Act – putting the plan into action

By : 1. Ainur R (1211202770)

2. Ambar P (1211202769)

3. Any N (1211202759)

4. Dindha S (1211202761)

5. Friska P (1211202773)

6. Helen ayu (1211202768)

7. Langgeng A (1211202757)

8. Ririn R (1211202758)

9. Widya K.A (1211202753)

10. Umiatun A (1211202804)

Combining classroom activities and data collection

Regular classroom activities

• Teaching new grammar items• Teaching aspects of writing

(e.g. Structuring the essay)• Using different materials• Teaching vocabulary• Encouraging students to take

more responbility for learning• Extending students

motivation

Action research data collection• Audio-record classroom interaction or students

group work responses to see how students are using them.

• Collect students texts over a set period of time and monitor the improvements and gaps in their writing

• Discuss with student s their reactions to new materials compared with previous materials

• Give students a survey asking them for their responses to different vocabulary activities

• Ask students to write a letter to a class partner to explain their most effective strategies for learning english

• Get students to interview each other about what they like/dislike about various activities and ask them to record their responses.

COLLECTING YOUR DATA

Methods for action research

ObservationExamples :• Observation by teacher or colleague on

particular aspects of classroom action• Brief notes or recorded comments made

by the teacher while the class is in progress

• Audio-or video-recordingings of classroom interactions

• Transcripts of classroom interactions between teacher and students or students and students

• Maps, layouts, or sociograms of the classroom that trace the interactions between students and teacher

• Photographs of the physical context

Non-ObservationExamples :• Interviews• Class discussion/focus groups• Questionnaires and surveys• Diaries, journals and logs kept by

teacher or learners• Classroom documents, such as

teacher-made or textbook materials used, samples of students writing, speaking tests, assessment, portfolios, or self evaluations

Observing and describing : What do I need to see?

The key role to play in AR

Good AR observation is about becoming ‘strangers’ in our classrooms.

AR observation is about asking self reflective questions.

AR observation is different from the routine kind of looking/seeing that teachers do

every day: it is much more self-conscious because it is :

• Focused• Objective• Reflective• Documented• Evaluated and re-evaluated

Observation roles

• ‘other’-observation• Peer observation• Self-observation• Collaborative observation

What to observe?

1. Which particular setting do you want to observe ?

2. Which key players do you want to observe?

3. What kinds of learning activities should you focus on?

4. What aspects of language learning are of interest?

5. What kinds of events are you interested in?

6. Which kinds of behaviours should you target?

7. Which kinds of interactions are of interest?

8. What techniques in your teaching do you want to change?

How to observe:

1. Obeserve and record everything, which gives the observer a broad look at the environment.

2. Obeserve and look for nothing in particular, which may lead the observer to notice unusual happenings.

3. Look for paradoxes so that observers might notice a student who is generally very quiet in the classroom suddenly becomes..talkative.

4. Identify the key problem facing a group.

Planning your observation

Before you are ready to observe your classroom, you need to think about :

1. who or what you will observe

2. how many people or events will be involved

3. when how often you will observe

4. where and how you will do the observation

Doing your observation

The essential elements of decisions to do observation :

1. who (teachers)

2. how many (himself and colleagues)

3. what (oral feedback)

4. where (primary and secondary classroom)

5. when (during two tasks)

6. how often (once)

Observation sheets

Observation sheets are used in what is sometimes called systematic or structured observation. This type of observation involves using a coding system or checklist prepared before the lessons begins. The observer records the things he or she observes as categories of events, for example behaviours or type of interaction

Types of checklist

a. Behavior checklist

a list of behaviors is set out and events are recorded as they occurs. The observer uses a particular period of time to note the behaviours. The information from this kind of checklist allows you see which particular type of behavior the student keeps repeating most (interrupting neighbour’s work), as well as the kind of tasks that seems to interest the student more than others.

b. Events checklist

an events checklist is similiar but this time focuses on recording specific phases or activities in a lesson. This type of checklist gives you an objective picture of the patterns of activities occuring in a classroom and to identify how well they relate to a particular or desired, teaching approach.

Observation notes

• Not all observation data are counted. Some are produced using a descriptive and narrative style and are not as structured as observation checklist. These kind of data are recorded in the form of notes made by the researcher or other participants. They are used to note descriptions and accounts of what happened in the classroom, including-depending what you are focusing on the physical layout, verbal and non-verbal information, the structure of the groups, or the sequences of activities and tasks.

Doung highlights two ways that notes can be prepared through reflective and

analytical.

• Reflective observations

Reflective observations are notes written about classroom events with the researcher’s comments placed next to them.• Analytical observations

Analytical observations take the process of recording reflective observations one step further by getting you think about the main elements or features of their meanings.

Narrative observationsA narrative observation is another way you can make notes. It’s a bit like telling the story of the evebts you observe as they happen.

Recording and Transcribing

• Making a video-recording of her class was another tool Duong used. Recording the situation you want to observe has the advantage of capturing oral interactions exactly as they were said.

• Audio-recording is usually easier to set up than video rocording and is less noticeable to the participants . It’s great for recording what was said, but it doesn’t allow you to observe gestures, facial expressions, body movements and the general look and feel of the classroom.

• Altricher, Posh and Somekh (1997, P.97) say, “it’s easy to make a tape recording and it actually takes very little extra time. The problems only start after wards, when you try to make use of the information.

Maps and Photographs

Photos, diagrams, maps, drawing and sketches, video images and other visual data are an excellent way of suplementing your observation notes. They can :- Remind you of the location and what was happening in it.- Capture a specific teaching moment.- Track a sequence of events or behaviours.- Record non-verbal aspects such as physical expressions or body

position.- Capture facial expressions that might reflect aspects of people’s

attituted, thinking and ideas.- Identify who places themselves where in the classroom.

Maps or diagrams of the classroom can be used to note the social set-up and interactions of the classroom.

Asking and discussing : What do I need to know?

The flip side of what you need to see (observation) is what you need to know (non-observation). This type of data is to do with what people think,believe, and perceive.

1. Interviews

The type of interviews

a. Structured interviews

b. Guided-or semi structured interviews

c. Open-ended, conversational-type interviews

Issues to consider when interviewing

McKay (2006,p.55) has some useful advice about how to handle this problem:

1. Explain the purpose of the interview, what will be done with the information, and the benefits to participants

2. Be sensitive to students’ responses and any awkwardness or nervousness that might arise.

3. Provide feedback and reinforcement to responses throughout the interview, using thanks, praise and support.

Questionnaires/surveyQuestionnaires or survey is best way to get responses from several people rather than interview

Dornyei (2003, pp.8-9) notes the questionnaires can get 3 types information:

1. Factual, ex: how old are you

2. Behavioral, ex: how often do you practise english?

3. Attitudinal, ex: identify five characteristics of a good teacher

Two types about designing items for questionnaire:

4. closed-ended items

a. Yes/no answer

b. Rating scales

c. Numerical scales

d. Multiple choice items

e. rank order items

2. open-ended items

a. Open items

b. Guided items

c. Structured items

Journals and Logs

They are types of journal

a. Factual journal

b. Descriptive journal

c. Reflective journal

d. Daily/weekly log

e. Memory journal

Using / incoporating technology into data collection

• Hobson and Smolin (2001, pp 83-103) offer great ideas about using technology for action research. I’ll highlight two of the main areas they cover:

1. Explain your journal writing: use computer to make entries, construct tables, organis concepts.

2. Conduct interview and focus group: use discussion groups, listservs and chat rooms to extend your research way beyond your own school, or even country.

Hobson and smolen (2001, p.100) remind us that it remains to be seen

how technology will affect opportunities to AR :

How is what we learn shaped by conversations with people we never meet in person? How is that form of inquiry different from seeking out individuals in our schools and communities, conducting interviews, and forming focus groups to explore a research interest? Can a research project employ both face to face research methods and technology assisted methods with similiar results for satisfaction?

Cross-checking and strengthening the information

• What we find might still have something to say to other teachers who are facing similiar issues in their own teaching and our findings might give them new ideas.

• We need to find ways to strengthen the data, making sure we adopt an objective approach to the information we collect.

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