FIELD STUDY 2 Learning Episode 2 (EMBEDDING ACTION RESEARCH for

REFLECTIVE TEACHING)

To have a meaningful and successful accomplishment in this FS episode, be sure to read through the
whole episode before participating and assisting in your FS 2 Resource Teacher’s class. Note all the information you will need
and tasks you will need to do before working on this episode.

Target your Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of this Learning Episode, I must be able to:

 be familiar about action research as a reflective teacher.

 underscore the importance of doing action research.

Clarify Your Task

Doing Action Research: An Overview

Every teacher is an action researcher. Everyone can do it. Teachers and students can do it together.

This episode focuses on doing action research as one of the roles of the teacher. Every teacher should
take interest to know how students learn, wants to make innovations in the curriculum and desires to improve teaching practice. In
order to achieve these, a teacher has to do action research on the everyday practical problems. These problematic situations and
observed discrepancies emerge between what is intended and what actually occurs in the classroom.

Revisit the Infographic/s

There is a general agreement among action research community that action research is about ACTION: taking action to improve
practice and RESEARCH: finding the things out and coming to a new understanding that create new knowledge.

Action research is not new. It dates back to the time of John Dewey in 1920 when he introduced the idea of inquiry. This
was followed by Collier, 1945; Lewin, 1949; Corey, 1953 and many others who came later. Schon introduced the notion of action
research as a habit of continuing inquiry. Inquiry begins with situations that are problematic, confusing, uncertain and conflicting,
and so does Action Research.
 It was Stephen Corey (1953) who defined Action Research as the process through which practitioners like teachers, study
their own practice to solve their personal and professional practical problems. Further on, John Illiot in 1993 clarified that action
research is concerned with everyday practical problems experienced by the teachers, rather than the theoretical problems defined
by pure researchers.

Action research is grounded on the reality of the school, classroom , teachers and students. Sometime it is labelled as
teacher as Teacher Action Research (TAR) but is popularly known simply as Action Research (AR).

Action Research is a process that allows teachers to study their own classrooms, schools, and educational setting in order to
understand them better and to improve their quality and effectiveness. The process of observation, reflection and inquiry led to
action that makes a difference in teaching and learning. It bridges doing (practice) and learning (study) and reflection (inquiry).

Participate and Assist

You must have experienced in your past subjects, doing some activities or accomplishing tasks similar to an action
research. These are activities that required you to do Reflection and Make Action or the other way around. Schon (1987)
distinguishes Reflection on Action as two different things.

Perhaps your mentor teacher has already done an Action Research. Now is the opportunity for you to participate and assist
and assist in ways that you are capable of doing:

Here is what you will do.

Making a list of Completed Action Research Titles by Teachers in the Field

1. Make a library or on-line search of the different Completed Action Research Titles Conducted by Teachers.
2. Enter the list in the matrix similar to the one below.
3. Submit your list of five (5) Titles of Completed Action Research Studies to your mentor as reference.
Inventory of Sample Action Research Conducted by Teachers

List of Completed Action Research Titles Author/Authors

Ex. Differentiated Instruction in Teaching English Mary Joy Olicia
for Grade Four Classes

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

NOTICE

Based on your activity on Making a List of Completed Action Research Titles, let’s find out what you have noticed by
answering the following questions

Question My Answer
1. What have you noticed about the action research
titles? Do the action research (AR) titles imply
problems to be solved? Yes _____ No _____

If Yes, identify the problems from the title you have

given. Answer in the space provided.

2. What interpretation about action research can you Title of the Action Research:
 make out of your answer in question no. 1?

3. Write the title and your interpretation of the study From the title, I think, the study ….
from the title.
4. What do you think did the author/s do with the I think the author/s ……
identified problem as presented in their titles?

ANALYZE

Action research seems easy and familiar. Since teaching seems to be full situations and that the teacher has a responsibility
of finding solution for everyday problems in school, hence teachers should do action research. This is an exciting part of being a
teacher, a problem solver!

Let us continue to examine and analyze what you have noticed and interpreted in the previous activity.

Key Questions My Answer

1. From what source do you think, did the authors
identify the problems of their action research?
Choose from the opinions given. You may check more
than one answer
Choices:
__ Copied from research books
__ From daily observation of their teaching practice
___ From difficulties they observed of their learners
___ From their own personal experience
___ From the told experiences of their co- teachers.

2. What do you think is the teacher’s intention in Choices:

conducting the action research?
__ To find a solution to the problematic situation
___ To comply with the requirement of the principal
___ To improve teaching practice
___ To try out something, if it works
___ To prove oneself as better that the others

3. What benefit do you get as a student in FS 2 in Choices:

understanding and doing action research?
___ Prepare me for my future job
___ Get good grades in the course
___ Learn and practice being an action researcher
___ Improve my teaching practice
___ Exposure to the realities in the teaching profession
___ Become a better teacher eveyday

4. In what ways, can you assist your mentor in his/her Choices:

action research activity? ___ By co-researching with my mentor
___ By assisting in the design of the intervention
___ By assisting in the implementation of the AR
___ By just watching what is being done

REFLECT

Based on the readings you made and the previous activities that you have done,

1. What significant ideas or concepts have you learned about action research?

I learned that ________________________________________________________________

2. Have you realized that there is a need to be an action researcher as a future teacher?

Yes ___ No ____ If Yes, complete the sentence below.

 I realized that ________________________________________________________________

Write Action Research Prompts

OBSERVE

From what teaching principles of theories can this problem be anchored?

 ______________________________________________________________________.
 ______________________________________________________________________.

REFLECT

What have I realized? What do I hope to achieve?

 ______________________________________________________________________.
 _______________________________________________________________________.

Write a probable solution to the problematic situation above.

 ______________________________________________________________________.
 _______________________________________________________________________.

PLAN

What strategies, activities, innovations can I employ to improve the situation or solve THE PROBLEM?

 As a future action researcher I can plan for an appropriate intervention like________________

 ____________________________________________________________________________

ACT

If I conduct or implement my plan, what can be its title?

 If I will implement my doable plan in the future, my title would be _______________________

Check for Mastery

Direction: Choose the best answer.

1. Every future teacher should do action research because

A. it is a requirement for teachers in the field
B. it will add points to teacher’s performance
C. it will improve teaching practice
D. it is part of the teacher’s standard

2. Spotting a problematic situation in teaching and learning will

A. spark an idea of doing Teacher Action Research
B. create complexity in everyday teaching
C. give more confusion to the teacher
D. add burden to the teacher’s daily routine
3. Which of the following statements motivates a teacher to do action research?
A. Any problem that occurs in my class will soon pass.
B. For every teaching-learning problem, there is always a solution
C. Leave the problematic situation for other teachers to solve.
D. There are more important classroom routines than finding solutions.
4. Every teacher, should be an action researcher.’’ This statement is
A. applicable only for teachers in big schools.
B. not doable and very idealistic.
C. the call for teachers in the current times.
D. appropriate for honor graduates.
5. Which of the following statement is TRUE?
A. Action research problem is created by the teacher.
B. Noticing helps a teacher spot problematic situation.
C. Much of the teaching time should be spent in action research.
D. Action research is an optional teacher activity.
 E.

WORK ON MY
ARTIFACTS
Your artifact will be an Abstract of a completed action research.

Name of FS Students ________________________________ Date Submitted:__________________

Year & Section:_____________________________ Course:________________________________

Learning Episode Excellent Very Satisfactory Satisfactory Needs Improvement

4 3 2 1
Accomplished All observation One (1) to two (2) Three (3) observation Four (4) or more
Observation Sheet question/tasks/ observation questions/tasks not observation
Completely questions/ tasks not answered / questions/tasks/ not
answered/ answered / accomplished. answered /
accomplished accomplished. accomplished
Analysis All question were All questions were Questions were not Four (4) or more
answered answered answered observation
completely; answer completely; answers completely; answers questions were not
with depth and are are clearly connected are not clearly answered; answers
thoroughly grounded to theories; grammar connected to not connected to
on theories; grammar and spelling are free theories; one (1) to theories; more than
and spelling are free from errors. three (3) grammatical four (4) grammatical/
from error. / spelling errors. spelling errors.
Reflection Profound and clear; Clear but lacks Not so clear and Unclear and Shallow;
supported by what depth; supported by shallow; somewhat rarely supported by
were observed and what were observed supported by what what were observed
analyzed and analyzed were observed and and analyzed
analyzed
Learning Artifacts Portfolio is reflected Portfolio is reflected Portfolio is not Portfolio is not
on in the context of on in context of the reflected on in the reflected on in
the learning learning outcomes. context of the context of the
outcomes; Complete, Complete; well learning outcomes. learning outcomes;
well-organized, organized, very Complete; not not complete; not
highly relevant to the relevant the learning organized relevant to organized, not
learning outcome outcome the learning outcome relevant
Submission Submitted before the Submitted on the Submitted a day after Submitted two (2)
deadline deadline the deadline days or more after
the deadline
COMMENT/S Rating: (Based on
Over-all Score transmutation)

TRANSMUTATION OF SCORE TO GRADE/RATING

Score 20 18-19 17 16 15 14 13-12 11 10 9-8 7-below
Grade 1.0 1.25 1.5 1.75 2.00 2.25 2.50 2.75 3.00 3.5 5.00
99 96 93 90 87 84 81 78 75 72 71-below