Leading Action Research in Elementary School Settings

Introduction

One of the risks routinely encountered by classroom teachers is the potential to become mired in a set of educational practices that may or may not be suitable for their students at any given point in time. Rather than remaining in a teaching rut, a growing number of reading teachers have recognized the value of action research as a means of informing and improving their classroom practices. In order for this method of inquiry to be effective, however, all stakeholders must be educated concerning the tenets of action research, what areas of interest are most appropriate for study, and their respective roles in the process.

To determine the facts about these issues, this paper reviews the relevant literature concerning leading action research in an elementary school setting, including an assessment of the current degree of comfort that exists at the author's school and the readiness of the school's culture to implement action research. In addition, a description of how time can be carved out of a busy school day for these types of initiatives is followed by an analysis of what resources would be needed for this purpose. Finally, a description of the types of data that should be collected as part of an action research project is followed by a summary of the research and important findings concerning reading teachers leading action research projects in elementary school settings.

Comfort Level with Action Research in the School

According to Yendol-Hoppey and Dana (2010), the extent to which comfort with an initiative such as leading an action research study in educational settings increases will depend on the extent to which educators understand the process, develop skills with the tools involved, and gain experience in carrying it out. In this regard, Yendol-Hoppey and Dana (2010) advise that, "Comfort with teacher inquiry will occur as educators are provided the necessary knowledge or skills to systematically plan or carry out a study independently [or within a PLC]" (p. 100).

In sum, action research represents a viable approach for reading teachers to conduct classroom research in order to improve their practices (Milton-Brkich & Shumbera, 2010). While a number of different action research models are available, the model presented by Yendol-Hoppey and Dana (2010) provides a useful framework in which to plan and lead an action research project in an elementary school setting. It is vitally important, however, to ensure that buy-in is obtained from all stakeholders in order to optimize the value of the findings that emerge from this type of research (Milton-Brkich & Shumbera, 2010). A strong feature of action research is that it provides teacher-generated research, which can facilitate the buy-in process. In this regard, Cooper and White (2012) emphasize that, "Research indicates that teacher-generated research offers teachers a strong feeling of ownership of both the process and results, thus increasing their own professional development" (p. 42).

Fortunately, many — though not all — classroom teachers at the author's elementary school have previous experience with the action research methodology. In this context, Mertler (2009) reports that action research consists of "any systematic inquiry conducted by teachers ... for the purpose of gathering information about how their particular schools operate, how they teach, and how their students learn" (p. 4). Moreover, because there are a number of different action research models available, it will be important to ensure that all participants and stakeholders fully understand the specific methods that will be applied and the rationale for their use. Dana and Yendol-Hoppey (2010) note that the first step of action research is to identify a wondering, followed by appropriate research steps thereafter. The straightforward action research process that will be used for this purpose is as follows:

1. Articulate a wondering;
2. Collect data to gain insights into the wondering;
3. Analyze data;
4. Make improvements in practice based on findings; and
5. Share learning with others (Milton-Brkich & Shumbera, 2010).

In addition, all of the teachers in the elementary school of interest are currently participating, or have participated, in professional learning communities of some type, and these experiences will further heighten the level of comfort for action research projects. There may be a lesser degree of comfort with the action research approach among school administrators, however — a constraint that must be overcome by ensuring that school administrators recognize the purpose and value of action research for improving classroom practices (Yendol-Hoppey & Dana, 2010).

Although the action research process is fairly straightforward as outlined above, one major challenge that exists when leading reading teachers in action research focused on digital literacies and literacy achievement is the potential for the focus of the study to drift unless steps are taken to ensure that all participants retain a shared vision for the outcome. This does not mean that data collected during the action research process should be disregarded; rather, any changes made on the basis of that data must be a collaborative effort rather than a unilateral decision by an individual educator. In addition, the potential for disruption of the action research project exists unless school administration is fully committed to the effort and sustained support is assured.

School Culture Readiness for Action Research

According to Yendol-Hoppey and Dana (2010), "The success of integrating teacher inquiry into the fabric of your school will rest on the nature of your school as an organization" (p. 100). Based on the author's experiences to date, the culture at the elementary school of interest can be characterized as collaborative. In this regard, Gruenert and Whitaker (2015) report that, "A collaborative school culture provides the ideal setting for student learning. It's also a setting in which teachers learn from each other as much as they do from other sources" (p. 80). Therefore, based on empirical observations alone, the school's culture can be informally regarded as primed and ready to implement an action research project aimed at improving literacy levels.

A superior approach to formally evaluating the readiness of school culture to implement action research is to administer the School Culture Survey shown in Table 1 below.

Table 1: The School Culture Survey
Note: 1 = Strongly disagree; 2 = Disagree; 3 = Undecided; 4 = Agree; 5 = Strongly agree

• Teachers utilize professional networks to obtain information and resources for classroom instruction.
• Leaders value teachers' ideas.
• Teachers have opportunities for dialogue and planning across grades and subjects.
• Teachers trust each other.
• Teachers support the mission of the school.
• Teachers and parents have common expectations for student performance.
• Leaders in the school trust the professional judgment of teachers.
• Teachers spend considerable time planning together.
• Teachers regularly seek ideas from colleagues and conferences.
• Teachers are willing to help out whenever there is a problem.
• Leaders take time to praise teachers who perform well.

Source: Gruenert & Whitaker, 2015, p. 81

According to Gruenert and Whitaker, "The School Culture Survey is an instrument designed to be administered to teachers in a school building to get a sense of how much their school culture is collaborative" (p. 80). In addition, the School Culture Survey depicted in Table 1 above can also be readministered during the conduct of an action research project and following its completion to reevaluate the readiness of a school's culture for future action research or professional development initiatives (Gruenert & Whitaker, 2015).

Conclusion

Action research can provide a powerful means of evaluating existing classroom teaching methods to identify areas of weakness and opportunities for improvement, and the process is sufficiently straightforward that it can be implemented and administered by reading teachers at all levels. There are some challenges involved in developing and conducting an effective action research project that must be taken into account, however, including the need to assess the school's current degree of comfort and the readiness of the school's culture to implement action research. Likewise, carving out sufficient time from already-busy daily schedules to allow action research project participants to collaborate is essential, as is securing the requisite resources needed for the project's conduct and the dissemination of results. Finally, it is also important for action research project leaders to identify what types of data are most appropriate for their purposes and to arrange for those data to be collected systematically. In the final analysis, it is reasonable to conclude that properly conceptualized and administered, action research represents a powerful tool that can be highly effective in improving classroom practices for reading teachers in elementary school settings.

References

Brkich, K. L. & Shumbera, K. (2010, Summer). Action research: How to create your own professional development experience. Science and Children, 47(9), 47–51.

Cooper, K. & White, R. E. (2012, October). The recursive process in and of critical literacy: Action research in an urban elementary school. Canadian Journal of Education, 35(2), 41–45.

Eisner, E. W. & Day, M. D. (2004). Handbook of research and policy in art education. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Gruenert, S. & Whitaker, T. (2015). School culture rewired: How to define, assess, and transform it. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Jackson, R. R. (2013). Never underestimate your teachers: Instructional leadership for excellence in every classroom. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Mertler, C. A. (2009). Action research: Teachers as researchers in the classroom. Los Angeles: Sage.

Yendol-Hoppey, D., & Dana, N. F. (2010). Powerful professional development: Building expertise within the four walls of your school. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.