Practical Action Research in the Classroom

What You Will Learn

This course will provide a detailed explanation of Action Research along with all the strategies and tools needed to effectively implement action research in your classroom to improve your instructional effectiveness. Action research is defined as a process for instructional improvement that involves first identifying a problem, formulating a potential solution, and then testing that potential solution using data. Teachers may then share their knowledge with school colleagues or other teacher communities.

Action research allows teachers to reflect on and evaluate their teaching practices, identify best practices in current research, and work to improve instructional and student performance in a data-focused way.

You likely have identified specific problems impacting student behavior or performance in the classroom. You may be utilizing a specific instructional method, assessment, classroom management strategy, or something else as part of your classroom routine to help address the issues you observe. Or, you may begin utilizing something new in your classroom that can help make positive changes in your students. But, does it work? Is the selected approach the most effective for your students? Without utilizing a technique like action research, you may not be certain about a solution’s effectiveness and may not be maximizing your student’s potential. How often have you seen a new strategy or idea and thought, “Yes! That would be a great way to help my students,” and then sought to try it out? Or, has your district or school ever identified some areas for improvement in the student population and recommended a specific instructional method or strategy to help solve those problems? Every teacher experiences these scenarios, but the only way for a teacher to know whether or not an approach in the classroom is valid is to strategically evaluate its application. This is what action research can provide.

Course Guiding Question:

How can I incorporate action research into my teaching practice to help improve student performance?

Professional Development Credits

At the conclusion of the course, you will receive a certificate for 18 Professional Development Hours (Clock Hours, CPEs).

Model Teaching Professional Development Courses are pre-approved in many states and we provide easy approval forms to submit to your license granting authority if required.

If you are a teacher seeking license renewal and wish to verify acceptance of our Professional Development Courses, please view our PD STATE REQUIREMENTS PAGE to learn more about your state’s requirements.

Also, consider taking our UNIVERSITY-PARTNERED, ACADEMIC CREDIT COURSES to earn regionally accredited units or credits, accepted by most states for teacher re-licensing and salary advancement.

Approval Information About This Course for Teaching License Renewal & Continuing Education

Model Teaching has helped thousands of teachers across the country meet their relicensing requirements.

This course is Pre-Approved in the following states for License Renewal and Continuing education:

• Texas – CPE’s, TEA-Approved
• New York CTLE’s – NYSED-Approved
• Pennsylvania DOE – ACT 48-Approved
• Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) – Approved
• Nevada DOE
• Tennessee
• Other States As Well

If you do not see your state listed here, this course may be pre-approved in your state as well. Chat with us or leave a ticket for our recommendations.

For More Information About Your Specific State Requirements, Please View Your State Requirements

Please confirm your specific district or state requirements for license renewal prior to registering and feel free to reach out to us with any questions you may have about our courses.

Topics Covered and General Course Outline

Section 1 – An Introduction to Action Research

• The definition of action research
• The six steps of the process of action research
• How action research can be applied to any aspect of teaching

Section 2 – Identifying a Problem and Posing a Research Question

• Example problems and questions for action research areas of interest
• The characteristics of a strong research question

Section 3 – Literature Review

• The purpose of a literature review
• How to select appropriate resources for a literature review
• How to conduct a literature review

Section 4 – Choosing a Solution

• How to choose one solution to implement in your action research
• How to change your research question if necessary

Section 5- Collecting Data

• The difference between qualitative and quantitative research methods
• Examples of data that can be collected for each method
• Considerations for collecting reliable and valid data

Section 6- Analyzing Data

• How to analyze qualitative and quantitative data
• The importance of data validity and reliability
• Considerations for forming a conclusion from the data you have collected

Section 7- Communicate the Results

• Considerations for choosing an audience with whom to share your research
• How to create a presentation for sharing your results
• Your next steps after completing your first cycle of action research

Helpful Resources & Templates Included With the Course

The course comes with 24 templates, tools, and graphic organizers ready to be used in your classroom!

These Include:

• Action Research Infographic
• Action Research Brainstorming Graphic Organizer with sample
• Examining Potential Research Questions with sample
• Formulating a Research Question Worksheet with sample
• Literature Review Sources
• Literature Review Outline
• Proposing a Solution Worksheet with sample
• Data Tracker Template
• Data Collection Plan with sample
• Data Analysis Plan with sample
• Presentation Template
• Presentation Plan with sample
• Action Research Plan Template with sample
• Effectiveness Rubric
• Implementation Observation Checklist with sample

Register for the course Practical Action Research in the Classroom now.