Question+1

What is teacher action research and how might it be useful to a teacher or a reading specialist?

Megan Nelson Teacher researchers raise questions about their observations of their own teaching and their students' learning. They collect student work to evaluate performance and analyze it to examine the teaching and learning that occurred. After examining student work and identifying a question about their students' learning and their teaching, they must review the literature associated with their question. Next, they collect and analyze data from their students. Most importantly, they take action based on the results by incorporating strategies that increase student learning. Finally, teachers share their findings with colleagues. Discussing successes and failures in the research study is so important because teaching should never be a solitary activity. Colleagues can benefit from teachers conducting action research. Reading specialists need to constantly evaluate student work and performance. Since reading specialists primarily work with struggling readers or writers, it is critical that they analyze data on a daily basis and decide on actions to take to increase student learning and improve their reading and writing skills. In addition, reading specialists work with classroom teachers. Reading specialists and classroom teachers can collaborate and decide on a specific instructional area to improve such as reading comprehension. Furthermore, reading specialists need to be able to observe the teaching and learning occurring in the classrooms and discuss their observations with teachers. Teachers and reading specialists need to ask themselves, "How can I make teaching and learning better?" When teacher researchers ask this question, they are seeking ways to improve the teaching and learning occurring in the classroom.

Elyce Rickerl

Action research is when educators take their own wonderings about the day-to-day teaching experience and develop a plan to analyze these experiences to enhance student learning. It begins with asking oneself questions about what is being done in the classroom, or what could be done differently to make a difference in student learning. Action research stems from a teacher's desire to improve or enhance student achievement. Once teacher researchers develop a question that is significant, feasible, and likely to lead to action, they then collect data (student work) and analyze it based on an extensive review of the literature associated with that topic. Interpreting this data does not involve the data and the literature alone. It is essential that teacher researchers develop a network of "critical friends" with whom to discuss findings and reflect upon results and beliefs. Not only does this constant conversation serve to benefit other professionals in their classrooms, but it allows teacher researchers to analyze results more deeply and with less bias. Once a study has been conducted and analyzed, teacher researchers then adjust classroom life based upon the results. This may include incorporating a new strategy to increase student success, or it could also mean moving away from a certain strategy, depending on the results of the study and the subsequent analysis.

The approach to teaching and learning that is common of many Reading Specialists is very conducive to action research. Reading Specialists often work with students who struggle with the literacy tasks common in the regular education classroom. In order to address the needs of struggling readers and writers, Reading Specialists need to constantly adapt their instruction based on what they see from their students (data). The use of teacher research is also helpful in the many dealings a Reading Specialist will have with classroom teachers. With many full-inclusion classrooms in our public schools, classroom teachers who are not as well versed in the theory behind teaching reading may look to their building's Reading Specialists for help. Conducting this type of research provides Reading Specialists with and opportunity to help classroom teachers address areas of need in their classrooms, which is a very important part of the Reading Specialist's job. Teachers and Reading Specialists can use this type of research to address their own "burning questions," and they can use the shared component of action research to seek clarification in areas of need which they may not have been able to articulate Themselves. -Elyce Rickerl