows:
a. Analyse the cause of non-attentiveness: The back
bencher students will be analysed for two days as to
what problems are they facing in understanding the
lesson.

b. Focus attention: Design ways like giving more attention

to the back benchers on daily basis. Previous knowledge
testing to be tested more frequently of back benchers.
c. Movement increased: Teacher to increase movement
in the classroom frequently and teaching the lesson and
making the voice more audible and clear.
d. Situation Analysis: Frequently ask to analyse the
situation according to the lesson being taught.
e. Re-enforcement: Re-inforce students sitting at the back
to give answers . Motivate back benchers by giving a pat
on the back or making other students clap even if the
students try to answer .Major re-inforcement like
distributing sweets to the students when the majority of
the back benchers answer the questions.
6. Evaluation of the action programme :The cycle started to
motivate and improve attentiveness of back benchers will be
repeated .Teacher will try his best to know whether the
students have been motivated and improved their
attentiveness. The hypothesis framed will be either rejected
or established on basis of this evauation.
7. Follow Up and Communicating the finding to others:The
result can be used by the teacher for improving his own
practices thus he can have opportunity for verifying the
results of his own action research before communicating
them to others for similar uses.