Center for Online Learning

All instructors typically revise and improve their courses from time to time. They intuitively know or feel what might make it work better the next time. There are times, though, when it is not clear exactly what the problem is or what revisions are needed to make improvements.

Action Research is a form of inquiry into teaching practices and student learning. It is an informal, yet systematic process that provides a way to identify specific "problems" with teaching and learning, and it further provides a way to collect and analyze data to help plan appropriate remediation. This process can be carried out by an individual for a single class or with groups of people in a department.

Formal Research vs. Action Research

Action Research is not the same as formal research. Compare formal research to Action Research.

Image Diagrams of Action Research

The following images illustrate how different authors who write about Action Research present a slightly differnt model or process of doing Action Research. The core attributes are consistent in each model.

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Basic Components/Steps of Action Research

1. Identify a problem (learning outcomes, grades, consistent errors, etc.)
2. Review current research on the problem
3. Formulate a question or questions to be answered
4. Devise a plan or course of action to overcome or test the problem
5. Execute the plan
6. Collect and interpret data
7. Act on data (revise course, instruction, materials)
8. Share with others (departmental meeting, publication, conference, etc.)

Another Version of the above, but with more detail:

Classroom Action Research: Five Phases of Action Research

Articles on Action Research

What is Action Research?

Improving Teaching through Classroom Action Research

Action Research: An Evolving Paradigm (.pdf - Article from Martha Pennington)

Guides for Action Research

Classroom Action Research

Teacher Research: George Mason University

Case Studies

The following case studies illustrate how Action Research was employed in language classes to find solutions to classroom teaching and learning problems.

Jean McNiff - Action Research in a Foreign Language Class with Adult Learners

Mary Delfin Pereira & Roger Vallance - Teaching English Language Skills

Related Links

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (Educational Research Published through the CET at Georgia Southern University)

SoTL Commons Conference - Georgia Southern University, November 1-2

AR Listserv - You may join a listserv to discuss Action Research with other educators.

ERIC Database - Look for Action Research papers in the ERIC Database.