Tugasan 1: Book Review

Title : Action Research for Teachers (Travelling the Yellow Brick Road)

Writer : Mary Louise Holly, Joanne M. Arhar and Wendy C. Kasten

Publisher: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall (2005), 2nd Edition.

The Concept of Action Research in Education

Action research is a type of applied research, which constructs new theories and principles and at the same time it is action-oriented. It uses a problem solving approach by developing and test a theory about their work in a numbers of cycles of actions, observation and reflection on the effects of actions taken. According to the writers, there are four elements that differentiate action research from other research, which are ethical commitment, cycle of reflective practice, public character (the research is shared and subjected to public critics) and collaboration (working together with the students, colleagues and community).

The Design of Action Research

According to the writer design is a plan and a process. There are several elements in designing an action research:

• Thinking about practices that did not work and that we might want to try differently.
• Listing suggestions in order to improve those practices.
• Documentation of the process involve in the research.
• Verification of the judgments made from the research done.
• Interpretation of the data collected.
• Publishing the result and make it public.
• Thinking on how the result may make life better and what further steps shall be taken.
• Ethical consideration.
• The research cycles is continuing until optimum solutions are achieved.

Why Teachers Need To Undergo Action Research?

The writers conclude that teachers are the agents of changes whom they will change the school by understanding it. Thus in order to achieved their understanding, they create inquiry and putting action followed by observations of the consequences which define as an action research. So, these actions really implies in teaching and learning in classroom. The aims of action research for teachers is to improve the teaching and learning process and also for the provision of the curricular scheme. Action research by means of observation and reflection from various respondents, help a lot in educational development in facing the rapid changes of the world. The writer claimed that as an agent of change, thus teachers need to commit themselves to action research.

Procedure of action research

The book elaborates in detail steps in action research. Here, I list out the main steps of good action research according to the writers:

1. Self and action research
   Evaluation based on previous events or self-experiences
2. From Curiosity to research questions
   By asking what, why I interested in and how, what I expect to find.
3. Exploring the practice
   Doing literature review
4. Developing research topic from curiosity after doing literature review.
5. Planning an action research study
6. Writing a proposal
7. Documenting the action
8. Verification, interpretation and portrayal including ethical consideration
9. Transforming data collected into evidence
   Transforming data include analysis, synthesis, theorizing and verifications.
10. Action research writing; narrative writing
11. Made a Report
12. Sharing the Research

Research ethics

Ethical commitment is one of element in action research. According to the writers, any action research done should consider it consequences in a society when it is proposed. As a professional practice the changes propose should have the beneficial effect for both the community and development of an individual as an individual. The examples given by the writer was that, ‘Does the changes in curriculum cause in an expense for others?’ So if the changes made cause one to benefit but harm to others, thus it is not a good action research. Therefore the writers include ethics as the four main elements in action research beside cycle of reflective practice, public character and collaboration as mentioned previously in concept of action research.


Data collections and analysis

Techniques and tools in Data collection

The books describe variety tools of data collections. There are:

1. Observation

• Note taking and field notes
• Anecdotal record
• Journal
• Checklist
• Rating scale
  

2. Interview

• Informal interview
• Formal interview
• Questionarre
• Scale
• Creative visualization
• Focus group interview
  

3. Examining Documents and other data sources

• Personal-experience methods
• Student work
• Photographs, video and audio
• Recording
• Physical traces

Data Analysis Techniques

The writers said that this is a process of transforming data into evidence and narrowing the scope into one.

• Gather all the data and make some sort of inventory.
• Check them whether complete or not.
• Organizing quantitative data in spreadsheet and do simple calculation on it. Showing graph, bar chart or pie chart in numbers or percentages.
• Remind yourself on what to look at the data based on the research question and focus.
• Read and reread. Asking yourself what, who, where, how and why the data were that way.
• Categorising the data. It can be based on ideas, issues, themes, dilemmas.

Reliability and Validity

Based on the book, validity of the research is through the steps of verification, while reliability is consider as sharing research in a community for continuing improvement based on the data collected. As action researcher, the writers wrote that verifications made should be accepted, genuine and suit the society. Therefore these type of action research will be reliable and valid. However the writer did not write in detail on reliability and validity but they did describe that verification is important in an action research. Thus through verification then only the action research is valid and reliable.

Overview of the Book

After reading this book, I got clear pictures of what is an action research. As a beginner, this book helps a lot in giving full explanations and details in each steps of doing an action research. Besides, the writing style of the book is very interesting which it was written in a narrative way. It seems that you are not reading factual book but as if you were reading a novel with full of factual information. Each topic in this book includes details explanation and the writers did provide great examples of case studies. Besides, this book also includes examples of data collection forms such as interview format, checklist and also the writers did wrote on the proper format of writing a report of an action research. In conclusion, I suggest this book for all the beginners in action research studies as its’ provide systematic guidelines of doing action research. For those who hates reading factual books but need a referral book for action research, I really recommended you to have this book. It's really worth it.