Abstract
Professional development in action research methods can increase educators’ dispositions toward the adoption of evidence-based practices and data-based decision making. However, an in-depth review of the literature revealed that extant forms of action research professional development (ARPD) may not be accessible to all educators as they are often relegated to full-semester undergraduate and/or graduate courses, internships, and teacher education programs. To address this issue, we designed, implemented, and assessed a scalable active-learning module on action research to strengthen the cognitive and affective outcomes of prospective and in-service STEM teachers (N = 26) enrolled in a cross-listed Scientific Teaching course, all of whom had not previously conducted action research. This three-session module integrated case studies, collaborative practice, group discussions, and instruction on action research theory and data collection methodologies. Analysis of pre-/post-intervention survey responses revealed that participants expressed greater self-efficacy related to their ability to design and conduct action research, strengthened knowledge of the process of action research, and greater awareness of the utility of data to inform research and teaching. When asked about the benefits of engaging in action research, participants suggested it could enhance their pedagogical content knowledge and reflectivity. However, participants identified logistical issues such as time constraints and resource availability, lack of institutional support, and possible student resistance to data collection as potential barriers to future action research practice. Overall, our module provides a scaffold to enculturate in-service educators to inquiry dispositions while offering a scalable approach to help prospective teachers in their transition to in-service practice.
Highlights
National science education reports have continued to call for the incorporation of evidence-based teaching strategies—such as active learning—into the K-16 curriculum [National Research Council, 2012; Next-generation Science Standards (NGSS) Lead States, 2013]
In analyzing responses to the ATEAR, we found improvements to participants’ attitudes toward action research as well as prominent ceiling effects that persisted from the beginning to the end of the module (Table 4)
We observed significant increases in students’ agreement with the purpose of action research practice as well as in their appreciation for the importance of reflection as part of the action research process
Summary
National science education reports have continued to call for the incorporation of evidence-based teaching strategies—such as active learning—into the K-16 curriculum [National Research Council, 2012; Next-generation Science Standards (NGSS) Lead States, 2013]. Through action research, educators become active participants in their career-long professional development as they gather data to address emergent classroom issues (Eraut, 1994; Bates, 2005; Kemmis, 2010). Action research refers to the process by which educators actively work to improve their instruction through iterative cycles of: 1) planning an intervention; 2) implementing the intervention and collecting data on its effectiveness; 3) observing student outcomes through data analysis; and 4) reflecting upon the successes and shortcomings of their approach (Carr and Kemmis, 1986). Despite the documented benefits of action research and data-based decision making, school administrators and educators often make decisions by referencing personal experience and anecdotal evidence rather than student data (Flowers and Carpenter, 2009).
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