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Date:         Wed, 6 Jan 1993 11:30:18 -0500
From:         00r0clemente@BSUVAX1.BITNET
Subject:      Re: EDUCATORS AS INQUIRERS

     Starting Tuesday, January 11, 1993, I will conduct my first
graduate level research class.  This is a Master's level course entitled
Research in Elementary Education.  I have planned for them to conduct
Action Research in their work settings. . . I am making an assumption
that my students are primarily inservice teachers and administrators.
      Most of my reference material is sitting over on campus today --
but if I can remember well enough some of action research has its
foundation in Kurt Lewin's work (I'll post references at a later time.)
The idea of action research is for practioners to exam an aspect of
their practice or setting.  Then based on the findings make changes.
Both quantitative and qualiatative methods can be employed.  The
intent is not to make teachers into empirical or qualtitative researchers.
Instead it provides an avenue for purposeful examination of an issue of
interest to them.
      Last Spring semester I worked with a special group of students
teachers at Kent State University.  These students were in an
alternative education program called ATTEP - Acadmically Talented
Teacher Education Program.  During their student teaching they must
carry out an Action Research project.  I used Kemmis and McTaggart's
action research method with them.  This framework for carrying out
the research offers a step by step approach to guiding the process.
The student first engaged in developing an area of interest.  Some of
these focused on dealing with a target student and discipline.  One
student examined alternate teaching methods in her Spanish instruction.
One student examined intervention strategies to reduce tatling in a
third grade classroom.
     Basically the steps involved are 1) developing an area to focus
on - this can be an area of teaching that you feel needs to be changed,
2) engage in reconnaissance - examining what is, 3) examining the
"field of action" what you might begin to do to bring about a change,
4) First action step - instituting a change, 5) monitoring the effect
of the change, and 6) developing a timetable of events in the plan.
These six activities make up the planning step an once completed become
the first cycle of research.  A cycle is composed of four elements
Plan, Act, Observe and Reflect.  Once at reflection, this begins
the next cycle . . .  cycles are engaged in until the teacher determines
by her/his research that the change has been effective or needs to
be abandoned.
     This is only one method of action research -- there are others.
I have favored this one because it is practioner based and controlled.
It's purpose is to guide puposeful examination of an issue in practice
deemed important by the teacher.
     For my graduate level students, as I did with the preservice teachers,
I will encourage them to keep a journal and we will be engaging in
dialogue throughout the course.  Their action research will be written up
and submitted.  This will constitue the major project for this course.
If there is interest, at the end of the semester I would be happy to
post what types of action research were conducted and the general
impression of this process from my students' perspectives.
    'Tis all for the moment -- I have other course preparations to make.

Rebecca Clemente, Ph.D.
Teachers College
Ball State University
Muncie, IN  47306

00R0CLEMENTE@BSUVAX1
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