Reading deeper into the in’s and out’s of action research made me realize not only how important it is, but how I have been informally doing this type of research for years! Dr. Craig A. Mertler, author of Improving School and Empowering Educators, points out that the cyclical process of action research serves as a mechanism that allows educators to take charge of improving their own craft (2019). For many of us this is a daily part of our lives, monitoring and making adjustments to our instruction to benefit the learners, however understanding why we should and can do this is essential. As we learn more about the 4 stages of action research and the importance of reflecting deeply as an educator we will not only learn tools to be more effective and engaged in our teaching, but establish long term habits that only serve as a benefit for our learners.
The four stages of action research are described by Dr. Mertler (2019) as planning, acting, developing, and reflecting. Of these stages, I find reflecting to be the most natural for me, while developing to be more of a challenge. In the developing stage,the goal is to have analyzed and applied the information obtained from the data to a plan, which sounds simple but can be a challenge. As an education it is easy to feel as if I am over scrutinizing information, which can stand in the way of my need to move forward and make improvements on a consistent basis. This is what is needed when conducting and utilizing action research.
Nonetheless, I find myself intrigued by the information within Mertler’s book and look forward to learning and reflecting on action research in a manner that helps really shape my Innovation Project on ePortfolios for the High School Classroom.
Reference
Mertler, C. A. (2019). Action research: Improving schools and empowering educators (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
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