Action Research & Teaching Progress Analysis Methods

Posted on Feb 27, 2025 in Other university degrees and diplomas

Action Research in Teacher Training

Action research is a method for teacher training based on group decision-commitment and relief. Affected individuals have the responsibility to decide which initiatives have the potential for improvement. It involves the systematic reflection on practical problems by the teacher to determine how to plan solutions through planning, action, and evaluation.

Purpose of Action Research

  • Improve teaching quality.
  • Develop habits of reflection on practice.
  • Enable teachers to assume classroom research functions.

How Action Research is Carried Out

It is a research process that the teacher undertakes to reflect on their own activity and improve it. It consists of:

  1. Review
  2. Diagnosis
  3. Planning
  4. Implementation
  5. Monitoring of effects

Process:

  1. The professor detects a problem in class or during a teaching session.
  2. Contact with observers and critics is established, fostering a democratic, tripartite relationship.
  3. An action plan is prepared and implemented, outlining strategies for a class taught to students, with observers present.
  4. A common session is held to determine the correlation between what was planned and what was carried out, incorporating feedback from students, observers, and the teacher.
  5. Strategies to improve teaching quality are sought.

Action research must be participatory and collaborative, requiring the use of personal records by teachers throughout the process.

Phases of Action Research:

  1. Identify and classify the general idea for improvement.
  2. Exploration phase: Describe facts, explain, and analyze the context of the situation.
  3. Preparatory phase: Meetings, data collection, initial surveys, and interviews.
  4. Planning phase: Development of the action plan, formulation of hypotheses, and establishment of methodology.
  5. Implementation phase: Execution of the intervention.
  6. Data collection and analysis phase.
  7. Drawing conclusions and proposing improvements phase.

Analysis of Teaching Progress

Analyzing teaching progress (ADLEV) is the best way to improve. “Negative” feedback is not always positive; diverse activities and limited experience can reveal weak points. It is suitable for students, novice teachers, and experienced teachers.

Purpose

It is an instrumental technique in which a session is filmed, and the data is analyzed after, taking into account objectives, tasks, and the teacher-student relationship.

Phases

  • Data collection.
  • Analysis.
  • Critical reviews, corrections, and/or proposals.

Variables to Consider

(Variables correspond, in practice, with the following):

  • Forecast: Educational event prediction approach; identifies the effective teacher.
  • Process: Activities/behavior in class. Attitude, aptitude. Integrated, discriminated.
  • Product: Short-term/long-term efficacy. Evaluation.
  • Context: Conditions that determine the process. Program.
  • External Characters: Mark. Organization, expected behaviors, and basic control.

Implementation

  • From beginning to end without interruptions.
  • Focus on the group, the facility, and all participants.
  • Minimize the effect on students and the session’s development.

Data is collected by staff (complete and specified in terms of duration and characteristics). Rigor and objectivity in the analysis and pooling of findings are essential. Based on the findings, a critical appraisal is conducted, and corrections and alternatives are proposed.

Key Issues to Consider

Identify:

  • Objectives
  • Content
  • Didactic approaches
  • Methodological issues
  • Situations or conditions that develop
  • Characteristics, behaviors, and student-teacher relationships

Analytical Observation

Focuses on the number of goals, phases, time, number and description of tasks, situations and conditions of practice, aspects related to the teacher, and student-related aspects. It is thorough and complex.

  • General to specific
  • Initial, main, and final
  • Information transition
  • Real practice: Many tasks, including a brief description and specifics or drawings.
  • Installation, material, organization, type of method, type of tasks.
  • Practice, feedback, type of instructions, teaching style.
  • Affection: Number of interventions, attitude.

Descriptive Observation

Similar to the analytical approach in the first four and last three points, but from a more general perspective. It is descriptive, simple, and comprehensive.