Reflection on Action Research

Is anyone else thinking about action research in their sleep? I know I haven't thought about much else this week!

I'll admit that I held pretty traditional notions about research when I noticed the title of this class. My mind immediately started thinking about hypothesis, control groups, data collection methodology, etc. But as I did the readings for the week and worked on the assignments, I started to realize the difference between traditional research practices and action research. I really like how the process of action research requires the researcher to use personal reflection to develop inquiry and aid in developing the study. This "connectedness" between researcher and research, and the ownership that it engenders, makes the process meaningful; and, I believe, more valuable. Additionally, through the process of reflection, thought is given to the actual effect of variables on the focus of research. Instead of being rigidly controlled, variables are embraced as determinants that do factor in the outcome. Without acknowledgement of the emotional, philosophical, cultural, and social realities present, it becomes more challenging to elicit the collaboration necessary from the community to make the research meaningful and ultimately viable as an agent of change.


I can see action research being used to study the many and varied issues that face education today. Action research is driven by reflection - a pause for a cause. There are so many issues faced by administrators, teachers, students and other stakeholders that without taking time to pause and reflect, opportunities to bring about meaningful change could be missed.

My Action Research Plan (So Far)

I met with my site supervisor after identifying three possible topics of research. This project requires me to practice many of the 12 Major Skills outlined in School Intern Leadership (Martin et. al. 2012). I have tentatively titled by project: Creating an Environment to Effectively Provide Instructional Aides with Technology Tools for Remediation and Enrichment.

Project Overview

Instructional aides are underutilized resources for student learning. Many aides are relegated to menial tasks only marginally involved in student learning. At the same time teachers lament the lack of support. In a recent survey of faculty, many respondents mentioned that they would like aides to be more involved in instruction, but felt the aides lacked sufficient training. New teacher accountability standards and evaluations heighten anxiety among teachers over giving control to instructional aides without clear, achievable goals and expectations. The question to be researched is twofold: How to structure the learning environment temporally and physically to facilitate student access to instructional aides; and what technology tools can be incorporated to mitigate the need for extensive training in pedagogy and provide accountability for the instructional aides, thereby lessening the anxiety among teachers.