Behavioral Recommendations in Health Research News as Cues to Action: Self-Relevancy and Self-Efficacy Processes.

PubMed

Chang, Chingching

2016-08-01

This study argues that behavioral recommendations in health news function as cues to action. A proposed self-oriented model seeks to explore the impacts of behavioral recommendations in health research news as cues to action through their influences on self-relevancy and self-efficacy. A content analysis (Study 1) first establishes that health research news commonly features behavioral recommendations. A message experiment (Study 2) then explores the utility of behavioral recommendations as cues to action by demonstrating a self-relevancy effect: Health research news with, as opposed to without, behavioral recommendations increases the self-relevancy of advocated health behaviors, which then improve people's attitudes toward and intentions to adopt those behaviors. A second message experiment (Study 3) tests whether varying presentations of behavioral recommendations alter their effectiveness as cues to action and thus people's behavioral intentions through a dual effect process. In addition to the previously demonstrated self-relevancy effect, this experiment shows that concrete, as opposed to abstract, behavioral recommendations trigger a self-efficacy effect, increasing perceived self-efficacy and further improving behavioral intentions.

Action Research: Enhancing Classroom Practice and Fulfilling Educational Responsibilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Mark R.; Rapp, Eve; Murphy, James W.

2010-01-01

Action Research is an applied scholarly paradigm resulting in action for continuous improvement in our teaching and learning techniques offering faculty immediate classroom payback and providing documentation of meeting our educational responsibilities as required by AACSB standards. This article reviews the iterative action research process of…

Embodied Learning and Creative Writing: An Action Research Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tobin, Jennifer Ann

2012-01-01

This action research study used narrative analysis to explore the role of the body in the writing process of creative writers. Specifically, the purpose of this action research study was threefold: it was first to examine how professional creative writers describe their writing process with particular attention to their perceptions of the role and…

Diffusion, decolonializing, and participatory action research.

PubMed

Woodward, William R; Hetley, Richard S

2007-03-01

Miki Takasuna describes knowledge transfer between elite communities of scientists, a process by which ideas become structurally transformed in the host culture. By contrast, a process that we have termed knowledge transfer by deelitization occurs when (a) participatory action researchers work with a community to identify a problem involving oppression or exploitation. Then (b) community members suggest solutions and acquire the tools of analysis and action to pursue social actions. (c) Disadvantaged persons thereby become more aware of their own abilities and resources, and persons with special expertise become more effective. (d) Rather than detachment and value neutrality, this joint process involves advocacy and structural transformation. In the examples of participatory action research documented here, Third World social scientists collaborated with indigenous populations to solve problems of literacy, community-building, land ownership, and political voice. Western social scientists, inspired by these non-Western scientists, then joined in promoting PAR both in the Third World and in Europe and the Americas, e.g., adapting it for solving problems of people with disabilities or disenfranchised women. Emancipatory goals such as these may even help North American psychologists to break free of some methodological chains and to bring about social and political change.

The Reflective Dispositional Coaching Process: An Action Research Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bell, Edwin D.; Grant, Kathy; Fisk-Moody, Patricia

2007-01-01

The authors implemented an action research project to help teacher education candidates to reflect upon, assess, and ultimately strengthen teacher candidate dispositions through the Reflective Dispositional Coaching Model. The teacher education faculty agreed that candidate dispositions should address four areas: (a) professionalism, (b)…

Action Research: An Approach for the Teachers in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yasmeen, G.

2008-01-01

Introduction: Action Research is a formative study of progress commonly practiced by teachers in schools. Basically an action research is a spiral process that includes problem investigation, taking action & fact-finding about the result of action. It enables a teacher to adopt/craft most appropriate strategy within its own teaching…

A Guide to Facilitating Action Research for Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldwasser, Matthew

2004-01-01

What is "action research" and how is it relevant to urban youth activists? Action research is a systematic process of inquiry, which involves gathering information about an issue or problem, analyzing the findings, and developing practical plans for affecting positive change. It is motivated by the desire to investigate in order to better…

Action Research: An Approach for the Teachers in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yasmeen, Ghazala

2008-01-01

Introduction: Action Research is a formative study of progress commonly practiced by teachers in schools. Basically an action research is a spiral process that includes problem investigation, taking action & fact-finding about the result of action. It enables a teacher to adopt/craft most appropriate strategy within its own teaching environment.…

What Every PDS Partner Should Know about Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garin, Eva

2016-01-01

This article explores the process of an action research project undertaken by a PDS partnership. Participants in a one day professional development seminar shared their perspectives on action research within a PDS network, and findings indicate that participants valued the collaborative effort and opportunities to share their research efforts.…

African Primary Care Research: Participatory action research

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Abstract This article is part of the series on African primary care research and focuses on participatory action research. The article gives an overview of the emancipatory-critical research paradigm, the key characteristics and different types of participatory action research. Following this it describes in detail the methodological issues involved in professional participatory action research and running a cooperative inquiry group. The article is intended to help students with writing their research proposal. PMID:26245439

Planning as Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Gonzalez, Carmen Beatriz; Hernandez, Teresa; Kusch, Jim; Ryan, Charly

2004-01-01

Planning contains so much more than the written plan. Early in 2000, an invitation came from the Collaborative Action Research Network (CARN), to people experienced in action research who might want to help plan and present an action research event for elementary school science teachers in Venezuela, South America, in Autumn 2000. This article…

A practitioner-focused approach to the provision of psychological support in soccer: adopting action research themes and processes.

PubMed

Gilbourne, David; Richardson, David

2005-06-01

In this review, we explore a practitioner-focused approach to the provision of psychological support in soccer. Support is depicted to be a collaborative exercise and is associated with action research themes and processes. Various procedures and perspectives that are associated with action research are outlined. The ideas presented suggest that many soccer-based practitioners (coaches, managers and physiotherapists) have the capacity to influence how sport psychology practice might be experienced by players. The sport scientist is depicted here as someone who acts as a critical friend to those practitioners who are interested in developing aspects of their own working practice. Having established these ideas, the review provides an illustration of how a combination of action research themes and qualitative research techniques has been used to influence and support heads of education and welfare in UK soccer academies across the north-west of England.

Implementation research design: integrating participatory action research into randomized controlled trials

PubMed Central

Leykum, Luci K; Pugh, Jacqueline A; Lanham, Holly J; Harmon, Joel; McDaniel, Reuben R

2009-01-01

Background A gap continues to exist between what is known to be effective and what is actually delivered in the usual course of medical care. The goal of implementation research is to reduce this gap. However, a tension exists between the need to obtain generalizeable knowledge through implementation trials, and the inherent differences between healthcare organizations that make standard interventional approaches less likely to succeed. The purpose of this paper is to explore the integration of participatory action research and randomized controlled trial (RCT) study designs to suggest a new approach for studying interventions in healthcare settings. Discussion We summarize key elements of participatory action research, with particular attention to its collaborative, reflective approach. Elements of participatory action research and RCT study designs are discussed and contrasted, with a complex adaptive systems approach used to frame their integration. Summary The integration of participatory action research and RCT design results in a new approach that reflects not only the complex nature of healthcare organizations, but also the need to obtain generalizeable knowledge regarding the implementation process. PMID:19852784

Action Research: Improving Schools and Empowering Educators. Third Edition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mertler, Craig A.

2011-01-01

Written for pre- and in-service educators, this "Third Edition" of Craig A. Mertler's "Action Research: Improving Schools and Empowering Educators" introduces the process of conducting one's own classroom- or school-based action research in conjunction with everyday instructional practices and activities. The text provides educators with the…

Using action research in nursing practice with older people: democratizing knowledge.

PubMed

Reed, Jan

2005-05-01

This paper reports on an action research study which raised some questions about the processes of developing a sense of shared ownership in action research in a research environment which does not always have the appropriate mechanisms to support and sustain action research. Action research has gained popularity in nursing and healthcare research, offering a way of developing practice-based knowledge, which can assist in changing practice and democratizing inquiry. There are other organizational constraints on action research which arise at different levels, and which also require discussion. These can be issues about communication and ownership at a practice level and issues of funding and project management procedures. This paper reports on a study in which these issues came to the fore, and offers some thoughts on how they can affect the processes of action research. While the principles of action research appear to offer much towards the development of a practice-rooted body of knowledge for nursing, unless some of the issues of ownership are resolved, it is unlikely to move beyond academic rhetoric. If nursing is to engage in action research, this must be done critically and reflectively and careful attention paid to developing an inclusive and collaborative approach to knowledge and practice development. Furthermore, to develop in nursing and health care research, it must find ways to meet the requirements of funding bodies.

An Inquiry into Action Research: Teaching and Doing Action Research for the First-Time

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palak, Deniz

2013-01-01

I undertook this inquiry into action research while teaching research methods within a graduate degree teacher education program. This inquiry represents my initial encounter with action research and describes the tools, challenges, and uncertainties that I encountered while teaching and doing action research for the first-time. The main purpose…

Critical Literacy for School Improvement: An Action Research Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Karyn; White, Robert E.

2008-01-01

This article provides an overview of the integrative process of initiating an action research project on literacy for students "at risk" in a Canadian urban elementary school. As the article demonstrates, this requires development of a school-wide framework, which informs the action research project and desired outcomes, and a shared…

Developing Critical Understanding by Teaching Action Research to Undergraduate Psychology Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobs, Gaby; Murray, Michael

2010-01-01

Action research assumes the active engagement of the stakeholders, such as the community, in the research, and a multiple-level process of reflection in order to evaluate and monitor the actions taken. This makes action research a suitable methodology to increase the critical understanding of the participants. In this paper we describe the…

Middle School Responses to Cyberbullying: An Action Research Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zidack, Astri Marie

2013-01-01

This action research study engaged a small public middle school in the northwest United States in a collaborative process to address cyberbullying issues that often lead to academic and behavior problems in schools (Hinduja, 2010; Olweus, 2010). The specific purpose of this action research study was to address the middle school's cyberbullying…

Action Research: An Educational Leader's Guide to School Improvement. Second Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glanz, Jeffrey

This book, in its second edition, is intended as a practical guide to conducting action research in schools--it outlines the process of designing and reporting an action research project. Contending that action research can be used as a powerful tool that can contribute to school renewal and instructional improvement, the book defines and presents…

Action Research: Trends and Variations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beaulieu, Rodney J.

2013-01-01

Action research continues to grow as a research tradition, yet misconceptions about what it is and is not remains, even among scholars. For example, some mistakenly believe action research is only about professional development and is not a scholarly research approach. Some assume action research must be accomplished through a collaborative…

Investigating action understanding: inferential processes versus action simulation.

PubMed

Brass, Marcel; Schmitt, Ruth M; Spengler, Stephanie; Gergely, György

2007-12-18

In our daily life, we continuously monitor others' behaviors and interpret them in terms of goals, intentions, and reasons. Despite their central importance for predicting and interpreting each other's actions, the functional mechanisms and neural circuits involved in action understanding remain highly controversial. Two alternative accounts have been advanced. Simulation theory assumes that we understand actions by simulating the observed behavior through a direct matching process that activates the mirror-neuron circuit. The alternative interpretive account assumes that action understanding is based on specialized inferential processes activating brain areas with no mirror properties. Although both approaches recognize the central role of contextual information in specifying action intentions, their respective accounts of this process differ in significant respects. Here, we investigated the role of context in action understanding by using functional brain imaging while participants observed an unusual action in implausible versus plausible contexts. We show that brain areas that are part of a network involved in inferential interpretive processes of rationalization and mentalization but that lack mirror properties are more active when the action occurs in an implausible context. However, no differential activation was found in the mirror network. Our findings support the assumption that action understanding in novel situations is primarily mediated by an inferential interpretive system rather than the mirror system.

Getting Girls in the Game: Action Research in the Gymnasium

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Daniel B.

2013-01-01

This article presents an action research project focused on improving physical education (PE) for adolescent female students. One university researcher, three male PE teachers, and 13 of their most disengaged female students participated in the one-year, two-cycle, action research project. The process and results are offered so that future PE…

Towards a Reflection Repertoire: Using a Thinking Tool to Understand Tensions in an Action Research Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aas, Marit

2014-01-01

Most action researchers agree that action research consists of cycles of planning, acting, reflecting, and taking further action. However, in action research literature, there is something missing. The nature of reflection in the action research process, including its relationship with the tensions that arise while discussing purposes, processes,…

Towards a Collaborative Action Research in Spain to Improve Teaching Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fernández-Díaz, Elia; Calvo, Adelina; Rodríguez-Hoyos, Carlos

2014-01-01

This article describes a collaborative action research process in pre-school and primary education in Spain during a four-year period (2006-2010). The aim was the need to promote a level of reflection among the participants as to their teaching practice. The methodology used was a technologically mediated action research process. The results are…

Nursing Students' Perceptions of Participatory Action Research.

PubMed

Csiernik, Rick; O'Regan, Tony; Forchuk, Cheryl; Rudnick, Abraham

2018-05-01

This article evaluates the experience of students engaged in a participatory action research project. Nursing students were assigned to research activities addressing poverty and social inclusion in the lives of individuals with mental health issues. Focus group interviews were held with 25 students, representing 58.1% of eligible students. Themes and subthemes were categorized from the transcripts, with two overarching themes emerging: (a) aspects that worked well, and (b) aspects that could be improved. The range of activities students engaged in while assigned to the project and students' perceptions, both positive and negative, about their overall exposure to participatory action research are identified and discussed. Findings in the literature with regard to perceived benefits and limitations of participatory action research projects involving students are supported by those found in this study. Based on the findings of this study, curriculum development for an interdisciplinary graduate-level course is in process. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(5):282-286.]. Copyright 2018, SLACK Incorporated.

Tackling perinatal loss, a participatory action research approach: research protocol.

PubMed

Pastor-Montero, Sonia María; Romero-Sánchez, José Manuel; Paramio-Cuevas, Juan Carlos; Hueso-Montoro, César; Paloma-Castro, Olga; Lillo-Crespo, Manuel; Castro-Yuste, Cristina; Toledano-Losa, Ana Cristina; Carnicer-Fuentes, Concepción; Ortegón-Gallego, José Alejo; Frandsen, Anna J

2012-11-01

  The aim of this study was to promote changes to improve the care provided to parents who have experienced a perinatal loss through participatory action research.   The birth of a child is a joyful event for most families, however, unfortunately some pregnancies end in loss. Perinatal loss creates a heavy emotional impact not only on parents but also on health professionals, where in most cases there is an evident lack of skills, strategies and resources to cope with these kinds of situations.   Participatory action research is the methodology proposed to achieve the purpose of this study.   Participatory action research consists of five stages: outreach and awareness, induction, interaction, implementation and systematization. The working group will include professionals from the Mother and Child Unit for patients at a tertiary level public hospital in Spain. The duration of the study will be 3 years since the approval of the protocol in January 2011. The qualitative techniques used will include group dynamics such as the SWOT analysis the nominal group technique, focus groups and brainstorming, among others that will be recorded and transcribed, generating reports throughout the evolution of the group sessions and about the consensus reached. Content analysis will be conducted on the field diaries kept by the participants and researchers. This project has been funded by the Andalusian Regional Ministry of Health.   Participatory action research is a methodological strategy that allows changes in clinical practice to conduct a comprehensive transformative action in the care process for perinatal loss. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Science in the Elementary School Classroom: Portraits of Action Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonald, Jane B., Ed.; Gilmer, Penny J., Ed.

Teacher knowledge and skills are critical elements in the student learning process. Action research serves as an increasingly popular technique to engage teachers in educational change in classrooms. This document focuses on action research reports of elementary school teachers. Chapters include: (1) "First Graders' Beliefs and Perceptions of…

Gaining a Competitive Edge through Action Design Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alexa, L.; Alexa, M.; Avasilcăi, S.

2016-08-01

The current business environment is characterized by increased competition and highly innovative approach, in order to create products and services to better respond to the costumers’ needs and expectations. In this specific context, the research approaches need to be more flexible and business oriented and so, throughout the paper we have used a research method that combines design research and action research, named Action Design Research which is a research method used for generating prescriptive design knowledge through building and evaluating IT artifacts in an organizational setting [1]. Following the Action Design Research stages and principles: problem identification, building, intervention and evaluation, reflection and learning and formalization of learning, the research team has developed an online instrument used to actively involve the consumer in the product development process, in order to generate a better consumers insight regarding their needs and desires and to design and/or adjust the product accordingly. The customer engagement IT tool created and tested by using Action Design Research, E-PICUS, has been developed within the framework of the research project „E-solutions for innovation through customer pro-active involvement in value creation to increase organisational competitiveness (E-PICUS)”, PN- II-PT-PCCA-2013-4-1811, currently undergoing.

Process of Implementing Critical Reading Strategies in an Iranian EFL Classroom: An Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nasrollahi, Mohammad Ali; Krishnasamy, Pramela Krish N.; Noor, Noorizah Mohd

2015-01-01

Action research designs are systematic procedures used by teachers to gather quantitative and qualitative data to address improvements in their educational setting, their teaching, and the learning of their students. Action research enables teachers to keep track and take account of the many aspects of their work with students through a systematic…

How To Conduct Collaborative Action Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sagor, Richard

Collaborative action research, conducted by teams of practitioners, is a process that enables teachers: (1) to improve student learning, (2) to improve their own practice, (3) to contribute to the development of their own profession, and (4) to overcome the isolation commonly experienced by classroom teachers. By promoting collegial relationships…

Action research in radiography: What it is and how it can be conducted

PubMed Central

Munn, Zachary; Pearson, Alan; Jordan, Zoe; Murphy, Frederick; Pilkington, Diana

2013-01-01

Action research is a form of research that investigates and describes a social or work situation with the aim of achieving a change which results in improvement. This article emphasizes the potential for action research to be a useful research method in radiography. A search was conducted to determine the extent to which action research has been utilized in radiography. Although action research has been used in a number of health-care settings, there are no published examples of action research being utilized in a clinical medical imaging department. Action research is discussed in detail, along with an example guide for an action research study. Action research has been identified as a useful way to affect change, to involve radiographers in the research process, and to introduce evidence-based practice to radiography. PMID:26229607

Investigation to Improve the Process of Pre-Service Teachers' Reflective Thinking Skills through an Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Töman, Ufuk

2017-01-01

This study aimed to pre-service teachers' reflective thinking and to reveal development of reflective thinking during the process of teaching and learning. This study was designed in the form of action research due to the nature of the case examined. The participants were 4 pre-service teachers at Bayburt University Faculty of Education Department…

Introduction to the Special Series on Participatory Action Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Park, Hyun-Sook; Meyer, Luanna; Goetz, Lori

1998-01-01

This introductory article discusses the benefits of participatory action research (PAR), including the empowerment of participants in research and the research process, the difficulties PAR presents, and summarizes following articles in a special series on the facets of PAR. (CR)

Professionalizing action research--a meaningful strategy for modernizing services?

PubMed

Hall, Julie E

2006-04-01

application indicates the value of professionalizing action research as a process for modernization. The strength of the approach lies in the opportunity for team learning and change which is grounded in the context of services and pursued through collaboration.

Action-Oriented Population Nutrition Research: High Demand but Limited Supply

PubMed Central

Pham, Judy; Pelletier, David

2015-01-01

Background: The relatively rapid ascendancy of nutrition and health on policy agendas, along with greater emphasis on accountability and results, has stimulated interest in new forms of research to guide the development and implementation of effective policies, programs, and interventions—what we refer to as action-oriented research. To date, action-oriented research in the nutrition field is thought to be the exception rather than the rule, but empirical evidence to support this claim is lacking. Methods: We conducted a survey of selected journals in nutrition and public health to assess the extent and nature of population nutrition research published in 2012 that embodied 5 defined characteristics of action-oriented research in relation to: (1) topic(s) of study, (2) processes/influences, (3) actors, (4) methods, and (5) approaches. We identified 762 articles from the 6 selected nutrition journals and 77 nutrition-related articles from the 4 selected public health journals that met our search criteria. Results: Only 7% of the 762 papers in nutrition journals had at least 1 of the 5 action-oriented research characteristics, compared with 36% of the 77 nutrition-related papers in the public health journals. Of all 80 articles that had at least 1 action-oriented research characteristic, only 5 articles (6.25%) embodied all 5 characteristics. Articles with action-oriented research covered a broad range of topics and processes/influences, including policy, workforce development, and schools, as well as actors, such as program staff, store owners, parents, and school staff. In addition, various research methods were used, such as stakeholder analysis, ethnographic narrative, iterative action research, and decision tree modeling, as well as different approaches, including participant-observer and community-based participatory research. Conclusions: Action-oriented research represents a small fraction of articles published in nutrition journals, especially compared

Pathways to Co-Impact: Action Research and Community Organising

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Banks, Sarah; Herrington, Tracey; Carter, Kath

2017-01-01

This article introduces the concept of "co-impact" to characterise the complex and dynamic process of social and economic change generated by participatory action research (PAR). It argues that dominant models of research impact tend to see it as a linear process, based on a donor-recipient model, occurring at the end of a project…

Assessing country-level efforts to link research to action.

PubMed Central

Lavis, John N.; Lomas, Jonathan; Hamid, Maimunah; Sewankambo, Nelson K.

2006-01-01

We developed a framework for assessing country-level efforts to link research to action. The framework has four elements. The first element assesses the general climate (how those who fund research, universities, researchers and users of research support or place value on efforts to link research to action). The second element addresses the production of research (how priority setting ensures that users' needs are identified and how scoping reviews, systematic reviews and single studies are undertaken to address these needs). The third element addresses the mix of four clusters of activities used to link research to action. These include push efforts (how strategies are used to support action based on the messages arising from research), efforts to facilitate "user pull" (how "one-stop shopping" is provided for optimally packaged high-quality reviews either alone or as part of a national electronic library for health, how these reviews are profiled during "teachable moments" such as intense media coverage, and how rapid-response units meet users' needs for the best research), "user pull" efforts undertaken by those who use research (how users assess their capacity to use research and how structures and processes are changed to support the use of research) and exchange efforts (how meaningful partnerships between researchers and users help them to jointly ask and answer relevant questions). The fourth element addresses approaches to evaluation (how support is provided for rigorous evaluations of efforts to link research to action). PMID:16917649

Thinking Like Researchers: Action Research and Its Impact on Novice Teachers' Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Janine; Clayton, Courtney; Broome, John

2018-01-01

This project investigated the effects of novice teachers' responses to an action research project conducting during the student-teaching semester. This study drew on a framework that considered the participants' process of research, practice of teaching, and identity as a researcher and utilized a qualitative, multiple case-study approach with an…

Action Research Methods: Plain and Simple

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klein, Sheri R., Ed.

2012-01-01

Among the plethora of action research books on the market, there is no one text exclusively devoted to understanding how to acquire and interpret research data. Action Research Methods provides a balanced overview of the quantitative and qualitative methodologies and methods for conducting action research within a variety of educational…

Participatory Action Research (PAR) cum Action Research (AR) in Teacher Professional Development: A Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morales, Marie Paz E.

2016-01-01

This paper reviews Participatory Action Research as an approach to teacher professional development. It maps the origins of Participatory Action Research (PAR) and discusses the benefits and challenges that have been identified by other researchers in utilizing PAR approaches in conducting research. It draws ideas of combining the features of…

Collaborative action research: implementation of cooperative learning.

PubMed

Smith-Stoner, Marilyn; Molle, Mary E

2010-06-01

Nurse educators must continually improve their teaching skills through innovation. However, research about the process used by faculty members to transform their teaching methods is limited. This collaborative study uses classroom action research to describe, analyze, and address problems encountered in implementing cooperative learning in two undergraduate nursing courses. After four rounds of action and reflection, the following themes emerged: students did not understand the need for structured cooperative learning; classroom structure and seating arrangement influenced the effectiveness of activities; highly structured activities engaged the students; and short, targeted activities that involved novel content were most effective. These findings indicate that designing specific activities to prepare students for class is critical to cooperative learning. Copyright 2010, SLACK Incorporated.

Experiencing Action Evaluation's Cyclic Process: Partnering Conflict, Reflection, and Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burrows, Andrea C.; Harkness, Shelly Sheats

2016-01-01

In this article, the authors describe experiences in and offer suggestions from a course entitled "Educational Innovation for Excellence Through Action Research, Conflict Resolution, and Organizational Learning"--an action evaluation (AE). The class was taught using the principles of action research and AE. The authors explore the impact…

The developmental cognitive neuroscience of action: semantics, motor resonance and social processing.

PubMed

Ní Choisdealbha, Áine; Reid, Vincent

2014-06-01

The widespread use of EEG methods and the introduction of new brain imaging methods such as near-infrared spectroscopy have made cognitive neuroscience research with infants more feasible, resulting in an explosion of new findings. Among the long-established study of the neural correlates of face and speech perception in infancy, there has been an abundance of recent research on infant perception and production of action and concomitant neurocognitive development. In this review, three significant strands of developmental action research are discussed. The first strand focuses on the relationship of diverse social cognitive processes, including the perception of goals and animacy, and the development of precursors to theory of mind, to action perception. The second investigates the role of motor resonance and mirror systems in early action development. The third strand focuses on the extraction of meaning from action by infants and discusses how semantic processing of action emerges early in life. Although these strands of research are pursued separately, many of the findings from each strand inform all three theoretical frameworks. This review will evaluate the evidence for a synthesised account of infant action development.

Enactment versus Observation: Item-Specific and Relational Processing in Goal-Directed Action Sequences (and Lists of Single Actions)

PubMed Central

Schult, Janette; von Stülpnagel, Rul; Steffens, Melanie C.

2014-01-01

What are the memory-related consequences of learning actions (such as “apply the patch”) by enactment during study, as compared to action observation? Theories converge in postulating that enactment encoding increases item-specific processing, but not the processing of relational information. Typically, in the laboratory enactment encoding is studied for lists of unrelated single actions in which one action execution has no overarching purpose or relation with other actions. In contrast, real-life actions are usually carried out with the intention to achieve such a purpose. When actions are embedded in action sequences, relational information provides efficient retrieval cues. We contrasted memory for single actions with memory for action sequences in three experiments. We found more reliance on relational processing for action-sequences than single actions. To what degree can this relational information be used after enactment versus after the observation of an actor? We found indicators of superior relational processing after observation than enactment in ordered pair recall (Experiment 1A) and in emerging subjective organization of repeated recall protocols (recall runs 2–3, Experiment 2). An indicator of superior item-specific processing after enactment compared to observation was recognition (Experiment 1B, Experiment 2). Similar net recall suggests that observation can be as good a learning strategy as enactment. We discuss possible reasons why these findings only partly converge with previous research and theorizing. PMID:24927279

Sharing Control: Developing Research Literacy through Community-Based Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Juergensmeyer, Erik

2011-01-01

This article suggests that the methodology of community-based action research provides concrete strategies for fostering effective community problem solving. To argue for a community research pedagogy, the author draws upon past and present scholarship in action research and participatory action research, experiences teaching an undergraduate…

Post-Colonial Theory and Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parsons, Jim B.; Harding, Kelly J.

2011-01-01

This essay explores connections between post-colonial theory and action research. Post-colonial theory is committed to addressing the plague of colonialism. Action research, at its core, promises to problematize uncontested "colonial" hegemonies of any form. Both post-colonial theory and action research engage dialogic, critically reflective and…

Action Research, Stories and Practical Philosophy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cotton, Tony; Griffiths, Morwenna

2007-01-01

This collaborative piece written by a philosopher/action researcher and an action researcher/philosopher explores the use of practical philosophy as a tool in action research. The paper explores the connection to be made between what we refer to, roughly, as "theory" and "practice" (while never losing hold of either). The…

Communicative Elements of Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryan, Thomas G.

2013-01-01

This review considers human communications as utilized within a research design; in this case collaborative action research (CAR), a derivative of action research (AR), to achieve outcomes that change, and move participants forward. The association between AR and CAR is a deliberate attempt by the author to draw attention to communicative actions…

Supporting the Knowledge-to-Action Process: A Systems-Thinking Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cherney, Adrian; Head, Brian

2011-01-01

The processes for moving research-based knowledge to the domains of action in social policy and professional practice are complex. Several disciplinary research traditions have illuminated several key aspects of these processes. A more holistic approach, drawing on systems thinking, has also been outlined and advocated by recent contributors to…

The Collaborative Action Research Network: 30 Years of Agency in Developing Educational Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Somekh, Bridget

2010-01-01

This article provides an analysis of the Collaborative Action Research Network's (CARN) origins and development since its foundation in 1976. The author brings the unique perspective of active involvement in CARN almost from its inception, and editorship for many years of its journal "Educational Action Research". Cultural-historical…

Exploring the Experiences of Faculty-Led Teams in Conducting Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Qi; Amundsen, Cheryl

2015-01-01

Action research has been suggested as a useful way to support university faculty to improve teaching and learning. However, there seems to be little knowledge about how faculty (and those who work with them) experience the process of doing action research. In order to explore team members' in-depth experience about what they learned and how they…

Embodied Generosity--The Ethics of Doing Action Research in the Places Where We Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Traeger, James

2016-01-01

Action research is conceived as a feet-on-the-ground process--a way of addressing and improving the everyday experiences and concerns of people who deliver real goods and services in an organisation, through the process of finding out new things--i.e. research in the broadest sense. This article explores the question of how action researchers do…

Action Research Facilitated by University-School Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yuan, Rui; Lee, Icy

2015-01-01

While Action Research (AR) is promoted as a powerful route for teachers' professional development, different contextual challenges may arise during the process; teachers may be helped to overcome these challenges with the guidance of external facilitators. Drawing on data from interviews and the teachers' AR reports, this article explores how two…

Action-Oriented Research: Models and Methods.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Small, Stephen A.

1995-01-01

Four models of action-oriented research, a research approach that can inform policy and practice, are described: action, participatory, empowerment, and feminism research. Discusses historical roots, epistemological assumptions, agendas, and methodological strategies of each, and presents implications for family researchers. (JPS)

Planning for Action Research: Looking at Practice through a Different Lens

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hahn, Heidi A.

2012-08-03

It has been my experience that behavioral science practitioners, including myself, often 'back into' action research. That is, we start out doing a process improvement or intervention and discover something along the way - generalizable knowledge - that seems worthwhile to share with our community of practice. What if, instead of looking at these projects from the point of view of practitioners, we looked at them as research from the outset? Would that change the outcome or generate additional knowledge? This paper compares and contrasts process improvement and action research methods, and illustrates how use of a research 'lens' canmore » enhance behavioral science interventions and the knowledge that may result from them.« less

Where is the action? Action sentence processing in Parkinson's disease

PubMed Central

Fernandino, Leonardo; Conant, Lisa L.; Binder, Jeffrey R.; Blindauer, Karen; Hiner, Bradley; Spangler, Katie; Desai, Rutvik H.

2013-01-01

According to an influential view of conceptual representation, action concepts are understood through motoric simulations, involving motor networks of the brain. A stronger version of this embodied account suggests that even figurative uses of action words (e.g., grasping the concept) are understood through motoric simulations. We investigated these claims by assessing whether Parkinson's disease (PD), a disorder affecting the motor system, is associated with selective deficits in comprehending action-related sentences. Twenty PD patients and 21 age-matched controls performed a sentence comprehension task, where sentences belonged to one of four conditions: literal action, non-idiomatic metaphoric action, idiomatic action, and abstract. The same verbs (referring to hand/arm actions) were used in the three action-related conditions. Patients, but not controls, were slower to respond to literal and idiomatic action than to abstract sentences. These results indicate that sensory-motor systems play a functional role in semantic processing, including processing of figurative action language. PMID:23624313

Action-Oriented Population Nutrition Research: High Demand but Limited Supply.

PubMed

Pham, Judy; Pelletier, David

2015-05-27

The relatively rapid ascendancy of nutrition and health on policy agendas, along with greater emphasis on accountability and results, has stimulated interest in new forms of research to guide the development and implementation of effective policies, programs, and interventions-what we refer to as action-oriented research. To date, action-oriented research in the nutrition field is thought to be the exception rather than the rule, but empirical evidence to support this claim is lacking. We conducted a survey of selected journals in nutrition and public health to assess the extent and nature of population nutrition research published in 2012 that embodied 5 defined characteristics of action-oriented research in relation to: (1) topic(s) of study, (2) processes/influences, (3) actors, (4) methods, and (5) approaches. We identified 762 articles from the 6 selected nutrition journals and 77 nutrition-related articles from the 4 selected public health journals that met our search criteria. Only 7% of the 762 papers in nutrition journals had at least 1 of the 5 action-oriented research characteristics, compared with 36% of the 77 nutrition-related papers in the public health journals. Of all 80 articles that had at least 1 action-oriented research characteristic, only 5 articles (6.25%) embodied all 5 characteristics. Articles with action-oriented research covered a broad range of topics and processes/influences, including policy, workforce development, and schools, as well as actors, such as program staff, store owners, parents, and school staff. In addition, various research methods were used, such as stakeholder analysis, ethnographic narrative, iterative action research, and decision tree modeling, as well as different approaches, including participant-observer and community-based participatory research. Action-oriented research represents a small fraction of articles published in nutrition journals, especially compared with public health journals. This reinforces

Discomfort as a Means of Pre-Service Teachers' Professional Development--An Action Research as Part of the "Research Literacy" Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amir, Aliza; Mandler, Daphna; Hauptman, Sara; Gorev, Dvora

2017-01-01

This paper focus on defining a research question while conducting action research among third-year students attending a course on Research Literacy at a teacher education college. This paper discusses the process of preparing for and conducting action research among third-year students attending a course on Research Literacy at a teacher education…

Action Research: Theory and Applications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jefferson, Renée N.

2014-01-01

Action research as a methodology is suitable for use within academic library settings. Its theoretical foundations are located in several disciplines and its applications span across many professions. In this article, an overview of the theoretical beginnings and evolution of action research is presented. Approaches generally used in conducting an…

The Role of Action Research in Empowering Teachers to Change Their Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bradley-Levine, Jill; Smith, Joshua; Carr, Kari

2009-01-01

Universities need to work with teachers to dispel the belief that research is disconnected from practice and teachers must be open to the benefits of action inquiry. This study examined the process and impact of conducting action research on teachers' perceptions of practice and professionalism. Twelve teachers enrolled in a master's level course…

Indigenous Storytelling and Participatory Action Research

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Storytelling, in its various forms, has often been described as a practice with great emancipatory potential. In turn, Indigenous knowledge shows great promise in guiding a participatory action research (PAR) methodology. Yet these two approaches are rarely discussed in relation to one another, nor, has much been written in terms of how these two approaches may work synergistically toward a decolonizing research approach. In this article, I report on a community-driven knowledge translation activity, the Peoples’ International Health Tribunal, as an exemplar of how narrative and PAR approaches, guided by local Indigenous knowledge, have great potential to build methodologically and ethically robust research processes. Implications for building globally relevant research alliances and scholarship are further discussed, particularly in relation to working with Indigenous communities. PMID:28462305

Taking Action with Teacher Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyers, Ellen; Rust, Frances O'Connell

This collection of papers presents examples of teacher research in action. Each study grew out of teachers' questions regarding the implementation of some aspect of education policy in their schools and classrooms. After "Introduction" (Frances O'Connell Rust and Ellen Meyers), the eight papers focus on: (1) "How We Do Action Research" (Frances…

Action Research in Schools: The Practitioners' Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Song, Liyan; Kenton, Jeffrey M.

2010-01-01

This paper presents a study on the effectiveness of an action research model from the perspectives of school educators as action researchers. The study design followed seven action researchers--inservice teachers and school library media specialists--as they completed research projects in their schools. Data came from three different sources:…

Critical Action Research: The Achievement Group

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carpenter, Vicki M.; Cooper, Chris

2009-01-01

Critical action research is contextualized in a low socioeconomic, multicultural urban school in Auckland, New Zealand. The writers are a university lecturer (mentor) and a school principal (critical action researcher). The research was part of a meta project which aimed to raise the achievement of Maori (indigenous) students. Research processes…

Action Research and Teacher Leadership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smeets, Karel; Ponte, Petra

2009-01-01

The present article reports on a case study into the influence and impact of action research carried out by teachers in a special school. The action research was an important component of the two-year, post-initial, in-service course in special educational needs, provided by Fontys University of Applied Sciences, Department of Inclusive and…

Philosophy, Methodology and Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carr, Wilfred

2006-01-01

The aim of this paper is to examine the role of methodology in action research. It begins by showing how, as a form of inquiry concerned with the development of practice, action research is nothing other than a modern 20th century manifestation of the pre-modern tradition of practical philosophy. It then draws in Gadamer's powerful vindication of…

Action Research and Organisational Learning: A Norwegian Approach to Doing Action Research in Complex Organisations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eikeland, Olav

2012-01-01

The purpose of this article is to present a specific approach to the practice of action research "in complex organisations". Clearly, there are many approaches to the challenge of doing action research in organisations; approaches that are, and also must be, quite context dependent and specific. But my purpose is neither to give an…

[Modification of nursing practice through reflection: participatory action research].

PubMed

Delgado Hito, P; Sola Prado, A; Mirabete Rodríguez, I; Torrents Ros, R; Blasco Afonso, M; Barrero Pedraza, R; Catalá Gil, N; Mateos Dávila, A; Quinteiro Canedo, M

2001-01-01

Technology and complex techniques are inevitably playing an increasing role in intensive care units. They continue to characterize nursing care and in some cases dehumanize it. The general aim of this study was to stimulate reflection on nursing care. The study was based on the participation of the investigators with the goal of producing changes in nursing practice. Qualitative methodology in the form of participatory action research and the Kemmis and McTaggart method were used. Data were collected through systematic observation, seven group meetings and document analysis. Eight nurses took part in the study. The meetings were recorded and transcribed verbatim into a computer. This process and the meaning of the verbatim transcription (codification/categorization process and document synthesis cards) were analyzed. The results of this study enabled exploration of the change in nursing practice and showed that the reflection in action method stimulates changes in practice. The new way of conceiving nursing action has increased nursing care quality and its humanization since it shows greater respect for the patient, provides families with closer contact and greater support, improves coordination of nursing care acts and increases collaboration among professionals.In conclusion, participatory action research is a valid and appropriate method that nurses can use to modify their daily practice.

Teacher Research as Continuous Process Improvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellis, Charles; Castle, Kathryn

2010-01-01

Purpose: Teacher research (inquiry) has been characterized as practice improvement, professional development and action research, among numerous names and descriptions. The purpose of this paper is to support the case that teacher research is also a form of quality improvement known as continuous process improvement (CPI).…

Montage: Improvising in the Land of Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Windle, Sheila; Sefton, Terry

2011-01-01

This paper and its appended multi-media production describe the rationale and process of creating and presenting a "digitally saturated" (Lankshear & Knobel, 2003), multi-layered, synchronous "montage" (Denzin & Lincoln, 2003) of educational Action Research findings. The authors contend that this type of presentation, arising from the fusion of…

Action Research: An Educational Leader's Guide to School Improvement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glanz, Jeffrey

Useful as a classroom text and self-teaching tool, this book outlines the process of designing and reporting action research projects in schools. The underlying assumption of the book is that research is not a domain that belongs only to academics, but is a powerful approach that can be used by practitioners to contribute to school renewal and…

Creative Expression as a Way of Knowing in Diabetes Adult Health Education: An Action Research Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stuckey, Heather L.

2009-01-01

This action research study explores the meaning-making process using forms of creative expression for eight women with insulin-dependent diabetes. The study is theoretically informed by arts-based ways of knowing and aspects of feminist poststructuralism, and explains the process of creativity used in the action research process. The findings…

Reducing diabetes health disparities through community-based participatory action research: the Chicago Southeast Diabetes Community Action Coalition.

PubMed Central

Giachello, Aida L.; Arrom, Jose O.; Davis, Margaret; Sayad, Judith V.; Ramirez, Dinah; Nandi, Chandana; Ramos, Catalina

2003-01-01

To address disproportionately high rates of diabetes morbidity and mortality in some of Chicago's medically underserved minority neighborhoods, a group of community residents, medical and social service providers, and a local university founded the Chicago Southeast Diabetes Community Action Coalition, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention REACH 2010 Initiative. A community-based participatory action research model guided coalition activities from conceptualization through implementation. Capacity building activities included training on: diabetes, coalition building, research methods, and action planning. Other activities sought to increase coalition members' understanding of the social causes and potential solutions for health disparities related to diabetes. Trained coalition members conducted epidemiologic analyses, focus groups, a telephone survey, and a community inventory. All coalition members participated in decisions. The participatory process led to increased awareness of the complexities of diabetes in the community and to a state of readiness for social action. Data documented disparities in diabetes. The participatory action research approach (a) encouraged key stakeholders outside of the health care sector to participate (e.g., business sector, church groups); (b) permitted an examination of the sociopolitical context affecting the health of the community; (c) provided an opportunity to focus on preventing the onset of diabetes and its complications; (d) increased understanding of the importance of community research in catalyzing social action aimed at community and systems change and change among change agents. PMID:12815078

Action Research and Academic Writing: A Conversation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winter, Richard; Badley, Graham

2007-01-01

Here is a conversation between two former colleagues about action research and academic writing. Richard Winter opens the discussion with a series of reflections on his work as an action researcher. These reflections include the key argument that action research is a noble cause because it is relevant to working life, has a practical impact and…

When Does the Action Start and Finish? Making the Case for an Ethnographic Action Research in Educational Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bath, Caroline

2009-01-01

This paper explores how ethnographic and action research methodologies can be justifiably combined to create a new methodological approach in educational research. It draws on existing examples in both educational research and development studies that have discussed the use of ethnography and action research in specific projects. Interpretations…

A Participatory Action Research Approach To Evaluating Inclusive School Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dymond, Stacy K.

2001-01-01

This article proposes a model for evaluating inclusive schools. Key elements of the model are inclusion of stakeholders in the evaluation process through a participatory action research approach, analysis of program processes and outcomes, use of multiple methods and measures, and obtaining perceptions from diverse stakeholder groups. (Contains…

Initiating an Action Research Programme for University EFL Teachers: Early Experiences and Responses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burns, Anne; Westmacott, Anne; Ferrer, Antonieta Hidalgo

2016-01-01

Accounts of how teacher educators begin to plan, develop, and support action research programmes for language teachers are rare, as are descriptions of the responses of the teachers who participate. This article documents and analyses the initial processes of introducing and supporting a new programme of action research for language teachers at…

Notes toward a Philosophy of Action Learning Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coghlan, David; Coughlan, Paul

2010-01-01

The philosophical foundations of action learning research have not received a great deal of attention. In the context of action learning postgraduate and professional programmes in universities, articulation of a philosophy of action learning research seems timely and appropriate. This article explores a philosophy of action learning research,…

Blogging across the Curriculum: An Action Research Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nichols, Andrea

2012-01-01

"Blogging across the curriculum: Integrating blogging in the elementary classroom" is an Action Research Project that sought to explore the level of engagement in the writing process by students in grades 3, 4 & 5 while blogging across the curriculum. Blogging took place in homeroom classrooms as well as in the school's math, science and…

Exploring multiple intelligences theory in the context of science education: An action research approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodnough, Karen Catherine

2000-10-01

Since the publication of Frames of Mind: The Theory in Practice, multiple intelligences, theory (Gardner, 1983) has been used by practitioners in a variety of ways to make teaching and learning more meaningful. However, little attention has been focused on exploring the potential of the theory for science teaching and learning. Consequently, this research study was designed to: (1) explore Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences (1983) and its merit for making science teaching and learning more meaningful; (2) provide a forum for teachers to engage in critical self-reflection about their theory and practice in science education; (3) study the process of action research in the context of science education; and (4) describe the effectiveness of collaborative action research as a framework for teacher development and curriculum development. The study reports on the experiences of four teachers (two elementary teachers, one junior high teacher, and one high school teacher) and myself, a university researcher-facilitator, as we participated in a collaborative action research project. The action research group held weekly meetings over a five-month period (January--May, 1999). The inquiry was a qualitative case study (Stake, 1994) that aimed to understand the perspectives of those directly involved. This was achieved by using multiple methods to collect data: audiotaped action research meetings, fieldnotes, semi-structured interviews, journal writing, and concept mapping. All data were analysed on an ongoing basis. Many positive outcomes resulted from the study in areas such as curriculum development, teacher development, and student learning in science. Through the process of action research, research participants became more reflective about their practice and thus, enhanced their pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman, 1987) in science. Students became more engaged in learning science, gained a greater understanding of how they learn, and experienced a

Role of research in occupational therapy clinical practice: applying action learning and action research in pursuit of evidence-based practice.

PubMed

du Toit, Sanet H J; Wilkinson, Annette C; Adam, Kerry

2010-10-01

 In South Africa, as in many other countries, the development of research capacity in students and their early professional career is regarded as of major importance. Within the context of clinical education for occupational therapy students at the University of the Free State, a lecturer and her students embarked on a collaborative journey while fulfilling the requirements of their undergraduate curriculum. The outcome is a model promoting evidence-based practice (EBP) during service development on a dementia care ward. The practical use of action learning, action research (ALAR) approach in the clinical context, was used to encourage student engagement in successive small-scale research projects while simulating EBP. The projects ranged from the development of therapeutic multi-sensory environments to compiling activity profiles for identified residents. At the same time, students had the opportunity to experience the value of a scientific approach to practice development, which stimulated their awareness of the importance of research. Reflection by the researcher contributed towards more effective ways for compiling project assignments and a formalised approach for assessing projects. Students described personal and professional gains because of participation in projects against the life-changing experience of rendering a service to elderly persons suffering from dementia. The formalised approach guiding thoughts and actions finally assisted in developing a practical process model that could support EBP. The ALAR model contributed towards a scholarship of practice where the students, clinical educator and residents of a dementia unit all experienced the value of research. © 2010 The Authors. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal © 2010 Australian Association of Occupational Therapists.

Action Research in a Non-Profit Agency School Setting: Analyzing the Adoption of an Innovation after Initial Training and Coaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sandoval-Lucero, Elena; Maes, Johanna B.; Pappas, Georgia

2013-01-01

Action research is a method of organizational development and improvement often used in educational settings. This study implemented an action research process in an alternative school that serves students with significant special needs. The action research process was implemented by classroom teams who developed a research question, collected and…

Action Research: Informing Professional Practice within Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hine, Gregory S. C.; Lavery, Shane D.

2014-01-01

This research paper explores the experiences of three teacher-researchers, "Simone", "Damian" and "Michael", who undertook an action research project in their respective schools as part of their postgraduate studies. The paper initially outlines the construct of action research in the light of its applicability to…

Action Research and Response to Intervention: Bridging the Discourse Divide

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Little, Mary E.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this article is to define and clarify the process of instructional problem-solving using assessment data within action research (AR) and Response to Intervention (RtI). Similarities between AR and RtI are defined and compared. Lastly, specific resources and examples of the instructional problem-solving process of AR within…

Action Researchers' Perspectives about the Distinguishing Characteristics of Action Research: A Delphi and Learning Circles Mixed-Methods Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowell, Lonnie L.; Polush, Elena Yu; Riel, Margaret; Bruewer, Aaron

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify distinguishing characteristics of action research within the Action Research Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association. The authors sought to delineate the foundational framework endorsed by this community. The study was conducted during January-April 2012 and employed an…

Transforming Language Ideologies through Action Research: A Case Study of Bilingual Science Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Eunah

This qualitative case study explored a third grade bilingual teacher's transformative language ideologies through participating in a collaborative action research project. By merging language ideologies theory, Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), and action research, I was able to identify the analytic focus of this study. I analyzed how one teacher and I, the researcher, collaboratively reflected on classroom language practices during the video analysis meetings and focus groups. Further, I analyzed twelve videos that we coded together to see the changes in the teacher's language practices over time. My unit of analysis was the discourse practice mediated by additive language ideologies. Throughout the collaborative action research process, we both critically reflected on the classroom language use. We also developed a critical consciousness about the participatory shifts and learning of focal English Learner (EL) students. Finally, the teacher made changes to her classroom language practices. The results of this study will contribute to the literacy education research field for theoretical, methodological, and practical insights. The integration of language ideologies, CHAT, and action research can help educational practitioners, researchers, and policy makers understand the importance of transforming teachers' language ideologies in designing additive learning contexts for ELs. From a methodological perspective, the transformative language ideologies through researcher and teacher collaborated video analysis process provide a unique contribution to the language ideologies in education literature, with analytic triangulation. As a practical implication, this study suggests action research can be one of the teacher education tools to help the teachers transform language ideologies for EL education.

Supporting Systematic Change through Action Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holm, Daniel T.; Hunter, Karen; Welling, Judith

This paper examines how a series of action research projects, supported and guided through a university-public elementary school partnership program, began. It also presents the content and impact of the action research projects from the voices of a university professor, classroom teacher, and principal. The partnership promoted study groups which…

Using Action Research and Action Learning for Entrepreneurial Network Capability Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGrath, Helen; O'Toole, Thomas

2016-01-01

This paper applies an action research (AR) design and action learning (AL) approach to network capability development in an entrepreneurial context. Recent research suggests that networks are a viable strategy for the entrepreneurial firm to overcome the liabilities associated with newness and smallness. However, a gap emerges as few, if any,…

ERP correlates of processing the auditory consequences of own versus observed actions.

PubMed

Ghio, Marta; Scharmach, Katrin; Bellebaum, Christian

2018-06-01

Research has so far focused on neural mechanisms that allow us to predict the sensory consequences of our own actions, thus also contributing to ascribing them to ourselves as agents. Less attention has been devoted to processing the sensory consequences of observed actions ascribed to another human agent. Focusing on audition, there is consistent evidence of a reduction of the auditory N1 ERP for self- versus externally generated sounds, while ERP correlates of processing sensory consequences of observed actions are mainly unexplored. In a between-groups ERP study, we compared sounds generated by self-performed (self group) or observed (observation group) button presses with externally generated sounds, which were presented either intermixed with action-generated sounds or in a separate condition. Results revealed an overall reduction of the N1 amplitude for processing action- versus externally generated sounds in both the intermixed and the separate condition, with no difference between the groups. Further analyses, however, suggested that an N1 attenuation effect relative to the intermixed condition at frontal electrode sites might exist only for the self but not for the observation group. For both groups, we found a reduction of the P2 amplitude for processing action- versus all externally generated sounds. We discuss whether the N1 and the P2 reduction can be interpreted in terms of predictive mechanisms for both action execution and observation, and to what extent these components might reflect also the feeling of (self) agency and the judgment of agency (i.e., ascribing agency either to the self or to others). © 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Advancing working and learning through critical action research: creativity and constraints.

PubMed

Bellman, Loretta; Bywood, Catherine; Dale, Susan

2003-12-01

Continuous professional development is an essential component within many health care 'Learning Organisations'. The paper describes the first phase of an initiative to develop a professional practice development framework for nurses in an NHS general hospital. The project was undertaken within a critical action research methodology. A tripartite arrangement between the hospital, a university and professional nursing organisation enabled clinical, educational and research support for the nurses (co-researchers) engaged in the project. Initial challenges were from some managers, educationalists and the ethics committee who did not appear to understand the action research process. A multi-method approach to data collection was undertaken to capture the change process from different stakeholders' perceptions. Triangulation of the data was undertaken. Despite organisational constraints, transformational leadership and peer support enabled the co-researchers to identify and initiate three patient-focused initiatives. The change process for the co-researchers included: enlightening personal journey, exploring the research-practice gap, enhancing personal and professional knowledge, evolving cultural change and collaborative working, empowering and disempowering messages. A hospital merger and corporate staff changes directly impacted on the project. A more flexible time-scale and longer term funding are required to enable continuity for trust-wide projects undertaken in dynamic clinical settings.

Emerging Action Research Traditions: Rigor in Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watkins, Karen E.; Nicolaides, Aliki; Marsick, Victoria J.

2016-01-01

The authors argue here that contemporary use of action research shares the exploratory, inductive nature of many qualitative research approaches--no matter the type of data collected--because the type of research problems studied are set in complex, dynamic, rapidly changing contexts and because action research is undertaken to support social and…

Using an action research process in pharmacy practice research--a cooperative project between university and internship pharmacies.

PubMed

Sørensen, Ellen Westh; Haugbølle, Lotte Stig

2008-12-01

Action research (AR) is a common research-based methodology useful for development and organizational changes in health care when participant involvement is key. However, AR is not widely used for research in the development of pharmaceutical care services in pharmacy practice. To disseminate the experience from using AR methodology to develop cognitive services in pharmacies by describing how the AR process was conducted in a specific study, and to describe the outcome for participants. The study was conducted over a 3-year period and run by a steering group of researchers, pharmacy students, and preceptors. The study design was based on AR methodology. The following data production methods were used to describe and evaluate the AR model: documentary analysis, qualitative interviews, and questionnaires. Experiences from using AR methodology and the outcome for participants are described. A set of principles was followed while the study, called the Pharmacy-University study, was being conducted. These principles are considered useful for designing future AR studies. Outcome for participating pharmacies was registered for staff-oriented and patient-oriented activities. Outcome for students was practice as project leaders and enhancement of clinical pharmacy-based skills. Outcome for researchers and the steering group conducting the study was in-depth knowledge of the status of pharmacies in giving advice to patient groups, and effective learning methods for students. Developing and implementing cognitive pharmaceutical services (CPS) involves wide-reaching changes that require the willingness of pharmacy and staff as well as external partners. The use of AR methodology creates a platform that supports raising the awareness and the possible inclusion of these partners. During this study, a set of tools was developed for use in implementing CPS as part of AR.

Participatory Action Research: International Contexts and Consequences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McTaggart, Robin, Ed.

The collection of essays in this book illustrate commonalties and differences among the theories, practices, and forms of organization of participatory action research in different countries. Participatory action research expresses the recognition that all research methodologies are implicitly political in nature, and this is reflected in the…

Knowledge Producing, Its Management and Action and Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hadfield, Mark

2005-01-01

This article is based on a "think piece" produced as a resource for action researchers working within networks of schools. The original article considered the utility of key ideas within knowledge management to practitioner researchers attempting to share their research outcomes with other teachers in their network. This article, rather than…

Understanding the Complexity of Teacher Reflection in Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luttenberg, Johan; Meijer, Paulien; Oolbekkink-Marchand, Helma

2017-01-01

Reflection in action research is a complex matter, as is action research itself. In recent years, complexity science has regularly been called upon in order to more thoroughly understand the complexity of action research. The present article investigates the benefits that complexity science may yield for reflection in action research. This article…

Participatory action research: considerations for ethical review.

PubMed

Khanlou, N; Peter, E

2005-05-01

This paper addresses the distinctive nature of participatory action research (PAR) in relation to ethical review requirements. As a framework for conducting research and reducing health disparities, PAR is gaining increased attention in community and public health research. As a result, PAR researchers and members of Research Ethics Boards could benefit from an increased understanding of the array of ethical concerns that can arise. We discuss these concerns in light of commonly held ethical requirements for clinical research (social or scientific value, scientific validity, fair subject/participant selection, favourable risk-benefit ratio, independent review, informed consent, and respect for potential and enrolled participants) and refer to guidelines specifically developed for participatory research in health promotion. We draw from our community-based experiences in mental health promotion research with immigrant and culturally diverse youth to illustrate the ethical advantages and challenges of applying a PAR approach. We conclude with process suggestions for Research Ethics Boards.

Advancing ophthalmic nursing practice through action research.

PubMed

Waterman, Heather; Harker, Rona; MacDonald, Heather; McLaughlan, Rita; Waterman, Christine

2005-11-01

This paper reports an action research project that promoted posturing face down following macular hole surgery and aimed to enhance patient outcomes. This paper gives an overview of the process and outcomes of the first three of four phases of the project: problem identification, planning and action. The fourth phase, which was an evaluation of the project, is reported in another paper. Surgical repair for macular hole is common procedure carried out worldwide, and patients are required to posture face down for several weeks after this surgery. There is anecdotal evidence that many patients find this difficult to carry out. In the context of increasing medical specialization, nursing practice must be developed to meet the needs of patients being treated. This study will, therefore, be relevant beyond the particular specialty and geographical location described. The methodology was participative and cyclical. Initially, a fact-finding exercise was undertaken, using qualitative interviews with 18 members of staff to elicit their perspectives on the posturing of patients. Based on the fact-finding exercise, seven action objectives were set. While these were being implemented, three further research projects were identified and undertaken. Two were qualitative studies: one investigated patients' experiences of the surgery and posturing, and the second concerned nurses' developing working theories on the promotion of posturing and effects of nursing care on patient outcomes. Another pilot study was a randomized controlled trial to consider the effect of two different posturing regimes on patient outcomes. In addition to regular action research group meetings, these studies served to inform and monitor the changes as they were put into practice. The work was carried out from 1998 to 2002. Several factors appeared to influence whether patients postured after surgery, namely: education of staff and patients, appropriately timed services, clear lines of responsibility for

Improving emergency care pathways: an action research approach.

PubMed

Endacott, Ruth; Cooper, Simon; Sheaff, Rod; Padmore, Jacqueline; Blakely, Gillian

2011-03-01

Clinicians and managers across specialities are under pressure to review treatment and referral pathways to enable evidence-based practice, improve patient flow and provide a seamless service. This study outlines the processes and outcomes of an action research study conducted to reduce inappropriate attendances and unplanned pressures on Emergency Department (ED) staff in an English hospital during 2006-2008. Action research, comprising three action/reflection cycles conducted with participants, was used. Data were collected using retrospective patient record review (n=35,200) interviews with staff members (n=28), observation of patient pathways (n=38 patients) and measurement of team climate (n=31) with literature reviews also informing each cycle of data collection. ED attendance and hospital emergency admission data were largely similar to the national picture with regards to time/day of attendance and seasonal variation. However, in the 'adult majors' subgroup, mean attendance on a Monday was significantly higher than the rest of the week (p<0.001) and 36% were self-referrals. Observation data revealed that patients were informally assessed by reception staff and directed to majors or minors; this practice was replaced by reinstatement of triage. Patients identified as 'inappropriate' were managed inconsistently, irrespective of department workload. ED attendance decreased as the project progressed and the number of attendees resulting in hospital admission rose slightly. Study data suggest that inappropriate attendances decreased; however, data collection exposed gaps in the existing management information systems and inconsistencies in working practices in the ED. Action research can have a practical value besides contributing to knowledge.

Teachers in Action Research: Assumptions and Potentials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Yuen-Ling

2008-01-01

Research literature has long indicated that action research may stimulate practitioners themselves to actively evaluate the quality of their practice. This study is designed to report the use of action research for the development of early years professional practice by analyzing the pre-project and the post-project video-filmed teaching events.…

Ethical Principles in Practice: Evidence from Participatory Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Liz

2008-01-01

A significant challenge for all participants in the autism spectrum disorder participatory action research (ASD PAR) project, including the Ministry of Education, the local project teams (LPT) and mentors, was the lack of availability of a single ethics approval process for the project in its entirety and, in particular, one that could accommodate…

Peer-led Aboriginal parent support: Program development for vulnerable populations with participatory action research.

PubMed

Munns, Ailsa; Toye, Christine; Hegney, Desley; Kickett, Marion; Marriott, Rhonda; Walker, Roz

2017-10-01

Participatory action research (PAR) is a credible, culturally appropriate methodology that can be used to effect collaborative change within vulnerable populations. This PAR study was undertaken in a Western Australian metropolitan setting to develop and evaluate the suitability, feasibility and effectiveness of an Aboriginal peer-led home visiting programme. A secondary aim, addressed in this paper, was to explore and describe research methodology used for the study and provide recommendations for its implementation in other similar situations. PAR using action learning sets was employed to develop the parent support programme and data addressing the secondary, methodological aim were collected through focus groups using semi-structured and unstructured interview schedules. Findings were addressed throughout the action research process to enhance the research process. The themes that emerged from the data and addressed the methodological aim were the need for safe communication processes; supportive engagement processes and supportive organisational processes. Aboriginal peer support workers (PSWs) and community support agencies identified three important elements central to their capacity to engage and work within the PAR methodology. This research has provided innovative data, highlighting processes and recommendations for child health nurses to engage with the PSWs, parents and community agencies to explore culturally acceptable elements for an empowering methodology for peer-led home visiting support. There is potential for this nursing research to credibly inform policy development for Aboriginal child and family health service delivery, in addition to other vulnerable population groups. Child health nurses/researchers can use these new understandings to work in partnership with Aboriginal communities and families to develop empowering and culturally acceptable strategies for developing Aboriginal parent support for the early years. Impact Statement Child

Empowerment for Whom? Empowerment for What? Lessons from a Participatory Action Research Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Call-Cummings, Meagan; James, Christine

2015-01-01

This article sets forth the process through which I, an educator of over 20 years, my research mentor, and my 52 Latino/a students answered questions that were important to us through participatory action research. I start the process by asking if and how I am empowering my students, and they start their own parallel process by asking about their…

Reforming primary science assessment practices: A case study of one teacher's professional development through action research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Briscoe, Carol; Wells, Elaine

2002-05-01

Calls for reform have suggested that classroom practice can best be changed by teachers who engage in their own research. This interpretive study examines the process of action research and how it contributes to the professional development of a first-grade teacher. The purpose of the study was to explore the research process experienced by the teacher as she examined whether portfolios could be used as an effective means for facilitating and assessing young children's development of science process skills. Data sources included a journal kept by the teacher, documents produced by the teacher and students as part of the portfolio implementation process, hand-written records of teacher's informal interviews with students, and anecdotal records from research team meetings during the study. Data analysis was designed to explore how the teacher's classroom practices and thinking evolved as she engaged in action research and attempted to solve the problems associated with deciding what to assess and how to implement portfolio assessment. We also examined the factors that supported the teacher's learning and change as she progressed through the research process. Data are presented in the form of four assertions that clarify how the action research process was influenced by various personal and contextual factors. Implications address factors that facilitated the teacher as researcher, and how this research project, initiated by the teacher, affected her professional development and professional life.

Realising dignity in care home practice: an action research project.

PubMed

Gallagher, Ann; Curtis, Katherine; Dunn, Michael; Baillie, Lesley

2017-06-01

More than 400,000 older people reside in over 18,000 care homes in England. A recent social care survey found up to 50% of older people in care homes felt their dignity was undermined. Upholding the dignity of older people in care homes has implications for residents' experiences and the role of Registered Nurses. The study aimed to explore how best to translate the concept of dignity into care home practice, and how to support this translation process by enabling Registered Nurses to provide ethical leadership within the care home setting. Action research with groups of staff (Registered Nurses and non-registered caregivers) and groups of residents and relatives in four care homes in the south of England to contribute to the development of the dignity toolkit. Action research groups were facilitated by 4 researchers (2 in each care home) to discuss dignity principles and experiences within care homes. These groups reviewed and developed a dignity toolkit over six cycles of activity (once a month for 6 months). The Registered Nurses were individually interviewed before and after the activity. Hard copy and online versions of a dignity toolkit, with tailored versions for participating care homes, were developed. Registered Nurses and caregivers identified positive impact of making time for discussion about dignity-related issues. Registered Nurses identified ongoing opportunities for using their toolkit to support all staff. Nurses and caregivers expressed feelings of empowerment by the process of action research. The collaborative development of a dignity toolkit within each care home has the potential to enable ethical leadership by Registered Nurses that would support and sustain dignity in care homes. Action research methods empower staff to maintain dignity for older people within the care home setting through the development of practically useful toolkits to support everyday care practice. Providing opportunities for caregivers to be involved in such

Implementing best practice in hospital multidisciplinary nutritional care: an example of using the knowledge-to-action process for a research program.

PubMed

Laur, Celia; Keller, Heather H

2015-01-01

Prospective use of knowledge translation and implementation science frameworks can increase the likelihood of meaningful improvements in health care practices. An example of this creation and application of knowledge is the series of studies conducted by and with the Canadian Malnutrition Task Force (CMTF). Following a cohort study and synthesis of evidence regarding best practice for identification, treatment, and prevention of malnutrition in hospitals, CMTF created an evidence-informed, consensus-based pathway for nutritional care in hospitals. The purpose of this paper is to detail the steps taken in this research program, through four studies, as an example of the knowledge-to-action (KTA) process. The KTA process includes knowledge creation and action cycles. The steps of the action cycle within this program of research are iterative, and up to this point have been informed by three studies, with a fourth underway. The first study identified the magnitude of the malnutrition problem upon admission to hospital and how it is undetected and undertreated (study 1). Knowledge creation resulted in an evidence-based pathway established to address care gaps (study 2) and the development of monitoring tools (study 3). The study was then adapted to local context: focus groups validated face validate the evidence-based pathway; during the final phase, study site implementation teams will continue to adapt the pathway (studies 2 and 4). Barriers to implementation were also assessed; focus groups and interviews were conducted to inform the pathway implementation (studies 1, 2, and 4). In the next step, specific interventions were selected, tailored, and implemented. In the final study in this research program, plan-do-study-act cycles will be used to make changes and to implement the pathway (study 4). To monitor knowledge use and to evaluate outcomes, audits, staff surveys, patient outcomes, etc will be used to record process evaluations (studies 3 and 4). Finally, a

Participatory Action Research: Reflections on Critical Incidents in a PAR Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santelli, Betsy; Singer, George H. S.; DiVenere, Nancy; Ginsberg, Connie; Powers, Laurie E.

1998-01-01

This article describes a participatory action research (PAR) project designed to evaluate Parent to Parent programs in five states. The process of developing a shared understanding of the program and of the purpose for evaluating them, along with an on-going willingness of parents and researchers to compromise, led to creative solutions to…

Mentoring Graduate Students through the Action Research Journey Using Guiding Principles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spencer, Joi A.; Molina, Sarina Chugani

2018-01-01

Our department has adopted action research (AR) projects as the culminating task for our master's degree candidates. This article presents our work on mentoring graduate students towards the completion of their final AR research projects and details the deliberate structures put in place to guide them through the AR process. These structures…

Using action research within a school of nursing: exposing tensions in ideologies.

PubMed

McAllister, M; Stockhausen, L

2001-01-01

This paper examines and critically reflects on a recent curriculum evaluation that took place in 1999 within a school of nursing. Critical theory, and in particular action research, was chosen as an approach for the research. The method aimed to foster participation and reveal and problematise aspects of nursing education which had become taken for granted. Through the process of action research a number of tensions and challenges were revealed. The exposed tensions and challenges are discussed and reframed so that they offer potential for renewed commitment to nursing education, rather than continued constraint and conformity.

Looking Back: Six Teachers Reflect on the Action Research Experience in Their Teacher Education Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kosnick, Clare

2000-01-01

Followed up six graduates from a teacher education program with an action research focus, following them through their first teaching year. Respondents felt action research was a process that helped them acquire skills, attitudes, and knowledge for teaching, especially in language arts. The study reveals lack of transference of skills learned…

Participation and Participatory Action Research (PAR) in Environmental Education Processes: For What Are People Empowered?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Le Grange, Lesley

2009-01-01

Participatory action research (PAR) derived from anti-colonial struggles in the third world in the 1960s. Traditionally it has been a method of the margins because of its commitment to linking social justice to research. Because of its counter-hegemonic tendency it has had great appeal among environmental educators advocating a socially critical…

Justifying Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Helskog, Guro Hansen

2014-01-01

In this paper I use a general philosophy of science perspective in looking at the problem of justifying action research. First I try to clarify the concept of justification, by contrasting it with the concept of validity, which seems to be used almost as a synonym in some parts of the literature. I discuss the need for taking a stand in relation…

Development of Action Research in China: Review and Reflection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhou, Jun; Liu, Katrina Yan

2011-01-01

Action research in China during late 1970s and 1980s was influenced by positivist scientific research, believing the purpose of doing action research is to explore the general law of education. It was carried out through educational experimentations emphasizing the control of the experimental conditions. Starting from 1990s, action research in…

From Research to Praxis: Empowering Trinidadian Primary School Teachers via Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bissessar, Charmaine S.

2015-01-01

An exponential body of extant research illustrates the symbiotic dyad action research, andragogy, reflective praxis, and transformative learning share. This paper contains a narrative review of 83 action research papers submitted to the researcher as part of the fulfilment of the Bachelor of Education degree from April 2011 to May 2013.…

Bringing humanity into view: action research with Qatar's ambulance service.

PubMed

Coleman, Gill; Wiggins, Liz

2017-08-21

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to argue for the widening of attention in healthcare improvement efforts, to include an awareness of the humanity of people who work in the sector and an appreciation of the part human connection plays in engagement around good quality work. Theoretical frameworks and research approaches which draw on action-based, interpretive and systemic thinking are proposed, as a complement to current practices. Design/methodology/approach The paper describes the early stages of an action research (AR) project, which used the appreciative inquiry "4D" framework to conduct participative inquiry in Hamad Medical Corporation's ambulance service in Qatar, in which staff became co-researchers. Findings The co-researchers were highly motivated to work with improvement goals as a result of their participation in the AR. They, and their managers, saw each other and the work in new ways and discovered that they had much to offer. Research limitations/implications This was a small-scale pilot project, from which findings must be considered tentative. The challenges of establishing good collaboration across language, culture and organisational divides are considerable. Practical implications Appreciative and action-oriented inquiry methods can serve not only to find things out, but also to highlight and give value to aspects of humanity in the workplace that are routinely left invisible in formal processes. This, in turn, can help with quality improvement. Originality/value This paper is a challenge to the orthodox way of viewing healthcare organisations, and improvement processes within them, as reliant on control rather than empowerment. An alternative is to actively include the agency, sense-making capacity and humanity of those involved.

Dance Education Action Research: A Twin Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giguere, Miriam

2015-01-01

In this article, the author compares the practices, philosophy, and history of action research, also known as participatory action research, to the purposes and practices of dance education. The comparison yields connections in four categories, enhancing self-reflective teaching and curriculum design, taking responsibility for teaching outcomes,…

Inside the Black Box: Tracking Decision-Making in an Action Research Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Cathryn

2017-01-01

Action research has been described as "designing the plane while flying it" (Herr & Anderson, 2005, p. 69). A black box documented the researcher's decisions while facilitating leadership development sessions with teacher leaders. Ten process folio steps informed the study through six iterations. Planning steps included a design…

Unpacking action research and implementation science: Implications for nursing.

PubMed

Casey, Mary; O' Leary, Denise; Coghlan, David

2018-05-01

The aim of this study was to unpack the key concepts of action research and implementation science thereby enabling appropriate use of these methods in nursing. A key issue in action research is not so much the methodology employed to gather data/evidence but who decides the research agenda and who benefits from it. Implementation science is a way to ensure that evidence is translated into practice. The question arises as to how action research and implementation may be understood in relation to one another in nursing. Discussion Paper DATA SOURCES: This discussion paper is based on our own experiences and offers an exploration of action research and implementation science with the aim of clarifying what each involves and what synergies, if any, exist between them. Using action research to secure the voice of patients in their own care is essential to delivering quality nursing care. Using implementation science frameworks to get research evidence into practice is effective. Familiarity with both these concepts may enable their improved use and have a positive impact on quality of care. There is a tension between action researchers and the protagonists of implementation science related to perceived "trade offs" between what constitutes "science" and the necessity of community participation. Nevertheless, the use of an implementation science framework in an action research approach can reduce the research practice time lag and action research provides sound theoretical and philosophical underpinnings that can be used by those in the implementation science field. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Sharing Action Research on Research Day: Students' Perceptions of a Command Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foulger, Teresa S.; Zambo, Debby

2015-01-01

This action research study involves two cycles of investigation of Research Day an event at the end of each semester where doctoral students share their latest cycle of action research focused on a problem of practice they are facing. The study sought to understand students' perspectives of Research Day in terms of its instructional intention, how…

Action Research in EdD Programs in Educational Leadership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osterman, Karen; Furman, Gail; Sernak, Kathleen

2014-01-01

This exploratory study gathered information about the use of action research within doctor of education programs in educational leadership and explored faculty understanding of and perspectives on action research. Survey data established that action research is used infrequently to meet dissertation requirements. Contributing factors include lack…

Mimicking and anticipating others’ actions is linked to Social Information Processing

PubMed Central

Klomfar, Sophie; d’Haene, Ine; Brass, Marcel

2018-01-01

It is widely known that individuals frequently imitate each other in social situations and that such mimicry fulfills an important social role in the sense that it functions as a social glue. With reference to the anticipated action effect, it has recently been demonstrated that individuals do not only imitate others, but also engage in anticipated action before the observed person starts engaging in that action. Interestingly, both phenomena (i.e., mimicry and anticipated action) rely on tracking others’ social behavior. Therefore, in the present research we investigated whether mimicry and anticipated action are related to social abilities as indicated by measures of social intelligence. The results demonstrate for the first time that mimicry as well as anticipated action is correlated with an important aspect of social intelligence—namely the ability to process social information. Theoretical implications and limitations are discussed. PMID:29590127

Mimicking and anticipating others' actions is linked to Social Information Processing.

PubMed

Genschow, Oliver; Klomfar, Sophie; d'Haene, Ine; Brass, Marcel

2018-01-01

It is widely known that individuals frequently imitate each other in social situations and that such mimicry fulfills an important social role in the sense that it functions as a social glue. With reference to the anticipated action effect, it has recently been demonstrated that individuals do not only imitate others, but also engage in anticipated action before the observed person starts engaging in that action. Interestingly, both phenomena (i.e., mimicry and anticipated action) rely on tracking others' social behavior. Therefore, in the present research we investigated whether mimicry and anticipated action are related to social abilities as indicated by measures of social intelligence. The results demonstrate for the first time that mimicry as well as anticipated action is correlated with an important aspect of social intelligence-namely the ability to process social information. Theoretical implications and limitations are discussed.

Beginning and Becoming: Hannah Arendt's Theory of Action and Action Research in Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, Carrie

2014-01-01

This paper demonstrates the importance and implications of Hannah Arendt's theory of action for action research. Using examples from my teaching experience I demonstrate the relevance of her ideas in understanding the purpose and aims of action research in the classroom.

We Did It Together: A Participatory Action Research Study on Poverty and Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buettgen, Alexis; Richardson, Jason; Beckham, Kristie; Richardson, Kathy; Ward, Michelle; Riemer, Manuel

2012-01-01

This article presents the perspective of both non-disabled and developmentally disabled people working together in a research project on poverty and disability. Our study used a participatory action research approach that challenges the norm of exclusion in the research process. Control of the research agenda has been inclusive and shared to…

Cultivating the power of partnerships in feminist participatory action research in women's health.

PubMed

Ponic, Pamela; Reid, Colleen; Frisby, Wendy

2010-12-01

Feminist participatory action research integrates feminist theories and participatory action research methods, often with the explicit intention of building community-academic partnerships to create new forms of knowledge to inform women's health. Despite the current pro-partnership agenda in health research and policy settings, a lack of attention has been paid to how to cultivate effective partnerships given limited resources, competing agendas, and inherent power differences. Based on our 10+ years individually and collectively conducting women's health and feminist participatory action research, we suggest that it is imperative to intentionally develop power-with strategies in order to avoid replicating the power imbalances that such projects seek to redress. By drawing on examples from three of our recent feminist participatory action projects we reflect on some of the tensions and complexities of attempting to cultivate power-with research partnerships. We then offer skills and resources needed by academic researchers to effectively harness the collective resources, agendas, and knowledge that each partner brings to the table. We suggest that investing in the process of cultivating power-with research partnerships ultimately improves our collective ability to understand and address women's health issues. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Cochlear Processes: A Research Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zwislocki, Jozef J.

This paper summarizes recent research on functions of the cochlea of the inner ear. The cochlea is described as the seat of the first step in the auditory sound analysis and transduction of mechanical vibration into electrochemical processes leading to the generation of neural action potentials. The cochlea is also described as a frequent seat of…

Action Research and the Micropolitics in Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eilertsen, Tor-Vidar; Gustafson, Niklas; Salo, Petri

2008-01-01

This paper is based on the assumption that action research always affects the micropolitical balance characteristic of a certain school setting. The authors claim that micropolitics, that is the patterns of formal power and informal influence, has largely been neglected in the literature on action research in schools. This means that action…

Agroecology Education: Action-Oriented Learning and Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lieblein, Geir; Breland, Tor Arvid; Francis, Charles; Ostergaard, Edvin

2012-01-01

Purpose: This article examines and evaluates the potential contributions from action learning and action research with stakeholders to higher education in agriculture and food systems. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research is based on our experiences over the past two decades of running PhD courses and an MSc degree programme in Agroecology in…

[Participative action research; self-care education for the mature adult, a dialogic and empowered process].

PubMed

Sanchez Gomez, Sheila; Medina Moya, José Luis; Mendoza Pérez de Mendiguren, Beatriz; Ugarte Arena, Ana Isabel; Martínez de Albéniz Arriaran, Mercedes

2015-11-01

Explore and transform dialogic-reflexive learning processes oriented to self-care, capacitation, empowerment and health promotion for "mature-adult" collective. Participative action research on a qualitative and sociocritic approach. Data generation methods are SITE: Field work focuses on the development of the educational program "Care is in your hands" that takes place in two villages (Primary Care. Comarca Araba). Through a theoretical sampling involved people who are in a "mature-adult" life stage and three nurses with extensive experience in development health education programs. Participant observation where health education sessions are recorded in video and group reflection on action. To triangulate the data, have been made in-depth interviews with 4 participants. Carried out a content and discourse analysis. Participant and nurses' Previous Frameworks, and these last ones' discourses as well, reveal a current technical rationality (unidirectional, informative,.) yet in practice that perpetuates the role of passive recipient of care. Educational keys constructed from a viewpoint of Dialogic Learning emerge as elements that facilitate overcoming these previous frames limitations. Finally, Reflective Learning launched, has provided advance in professional knowledge and improve health education. Dialogical learning emerges as key to the training and empowerment, where we have seen how practical-reflexive, and not technical, rationality is meanly useful confronting ambiguous and complex situations of self-care practice and education. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Introducing Pre-Service Teachers to Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stephens, Dianne; Kitchen, Julian

2004-01-01

Action Research is used in many teacher education programs to promote reflection, inquiry, and a sense of efficacy in pre-service teachers. As teacher educators working with a cohort of thirty-two teachers in a nine-month program, we decided to incorporate action research into the Teacher Education Seminar, a foundational course addressing general…

Identifying and Prioritizing Gaps in Neuroendocrine Tumor Research: A Modified Delphi Process With Patients and Health Care Providers to Set the Research Action Plan for the Newly Formed Commonwealth Neuroendocrine Tumor Collaboration

PubMed Central

Chan, David; Lawrence, Ben; Pavlakis, Nick; Kennecke, Hagen F.; Jackson, Christopher; Law, Calvin; Singh, Simron

2017-01-01

Purpose Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are a diverse group of malignancies that pose challenges common to all rare tumors. The Commonwealth Neuroendocrine Tumor Collaboration (CommNETS) was established in 2015 to enhance outcomes for patients with NETs in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. A modified Delphi process was undertaken involving patients, clinicians, and researchers to identify gaps in NETs research to produce a comprehensive and defensible research action plan. Methods A three-round modified Delphi process was undertaken with larger representation than usual for medical consensus processes. Patient/advocate and health care provider/researcher expert panels undertook Round 1, which canvassed 17 research priorities and 42 potential topics; in Round 2, these priorities were ranked. Round 3 comprised a face-to-face meeting to generate final consensus rankings and formulate the research action plan. Results The Delphi groups consisted of 203 participants in Round 1 (64% health care providers/researchers, 36% patient/advocates; 52% Canadian, 32% Australian, and 17% New Zealander), of whom 132 participated in Round 2. The top eight priorities were biomarker development; peptide receptor radionuclide therapy optimization; trials of new agents in advanced NETs; functional imaging; sequencing therapies for metastatic NETs, including development of validated surrogate end points for studies; pathologic classification; early diagnosis; interventional therapeutics; and curative surgery. Two major areas were ranked significantly higher by patients/advocates: early diagnosis and curative surgery. Six CommNETS working parties were established. Conclusion This modified Delphi process resulted in a well-founded set of research priorities for the newly formed CommNETS collaboration by involving a large, diverse group of stakeholders. This approach to setting a research agenda for a new collaborative group should be adopted to ensure that research plans reflect unmet needs

Identifying and Prioritizing Gaps in Neuroendocrine Tumor Research: A Modified Delphi Process With Patients and Health Care Providers to Set the Research Action Plan for the Newly Formed Commonwealth Neuroendocrine Tumor Collaboration.

PubMed

Segelov, Eva; Chan, David; Lawrence, Ben; Pavlakis, Nick; Kennecke, Hagen F; Jackson, Christopher; Law, Calvin; Singh, Simron

2017-08-01

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are a diverse group of malignancies that pose challenges common to all rare tumors. The Commonwealth Neuroendocrine Tumor Collaboration (CommNETS) was established in 2015 to enhance outcomes for patients with NETs in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. A modified Delphi process was undertaken involving patients, clinicians, and researchers to identify gaps in NETs research to produce a comprehensive and defensible research action plan. A three-round modified Delphi process was undertaken with larger representation than usual for medical consensus processes. Patient/advocate and health care provider/researcher expert panels undertook Round 1, which canvassed 17 research priorities and 42 potential topics; in Round 2, these priorities were ranked. Round 3 comprised a face-to-face meeting to generate final consensus rankings and formulate the research action plan. The Delphi groups consisted of 203 participants in Round 1 (64% health care providers/researchers, 36% patient/advocates; 52% Canadian, 32% Australian, and 17% New Zealander), of whom 132 participated in Round 2. The top eight priorities were biomarker development; peptide receptor radionuclide therapy optimization; trials of new agents in advanced NETs; functional imaging; sequencing therapies for metastatic NETs, including development of validated surrogate end points for studies; pathologic classification; early diagnosis; interventional therapeutics; and curative surgery. Two major areas were ranked significantly higher by patients/advocates: early diagnosis and curative surgery. Six CommNETS working parties were established. This modified Delphi process resulted in a well-founded set of research priorities for the newly formed CommNETS collaboration by involving a large, diverse group of stakeholders. This approach to setting a research agenda for a new collaborative group should be adopted to ensure that research plans reflect unmet needs and priorities in the field.

The Confucian View of the Relationship between Knowledge and Action and Its Relevance to Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsai, Ching-tien

2014-01-01

There are marked similarities between Confucian ideas about the relationship between action, knowledge and learning, and contemporary educational thinking about action research. Examples can be seen in the relationship between action and research. First, Confucius emphasized the importance of "action" which was different from…

Empowering the Music Educator through Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laprise, Richard

2017-01-01

Action research is an empowering experience for educators, yet many believe that they do not have the time, resources, or knowledge to make it a worthwhile experience. What do you need to know to feel confident in making action research a method of bettering your teaching and your students' learning? This article reveals how to make this process…

Digital Storytelling Experiences of Pre-Service Teachers: An Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Göçen Kabaran, Güler; Aldan Karademir, Çigdem

2017-01-01

The purpose of this research is to examine the digital storytelling experiences of preschool pre-service teachers. In the study, an action research from qualitative research designs was used. Furthermore, collaborative action research from the types of action research in the research was used. The research group of the study was formed in the…

Enhancing Postgraduate Learning and Development: A Participatory Action Learning and Action Research Approach through Conferences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Lesley; Louw, Ina; Zuber-Skerritt, Ortrun

2017-01-01

As supervisors who advocate the transformational potential of research both to generate theory and practical and emancipatory outcomes, we practice participatory action learning and action research (PALAR). This paper offers an illustrative case of how supervision practices based on action learning can foster emancipatory and lifelong learning…

Identification of current priorities for research in humanitarian action: proceedings of the First Annual UN OCHA Policy and Research Conference.

PubMed

Foran, Mark P; Greenough, Paul G; Thow, Andrew; Gilman, Daniel; Schütz, Andreas; Chandran, Rahul; Baiocchi, Allegra

2012-06-01

On December 12-13, 2011, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) hosted a humanitarian policy and research conference on the theme of "Risk, Adaptation and Innovation in Humanitarian Action." The four sessions of the conference covered humanitarian action in a changing world, adaptation and innovation in humanitarian action, humanitarian action in protracted and violent conflict, and effective humanitarian action. This special report contains summaries of presentations in each session and the conclusions resulting from the discussions throughout. Through a process of open discussion, debate, and a closing survey, the conference participants identified four top priorities in humanitarian research for the coming years: evidence-driven humanitarian decision-making; accountability and transparency; risk and agility; and partnership. In addition to plans for a 2nd Annual Research and Policy conference in December of 2012, specific outcomes of the conference include a series of regional workshops in 2012 and 2013, launching with Asia, Africa and the Middle East; creation of Policy Working Groups (PWG) for each research priority identified; and a new flagship OCHA publication, to be launched in late 2012 or early 2013, which will share the progress made on the research priorities identified.

Participatory Action Research as a Model for Conducting Family Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turnbull, Ann P.; Friesen, Barbara J.; Ramirez, Carmen

1998-01-01

This article discusses a participatory action research (PAR) approach to conducting family research. It proposes a model of PAR implementation level including the options of family members as research leaders and researchers as ongoing advisors, researchers and family members as coresearchers, and researches as leaders, and family members as…

Conducting Action Research in Kenyan Primary Schools: A Narrative of Lived Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Otienoh, Ruth

2015-01-01

This paper is a narrative of my personal experiences of conducting action research in Kenyan primary schools. It highlights the opportunities, successes, challenges and dilemmas I encountered during the process: from the school hunting period, to the carrying out of the actual research in two schools, with four teachers. This study reveals that…

Proactive action preparation: seeing action preparation as a continuous and proactive process.

PubMed

Pezzulo, Giovanni; Ognibene, Dimitri

2012-07-01

In this paper, we aim to elucidate the processes that occur during action preparation from both a conceptual and a computational point of view. We first introduce the traditional, serial model of goal-directed action and discuss from a computational viewpoint its subprocesses occurring during the two phases of covert action preparation and overt motor control. Then, we discuss recent evidence indicating that these subprocesses are highly intertwined at representational and neural levels, which undermines the validity of the serial model and points instead to a parallel model of action specification and selection. Within the parallel view, we analyze the case of delayed choice, arguing that action preparation can be proactive, and preparatory processes can take place even before decisions are made. Specifically, we discuss how prior knowledge and prospective abilities can be used to maximize utility even before deciding what to do. To support our view, we present a computational implementation of (an approximated version of) proactive action preparation, showing its advantages in a simulated tennis-like scenario.

Peer Observation Action Research Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sandt, Fred-Ole

2012-01-01

This paper outlines the initial findings of an action research project that focuses on the possible contribution of peer observation to a more collaborative environment and teachers' professional growth at The University High School. The research component played a significant part as previous attempts to change the culture at the school were…

Poetics of Justice: Using Art as Action and Analysis in Participatory Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ayala, Jennifer; Zaal, Mayida

2016-01-01

This article explores the use of art as a form of communication and meaning-making in participatory action research (PAR). The authors, researchers and educators, contemplate this concept through a pedagogical lens, and consider the role that visual and performing arts can play in social action. Based on the work of a youth-adult participatory…

Re-Visioning Action: Participatory Action Research and Indigenous Theories of Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tuck, Eve

2009-01-01

This article observes that participatory action research (PAR), by nature of being collaborative, necessitates making explicit theories of change that may have otherwise gone unseen or unexamined. The article explores the limits of the reform/revolution paradox on actions and theories of change in PAR. Citing examples from two recent youth PAR…

Participatory Action Research and Public Policy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turnbull, H. Rutherford, III; Turnbull, Ann P.

This paper describes collegial model approaches to the interactions between rehabilitation researchers and individuals with disabilities or their family members. The approaches, called participatory research and participatory action research, grew out of a 1989 conference sponsored by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation…

Human reliability in petrochemical industry: an action research.

PubMed

Silva, João Alexandre Pinheiro; Camarotto, João Alberto

2012-01-01

This paper aims to identify conflicts and gaps between the operators' strategies and actions and the organizational managerial approach for human reliability. In order to achieve these goals, the research approach adopted encompasses literature review, mixing action research methodology and Ergonomic Workplace Analysis in field research. The result suggests that the studied company has a classical and mechanistic point of view focusing on error identification and building barriers through procedures, checklists and other prescription alternatives to improve performance in reliability area. However, it was evident the fundamental role of the worker as an agent of maintenance and construction of system reliability during the action research cycle.

Toward a Problematic of Silence in Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mazzei, Lisa A.

2007-01-01

Action researchers often generate large amounts of textual material in the form of notes and transcripts, failing to account for those thoughts that we and our research participants silently voice. As such, action research that attempts to engage practitioners in self reflexivity and textual analysis is a fertile site for a consideration of how…

Ergonomics action research I: shifting from hypothesis testing to experiential learning.

PubMed

Neumann, W P; Dixon, S M; Ekman, M

2012-01-01

This paper presents the case for the need for 'Action Research' (AR) approaches to gain understanding of how ergonomics considerations can best be integrated into the design of new work systems. The AR researchers work collaboratively with other stakeholders to solve a real-world problem: gaining insight into the problem and factors influencing solution building from an embedded position in the development process. This experience is interpreted in terms of available theory and can support further theory development. This non-experimental approach can help provide practical new approaches for integrating ergonomics considerations into real work system design processes. The AR approach suffers from a lack of acceptance by conventionally trained scientists. This paper aims to help overcome this weakness by developing the underlying theory and rationale for using AR approaches in ergonomics research. We propose further development of hybrid approaches which incorporate other evaluation techniques to extend the knowledge gains from AR projects. Researchers should engage directly with organisations in ergonomics projects so that they can better understand the challenges and needs of practitioners who are trying to apply available scientific knowledge in their own unique context. Such 'Action Research' could help develop theory and approaches useful to improve mobilisation and application of ergonomics knowledge in organisations.

Understanding Participatory Action Research: A Qualitative Research Methodology Option

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacDonald, Cathy

2012-01-01

Participatory Action Research (PAR) is a qualitative research methodology option that requires further understanding and consideration. PAR is considered democratic, equitable, liberating, and life-enhancing qualitative inquiry that remains distinct from other qualitative methodologies (Kach & Kralik, 2006). Using PAR, qualitative features of an…

Early Error Detection: An Action-Research Experience Teaching Vector Calculus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Añino, María Magdalena; Merino, Gabriela; Miyara, Alberto; Perassi, Marisol; Ravera, Emiliano; Pita, Gustavo; Waigandt, Diana

2014-01-01

This paper describes an action-research experience carried out with second year students at the School of Engineering of the National University of Entre Ríos, Argentina. Vector calculus students played an active role in their own learning process. They were required to present weekly reports, in both oral and written forms, on the topics studied,…

Action Learning Research? Reflections from the Colloquium at the Third International Conference on Action Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coghlan, David

2013-01-01

The case for the notion of action learning research has been posed and explored in several publications over the past few years. There is no tradition within action learning of understanding it as an approach to research. Within some academic circles, there has been a focus on the "action turn," the development of the notion of actionable…

The Value of Action Research in Middle Grades Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caskey, Micki M.

2006-01-01

Action research is one of the relevant methodologies for addressing research questions and issues in middle grades education. Accounting for nearly 20% of published middle grades research studies (Hough, 2003), action research has emerged as an important and appropriate research method. In addition to reviewing the historical context, this article…

Deleuze, Action Research and Rhizomatic Growth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amorim, Antonio Carlos; Ryan, Charly

2005-01-01

Deleuze and his colleagues, particularly Guattari, have had a profound impact on a number of fields of study. The authors argue that their work offers a range of images to help think about and write action research, a way that acknowledges and celebrates the complexities of the sites of action. The article has a divided structure, coherent with…

Public Participation Process for Registration Actions

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Describes the process for registration actions which provides the opportunity for the public to comment on major registration decisions at a point in the registration process when comprehensive information and analysis are available.

Experiences in Conducting Participatory Communication Research for HIV Prevention Globally: Translating Critical Dialog into Action through Action Media.

PubMed

Parker, Warren Martin; Becker-Benton, Antje

2016-01-01

Developing communication to support health and well-being of vulnerable communities requires a multifaceted understanding of local perspectives of contextual challenges and potentials for change. While participatory research enhances understanding, robust methodologies are necessary to translate emerging concepts into viable communication approaches. Communicators and change agents need to clarify pathways for change, barriers and enablers for change, as well as the role, orientation, and content of communication to support change. While various approaches to participatory action research with vulnerable communities have been developed, there is a dearth of methodologies that address the formulation of communication concepts that can be applied at scale. The Action Media methodology has been refined over a period of two decades, being applied to addressing HIV, related aspects such as gender-based violence, as well as broader issues, such as maternal and child health, sanitation, and malaria in Africa, The Caribbean, and Asia. The approach employs a sequence of interactive sessions involving communicator researchers and participants from one or more communities that face social or health challenges. Sessions focus on understanding audiences through their engagement with these challenges and leading to shaping of relevant communication concepts that can be linked to mobilization for change. The Action Media methodology contributes to processes of shared learning linked to addressing social and health challenges. This includes determining priorities, identifying barriers and facilitators for change, understanding processes of mobilizing knowledge in relation to context, determining appropriate communication approaches, and integrating indigenous language and cultural perspectives into communication concepts. Emerging communication strategies include support to systematic action and long-term mobilization. Communication to address public health concerns is typically

Inter-Professional Collaboration in Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leeman, Yvonne; van Koeven, Erna; Schaafsma, Frank

2018-01-01

This article describes an example of inter-professional action research conducted by teachers and university-based researchers/teacher educators in a vocational college in the Netherlands. The research was aimed at the professional learning of the teachers on their pedagogical approach to a new curriculum initiative. Despite a difficult context in…

Changes in Vision: Teachers Engaging in Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warren, Susan; Doorn, Dan; Green, James

2008-01-01

This investigation explored the effects of action research on teachers in a graduate education program. Mixed methods were utilized, combining a semantic differential study of student attitudes with qualitative analysis of students' perceptions of their experience as action researchers. Results indicate that participants perceived themselves as…

Science, Gender, and Afterschool: A Research-Action Agenda

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Froschl, Merle; Sprung, Barbara; Archer, Elayne; Fancsali, Cheri

2003-01-01

This report presents a research-action agenda to enhance the role of afterschool education in increasing girls' participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses, majors, and careers. The research-action agenda was developed for three areas: access, recruitment, and persistence; program content, approaches, and…

The Reflective Teacher Leader: An Action Research Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Furtado, Leena; Anderson, Dawnette

2012-01-01

This study presents four teacher reflections from action research projects ranging from kindergarten to adult school improvements. A teacher leadership matrix guided participants to connect teaching and learning theory to best practices by exploring uncharted territory within an iterative cycle of research and action. Teachers developed the…

Urban forestry research needs: a participatory assessment process

Treesearch

Kathleen L. Wolf; Linda E. Kruger

2010-01-01

New research initiatives focusing on urban ecology and natural resources are underway. Such programs coincide with increased local government action in urban forest planning and management, activities that are enhanced by scientific knowledge. This project used a participatory stakeholder process to explore and understand urban forestry research and technology transfer...

Using Action Research to Examine Teacher Strategy Effectiveness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cox, Becky J.; Cox, Betty J.; Vann, Martha

2012-01-01

Successful teachers strive to ensure that their students learn to their maximum abilities. Is action research a valuable way for graduate students to review their effectiveness as teachers? Do students learn more through varied teaching strategies and techniques? The authors examined graduate students' perceptions of action research projects…

The Future of Pedagogical Action Research in Psychology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cormack, Sophie; Bourne, Victoria; Deuker, Charmaine; Norton, Lin; O'Siochcru, Cathal; Watling, Rosamond

2014-01-01

Psychology lecturers are well-qualified to carry out action research which would contribute to the theoretical understanding of learning as well as having practical benefits for students. Pedagogical action research demonstrates how knowledge of psychology can be applied to solve practical problems, providing role models of psychological literacy…

Implementing evidence in an onco-haematology nursing unit: a process of change using participatory action research.

PubMed

Abad-Corpa, Eva; Delgado-Hito, Pilar; Cabrero-García, Julio; Meseguer-Liza, Cristobal; Zárate-Riscal, Carmen Lourdes; Carrillo-Alcaraz, Andrés; Martínez-Corbalán, José Tomás; Caravaca-Hernández, Amor

2013-03-01

To implement evidence in a nursing unit and to gain a better understanding of the experience of change within a participatory action research. Study design of a participatory action research type was use from the constructivist paradigm. The analytical-methodological decisions were inspired by Checkland Flexible Systems for evidence implementation in the nursing unit. The study was carried out between March and November 2007 in the isolation unit section for onco-haematological patients in a tertiary level general university hospital in Spain. Accidental sampling was carried out with the participation of six nurses. Data were collected using five group meetings and individual reflections in participants' dairies. The participant observation technique was also carried out by researchers. Data analysis was carried out by content analysis. The rigorous criteria were used: credibility, confirmability, dependence, transferability and reflexivity. A lack of use of evidence in clinical practice is the main problem. The factors involved were identified (training, values, beliefs, resources and professional autonomy). Their daily practice (complexity in taking decisions, variability, lack of professional autonomy and safety) was compared with an ideal situation (using evidence it will be possible to normalise practice and to work more effectively in teams by increasing safety and professional recognition). It was decided to create five working areas about several clinical topics (mucositis, pain, anxiety, satisfaction, nutritional assessment, nauseas and vomiting, pressure ulcers and catheter-related problems) and seven changes in clinical practice were agreed upon together with 11 implementation strategies. Some reflections were made about the features of the study: the changes produced; the strategies used and how to improve them; the nursing 'subculture'; attitudes towards innovation; and the commitment as participants in the study and as healthcare professionals. The

How action researchers use anxiety to facilitate change in health care.

PubMed

Evans, Nicola; Hopkinson, Jane

2016-06-01

The aim of this paper is to report on the role of an action researcher in a study investigating the change process in a health service context where a new assessment clinic was developed to manage the excessive waiting list for that service. For effective organisational change in health, there is a suggestion that change agents need to be emotionally intelligent; recognising the emotional state of individuals, reconciling that with the organisational drivers and making an assessment of readiness for organisational change. Anxiety features throughout this literature and there is a suggestion that being aware of anxiety and managing anxiety is within the emotionally intelligent change agent's repertoire, but there is a gap in the literature that explains this relationship in detail. Data were generated to investigate the discrete nature of the role of the action researcher during this organisational change that spanned two years, through three methods: participant observations in the field captured in field notes (n = 72); observations of team meetings that had been recorded and transcribed (n = 13); interviews with key informants pre- and postintervention (n = 14); a reflexive diary one document of 8920 words (n = 1). The data illuminating the interaction between the action researcher and participants were synthesised into two broad themes: how the action researcher introduced anxiety into the system; how the action researcher facilitated the participants to tolerate change anxiety. The findings from this study can be applied in clinical practice where change in practice is planned. Part of the requirement of a change agent in the NHS might be to be sufficiently emotionally literate to understand anxiety in the participant system and manage it to effect change. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Research-Action Context: An Intervention Strategy in Educational Management Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barrilleaux, Louis E.; And Others

The purpose of the Middle-Management Center (M-MC) is to engage educational organizations, individuals, and groups in the metropolitan New Orleans area in simultaneous research and action to facilitate the development of more productive and responsive schooling while focusing on the problemsolving processes and practices of management. The center…

Participatory action as a research method with public health nurses.

PubMed

Cusack, Cheryl; Cohen, Benita; Mignone, Javier; Chartier, Mariette J; Lutfiyya, Zana

2018-02-28

This article explores and describes participatory action research (PAR) as a preferred method in addressing nursing practice issues. This is the first study that used PAR with public health nurses (PHNs) in Canada to develop a professional practice model. Participatory action research is a sub-category of action research that incorporates feminist and critical theory with foundations in the field of social psychology. For nurses, critical analysis of long-established beliefs and practices through PAR contributes to emancipatory knowledge regarding the impact of traditional hierarchies on their practice. This study used participatory action, a non-traditional but systematic research method, which assisted participants to develop a solution to a long-standing organizational issue. The stages of generating concerns, participatory action, acting on concerns, reflection and evaluation were implemented from 2012 - 2013 in an urban Canadian city, to develop a professional practice model for PHNs. Four sub-themes specific to PAR are discussed. These are "participatory action research engaged PHNs in development of a professional practice model;" "the participatory action research cycles of "Look, Think, Act" expanded participants' views;" "participatory action research increased awareness of organizational barriers;" and "participatory action research promoted individual empowerment and system transformation." This study resulted in individual and system change that may not have been possible without the use of PAR. The focus was engagement of participants and recognition of their lived experience, which facilitated PHNs' empowerment, leadership and consciousness-raising. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Advanced Nursing Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Supporting Action Research in a Field-Based Professional Development School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Menchaca, Velma D.; Peterson, Cynthia L.; Nicholson, Sheila

A collaborative project between a Professional Development School (PDS) and a public school supported teachers' action research and initiated preservice teachers into action research. This paper describes one team's action research project in an inclusive high school classroom that shared the duties of teaching, assisting, modifying instruction,…

Through a Feminist Poststructuralist Lens: Embodied Subjectivites and Participatory Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chesnay, Catherine T.

2016-01-01

An emerging literature has been building bridges between poststructuralism and participatory action research, highlighting the latter's potential for transformative action. Using examples from participative action research projects with incarcerated or previously incarcerated women, this article discusses how participatory action research is a…

Student Voice in High School: An Action Research Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Termini, Lorraine

2013-01-01

This action research study examined the effects of student voice in one high school and the self-reflection of the researcher-administrator involved in the effort. Using three cycles of action research, the researcher-administrator completed a pilot study, implemented a student voice project in one class, and developed a professional development…

Preparing Leaders to Facilitate Change through Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peters, Gary B.; Searby, Linda J.

2012-01-01

This article describes an educational leadership course in which students perform action research. The assignment, along with its structure, restraints, directions, and outcomes is described. Student topics are presented in detail, along with the data source used for each project. The authors argue for the utility of action research on school…

An Action-Research Project: Community Lead Poisoning Prevention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rajaram, Shireen S.

2007-01-01

This action-research project focused on gathering data on awareness of lead poisoning, as well as disseminating information on lead poisoning prevention in a metropolitan midwestern city. This project reflects an action-research approach to service learning and was in collaboration with a grass-roots organization. This paper outlines the daunting…

Looking in the mirror: Teachers' use of autobiography and action research to improve practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Nancy T.

1996-03-01

This study presents an argument for valuing subjective, reflective knowledge based on Habermas' category of cognitive interest of emancipatory knowing. Using the teachers' autobiographies and action research as data sources, the process of personal empowerment is explored. A model of change derived from analysis of teachers' writings is proposed that includes disturbance, alternatives, confidence and action.

Action Research: An Early History in the United States.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foshay, Arthur W.

1994-01-01

There is little residue from the cooperative action research movement of the 1940s and 1950s. So far, teachers have found educational research applications of little use. Action research must originate in the classroom. Researchers are advised to keep it simple, become an effective classroom consultant, learn how teachers think, and be modest in…

Educational Action Research to Achieve the Essential Competencies of the Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kapenieks, Janis

2016-01-01

This article analyses the conformity of the educational action research (EAR) process for the improvement of selected competencies that will be necessary in the near future for each active and responsible person. The most requested competencies in the near and midterm future are determined in accordance with near future structural requirements of…

Politicising Action Research through Queer Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Filax, Gloria

2006-01-01

Queer theory and action research together offer possibilities for exposing the deep injustice of both homophobia and heterosexism. Underpinning identity categories of sexuality and gender, these forms of social injustice lurk in schools, families, religions, communities, and nation-states. For educators and educational researchers, addressing…

Improving Responsiveness to Intervention in a Virtual Publically Supported Program: An Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kerr, Rachel A.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this action research study was to design, implement, analyze, and evaluate a series of interventions to increase the elementary teachers' utilization of the RtI process. Another purpose of the study was to determine the teachers' background knowledge and perceptions about the Responsiveness to Intervention (RtI) process at the…

Critical Action Research and Third Wave Feminism: A Meeting of Paradigms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weiner, Gaby

2004-01-01

Critical action research emphasises participation, democracy and social critique, and thus has had considerable potential for feminist scholarship and action. Feminist action research, in turn, has gained a foothold in education, for example, through the work of Hollingsworth, Miller, Lather and others, although much action research might still be…

Action video games and improved attentional control: Disentangling selection- and response-based processes.

PubMed

Chisholm, Joseph D; Kingstone, Alan

2015-10-01

Research has demonstrated that experience with action video games is associated with improvements in a host of cognitive tasks. Evidence from paradigms that assess aspects of attention has suggested that action video game players (AVGPs) possess greater control over the allocation of attentional resources than do non-video-game players (NVGPs). Using a compound search task that teased apart selection- and response-based processes (Duncan, 1985), we required participants to perform an oculomotor capture task in which they made saccades to a uniquely colored target (selection-based process) and then produced a manual directional response based on information within the target (response-based process). We replicated the finding that AVGPs are less susceptible to attentional distraction and, critically, revealed that AVGPs outperform NVGPs on both selection-based and response-based processes. These results not only are consistent with the improved-attentional-control account of AVGP benefits, but they suggest that the benefit of action video game playing extends across the full breadth of attention-mediated stimulus-response processes that impact human performance.

Utilising Collaborative Forms of Educational Action Research: Some Reflections

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenbank, Paul

2007-01-01

This article considers the value of collaborative forms of educational action research in higher education and the difficulties involved in implementing such forms of research. It is argued that educational action research represents an opportunity for improving teaching and learning and developing the knowledge and skills of those participating…

Temporal prediction modulates the evaluative processing of "good" action feedback: An electrophysiological study.

PubMed

Kimura, Kenta; Kimura, Motohiro; Iwaki, Sunao

2016-10-01

The present study aimed to investigate whether or not the evaluative processing of action feedback can be modulated by temporal prediction. For this purpose, we examined the effects of the predictability of the timing of action feedback on an ERP effect that indexed the evaluative processing of action feedback, that is, an ERP effect that has been interpreted as a feedback-related negativity (FRN) elicited by "bad" action feedback or a reward positivity (RewP) elicited by "good" action feedback. In two types of experimental blocks, the participants performed a gambling task in which they chose one of two cards and received an action feedback that indicated monetary gain or loss. In fixed blocks, the time interval between the participant's choice and the onset of the action feedback was fixed at 0, 500, or 1,000 ms in separate blocks; thus, the timing of action feedback was predictable. In mixed blocks, the time interval was randomly chosen from the same three intervals with equal probability; thus, the timing was less predictable. The results showed that the FRN/RewP was smaller in mixed than fixed blocks for the 0-ms interval trial, whereas there was no difference between the two block types for the 500-ms and 1,000-ms interval trials. Interestingly, the smaller FRN/RewP was due to the modulation of gain ERPs rather than loss ERPs. These results suggest that temporal prediction can modulate the evaluative processing of action feedback, and particularly good feedback, such as that which indicates monetary gain. © 2016 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

How Schools Are Using Action Research on Practical Work, New Technologies and Research and Development to Improve Student Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davenport, Carol

2013-01-01

Three methods from different schools illustrate how the cyclic process of action research can be used to develop teaching skills. The importance of learning from successful and unsuccessful lessons or parts of lessons is emphasised as the basis for development and improvement. This process can be carried out on an individual basis but development…

Deliberation, Capability and Action Research: Knowledge and Becoming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gibbs, Paul

2014-01-01

In this short paper I examine whether obtaining the capability to change practice can be solely achieved through reflective action research, and how. I take as our framework of analysis that offered by Aristotelian thought, especially in the discussion of powers and potential. I conclude that action research as a way of changing practice cannot be…

Facilitating Lecturer Development and Student Learning through Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van der Westhuizen, C. N.

2008-01-01

The aim of the action research project is to improve my own practice as research methodology lecturer to facilitate effective student learning to enable students to become reflective practitioners with responsibility for their own professional development through action research in their own classrooms, and to motivate the students and increase…

History and Culture of Alara--The Action Learning and Action Research Association

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zuber-Skerritt, Ortrun; Passfield, Ron

2016-01-01

As co-founders of the Action Learning and Action Research Association (ALARA), we tell the story of this international network organisation through our personal experience. Our history traces the evolution of ALARA from origins at the first World Congress in 1990 in Brisbane, Australia, through development over two and a half decades, to its…

Changes in science classrooms resulting from collaborative action research initiatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oh, Phil Seok

Collaborative action research was undertaken over two years between a Korean science teacher and science education researchers at the University of Iowa. For the purpose of realizing science learning as envisioned by constructivist principles, Group-Investigations were implemented three or five times per project year. In addition, the second year project enacted Peer Assessments among students. Student perceptions of their science classrooms, as measured by the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES), provided evidence that the collaborative action research was successful in creating constructivist learning environments. Student attitudes toward science lessons, as examined by the Enjoyment of Science Lessons Scale (ESLS), indicated that the action research also contributed to developing more positive attitudes of students about science learning. Discourse analysis was conducted on video-recordings of in-class presentations and discussions. The results indicated that students in science classrooms which were moving toward constructivist learning environments engaged in such discursive practices as: (1) Communicating their inquiries to others, (2) Seeking and providing information through dialogues, and (3) Negotiating conflicts in their knowledge and beliefs. Based on these practices, science learning was viewed as the process of constructing knowledge and understanding of science as well as the process of engaging in scientific inquiry and discourse. The teacher's discursive practices included: (1) Wrapping up student presentations, (2) Addressing misconceptions, (3) Answering student queries, (4) Coaching, (5) Assessing and advising, (6) Guiding students discursively into new knowledge, and (7) Scaffolding. Science teaching was defined as situated acts of the teacher to facilitate the learning process. In particular, when the classrooms became more constructivist, the teacher intervened more frequently and carefully in student activities to fulfill a

Precursor processes of human self-initiated action.

PubMed

Khalighinejad, Nima; Schurger, Aaron; Desantis, Andrea; Zmigrod, Leor; Haggard, Patrick

2018-01-15

A gradual buildup of electrical potential over motor areas precedes self-initiated movements. Recently, such "readiness potentials" (RPs) were attributed to stochastic fluctuations in neural activity. We developed a new experimental paradigm that operationalized self-initiated actions as endogenous 'skip' responses while waiting for target stimuli in a perceptual decision task. We compared these to a block of trials where participants could not choose when to skip, but were instead instructed to skip. Frequency and timing of motor action were therefore balanced across blocks, so that conditions differed only in how the timing of skip decisions was generated. We reasoned that across-trial variability of EEG could carry as much information about the source of skip decisions as the mean RP. EEG variability decreased more markedly prior to self-initiated compared to externally-triggered skip actions. This convergence suggests a consistent preparatory process prior to self-initiated action. A leaky stochastic accumulator model could reproduce this convergence given the additional assumption of a systematic decrease in input noise prior to self-initiated actions. Our results may provide a novel neurophysiological perspective on the topical debate regarding whether self-initiated actions arise from a deterministic neurocognitive process, or from neural stochasticity. We suggest that the key precursor of self-initiated action may manifest as a reduction in neural noise. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Chemical Safety for Sustainability: Research Action Plan

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Strategic Research Action Plan for EPA’s Chemical Safety for Sustainability research program presents the purpose, design and themes of the Agency’s research efforts to ensure safety in the design, manufacture and use of existing and future chemicals.

The Action Execution Process Implemented in Different Cognitive Architectures: A Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Daqi; Franklin, Stan

2014-12-01

An agent achieves its goals by interacting with its environment, cyclically choosing and executing suitable actions. An action execution process is a reasonable and critical part of an entire cognitive architecture, because the process of generating executable motor commands is not only driven by low-level environmental information, but is also initiated and affected by the agent's high-level mental processes. This review focuses on cognitive models of action, or more specifically, of the action execution process, as implemented in a set of popular cognitive architectures. We examine the representations and procedures inside the action execution process, as well as the cooperation between action execution and other high-level cognitive modules. We finally conclude with some general observations regarding the nature of action execution.

Experiential learning in nursing consultation education via clinical simulation with actors: action research.

PubMed

de Oliveira, Saionara Nunes; do Prado, Marta Lenise; Kempfer, Silvana Silveira; Martini, Jussara Gue; Caravaca-Morera, Jaime Alonso; Bernardi, Mariely Carmelina

2015-02-01

This was an action research study conducted during an undergraduate nursing course. The objective was to propose and implement experiential learning for nursing consultation education using clinical simulation with actors. The 4 steps of action research were followed: planning, action, observation and reflection. Three nursing undergraduate students participated in the study. Data were collected in May and July 2013 via participant comments and interviews and were analyzed in accordance with the operative proposal for qualitative data analysis. Planning included constructing and validating the clinical guides, selecting and training the actors, organizing and preparing the scenario and the issuing invitations to the participants. The action was carried out according to Kolb's (1984) 4 stages of learning cycles: Concrete Experience, Reflective Observation, Abstract Conceptualization and Active Experimentation. Clinical simulation involves different subjects' participation in all stages, and action research is a method that enables the clinical stimulation to be implemented. It must be guided by clear learning objectives and by a critical pedagogy that encourages critical thinking in students. Using actors and a real scenario facilitated psychological fidelity, and debriefing was the key moment of the reflective process that facilitated the integral training of students through experiential learning. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Quality of an Action Research Thesis in the Social Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zuber-Skerrit, Ortrun; Fletcher, Margaret

2007-01-01

Purpose: The paper seeks to identify the quality characteristics of critical action research and action research theses compared to traditional research thesis writing. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on the literature and the authors' experience with supervising and examining action research theses, the paper identifies key problem areas in…

"..., But I Cannot Do Research": Action-Research and Early Childhood Teachers. A Case Study from Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Magos, Kostas

2012-01-01

Although action-research is a well-known research methodology in the field of education, in the case of Greece there are few actions-researches carried out by early childhood teachers. The absence of action-research in early childhood education settings is related to the way many early childhood teachers shape their professional role as well as…

Researcher liability for negligence in human subject research: informed consent and researcher malpractice actions.

PubMed

Jansson, Roger L

2003-02-01

Two sets of federal regulations, the "Common Rule" and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, govern human subject research that is either federally-funded or involves FDA regulated products. These regulations require, inter alia, that: (1) researchers obtain informed consent from human subjects, and (2) that an Institutional Review Board (IRB) independently review and approve the research protocol. Although the federal regulations do not provide an express cause of action against researchers, research subjects should be able to bring informed consent and malpractice actions against researchers by establishing a duty of care and standard of care. Researchers owe human subjects a duty of care analogous to the special relationship between physicians and patients. The federal regulations should provide the minimum standard of care for informed consent in human subject research, and complying with them should be a partial defense. In contrast, expert testimony should establish the standard of care for researcher malpractice, and IRB approval should be a partial defense.

The Action Researcher as Chameleon.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hadfield, Mark; Bennett, Steve

1995-01-01

Describes a project that trained institutional policymakers in action research regarding problems in developing training policies about young people's needs, examining attempts to collaborate and dialog with stakeholders and discussing how project members became enmeshed in complex sets of relationships calling for construction of dialog in…

Adding to Your Teaching Repertoire: Integrating Action Research into the Lesson Plans

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Basham, Matthew J.; Yankowy, Barbara

2015-01-01

As today's students become more technologically savvy, social, and collaborative using social media, there are new and innovative techniques educators can use in the classroom. For example, action research is a newer technique using collaborative group processes, drawing upon the experiences of the individuals to promote positive results. This…

Collaboration in Action: Office of Research and Development ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The "Collaboration in Action: US EPA's Office of Research and Develop - Current Wildfire Research Program" was invited by the USDA's US Forest Service's Scientific Executive Committee to provide USFS scientific leadership active and potential future opportunities for cooperation/collaboration. Health impacts of wildfire smoke merit the attention and action of the US EPA and current research is supported in the ACE and SHC Research Programs. Wildland fire smoke research has taken on greater importance because the 1) contribution of wildland fire PM emissions relative to total US PM emissions is increasing, 2) the population health impacts are measurable and costly, 3) vulnerable and sensitive populations at-risk are increasing attendant to our aging U.S. population and the increasing area of the wildland-urban interface, and 4) health impacts of smoke could be minimized by identifying at-risk individuals and reducing their exposures. Examples are provided. The "Collaboration in Action: US EPA's Office of Research and Develop - Current Wildfire Research Program" was invited by the USDA's US Forest Service's Scientific Executive Committee to provide USFS scientific leadership active and potential future opportunities for cooperation/collaboration.

Action Research and Collaborative Research: Their Specific Contributions to Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savoie-Zajc, Lorraine; Descamps-Bednarz, Nadine

2007-01-01

The increasing complexity of the teaching profession calls for engaged professionals in their professional development. This article claims that participative types of research contribute differently to professional development. Its intent is to explore the different contributions action research and collaborative research bring. One action…

Key Actions of Successful Summer Research Mentors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raman, D. Raj; Geisinger, Brandi N.; Kemis, Mari R.; de la Mora, Arlene

2016-01-01

Summer research opportunities for undergraduates, such as those supported by the National Science Foundation's Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, can be critical experiences that help persuade students to pursue research through graduate studies. Studies analyzing the key actions of successful mentors are scarce. The goal of…

Exploring and Implementing Participatory Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savin-Baden, Maggi; Wimpenny, Katherine

2007-01-01

This paper explores the research method of participatory action research, first by examining the roots of this approach and then analysing the shift to using more participatory approaches than in former years. It begins by considering the reasoning and theoretical underpinning for adopting this approach and provides an overview of the steps to be…

A Case Study Examining Change in Teacher Beliefs Through Collaborative Action Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaino, Katrin; Holbrook, Jack; Rannikmäe, Miia

2013-01-01

The main goal of this study was to explore the role of collaborative action research in eliciting change in teacher beliefs. The beliefs were those of five chemistry teachers in implementing a new teaching approach, geared to enhancing students' scientific and technological literacy (STL). The teacher beliefs were analysed based on Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behaviour (2005) by looking at the teacher's (a) attitude towards implementing STL modules, (b) perceived subjective norms, and (c) behavioural control regarding the new teaching approach. After an introductory year, when teachers familiarised themselves with the new approach, a collaborative action research project was initiated in the second year of the study, helping teachers to minimise or overcome initially perceived constraints when implementing STL modules in their classroom. The processes of teacher change and the course of the project were investigated by teacher interviews, teacher informal commentaries, and meeting records. The formation of positive beliefs towards a STL approach increased continuously, although its extent and character varied depending on the teacher. The close cooperation, in the format of collaborative action research and especially through teacher group reflections and perceived collegial support, did support teacher professional development including change in their beliefs towards the new teaching approach. Additionally, positive feedback gained from other teachers through running a two-day in-service course in year three helped to strengthen all five teachers' existing beliefs towards the new approach. The current research demonstrated that perceived constraints, where identified, can be meaningfully addressed by teachers, through undertaking collaborative action research.

Using Action Research to prevent work-related illness among rubber farmers in Northeastern Thailand.

PubMed

Sena, Wijitra; Nilvarangkul, Kessarawan; Saranrittichai, Kesinee; Smith, John F; Phajan, Teerasak; Seetangkham, Sansanee

2018-06-10

This research aimed to enhance self-care among rubber farmers for preventing work-related illness. The project used Action Research's four phase iterative process: fact-finding to understand the problems, action planning, action plan implementation, and evaluation and reflection on action plan impacts. Sixty-six participants (46 rubber farmers and 20 community stakeholders) were purposively recruited from two villages in the top 10 rubber producing provinces in Northeastern Thailand. Demographic and work-related illness data were collected in face-to-face structured interviews, Focus group interviews and participant observations were used to collect data in each project phase. Night group meetings were held throughout the research phases. The intervention included training workshops and establishing a community health education team for ongoing farmer support. Results showed improved farmer self-care behaviors and establishment of a community health education team to encourage farmers to care for themselves properly. Community nurses, other health personnel, and the Thai government can build on initiatives like this to strengthen occupational health and safety practices and services policy for rubber farmers. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Exploring the use of Virtual Field Trips with elementary school teachers: A collaborative action research approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scott, Jeffrey Lance

This research examines how elementary school teachers, when supported, use Virtual Field Trips (VFTs) to address the curricula in meaningful ways. I conducted a qualitative study with six teachers, in a collaborative action research context over a six month period. The teachers, five males and one female, all taught either grade five or six and utilized Virtual Field Trips within a variety of curricula areas including science, social studies, music and language arts. In addition, the thesis examines resulting integration of technology into the regular classroom program as a product of the utilization of Virtual Field Trips. The process of collaborative action research was applied as a means of personal and professional growth both for the participants and the researcher/facilitator. By the end of the research study, all participants had learned to integrate Virtual Field Trips into their classroom program, albeit with different levels of success and in different curricula areas. The development of attitudes, skills and knowledge for students and teachers alike was fostered through the participation in Virtual Field Trips. A common concern regarding the utilization of Virtual Field Trips was the time spent locating an appropriate site that met curricula expectations. Participation in the collaborative action research process allowed each teacher to grow professionally, personally and socially. Each participant strongly encouraged the utilization of a long term project with a common area of exploration as a means for positive professional development. Implications and recommendations for future research on the utilization of Virtual Field Trips, as well as the viability of collaborative action research to facilitate teacher development are presented.

An action research study of secondary science assessment praxes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryan, Thomas Gerald

This practical participatory action research study illuminates the assessment praxes of four Ontario secondary level science teachers at one school using a facilitative approach. Participants were joined by a thematic concern, that is, a commitment to inform and improve assessment. Hence, two distinct sets of research questions emerged. The first involves the nature of assessment as we asked, what was the current state of assessment practice in secondary science? What were participants' initial understandings of assessment and actual practices at the onset of this research? To what extent did these initial understandings and actual practices change due to the illumination of assessment praxes through action research involvement? What was their level of awareness of current Ontario government pronouncements and in what ways did they implement this knowledge? The second theme, concerning the nature of action research, was realised by asking what did participants learn about action research? What other learning and professional gains were realised during this study? And, what did I learn about action research and assessment through my involvement in this study? Data were collected via supportive discussion groups, individual interviews, classroom visitations, journals and documentation. This professional development experience facilitated 'interactive professionalism' as teachers worked in a small group and interacted frequently in the course of planning, testing new ideas, attempting to solve different problems, and assess the effectiveness of those ideas. In addition, this action research effort was strategic and systematic, to attain a high degree of specific interactions, (personal interviews, group meetings, classroom observations, evidence collection). This series of deliberate and planned intentions helped participants solve assessment dilemmas. We developed an awareness and understanding of the need for more preservice and inservice assessment training

Community action and research as citizenship construction.

PubMed

Montero, Maritza

2009-03-01

Social change, well-being and liberation have been intertwined in community research and action, as much as being used as political common-places. In this paper, it is argued that community research and action can have a political character. The epistemological premises shared by both the community and political spheres are discussed, and concepts are defined. The way community psychological action can produce changes is illustrated by an experience carried out with children from poverty sectors of Caracas, Venezuela, intended to construct citizenship by developing awareness about values, civic rights and duties, while experiencing the advantages of participation, peaceful negotiation and solidarity, during art classes. Topics regarding citizenship values and ethics were painted and discussed in a participatory way. Results about how the children developed consciousness about those topics, relating them to their lives, are presented.

Action Research and ICT Implementation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krumsvik, Rune

2012-01-01

This emancipatory action research study investigates implementation of information and communication technology (ICT) in schools. The case study examined retrospectively was part of a Norwegian ICT project called PILOT, the focus of which concerns the impact on school development of a locally developed Internet subject portal and study periods.…

An action research approach for developing research and innovation in nursing and midwifery practice: building research capacity in one NHS foundation trust.

PubMed

Moore, Jenny; Crozier, Kenda; Kite, Katharine

2012-01-01

The National Health Service in the United Kingdom is committed to a process of reform centred on quality care and innovative practice. Central to this process is the need for research capacity building within the workforce. The aim of this study was to develop an infrastructure for research capacity building within one National Health Service Foundation Trust. Using an Action Research methodology, sixteen individuals were purposefully selected from a population of nurses and midwives to participate in the study. This nonprobability sampling method enabled the researchers to select participants on the basis of who would be most informative about existing research capacity building structures and processes within the Trust. Data were collected in the form of semi-structured individual interviews with each participant. The main findings were that research activity was not embedded in the culture of the organisation, and initiating and undertaking change was a complex process. As a result, a range of structures and processes which were considered necessary to enable the Trust move forward in developing capacity and capability for research were developed and implemented. This paper reports the first two stages of this process, namely: the findings from the pre-step and an outline of how these findings were used to create an infrastructure to support research capacity building within one NHS Foundation Trust Hospital in the United Kingdom. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preparing Palestinian Reflective English Language Teachers through Classroom Based Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dajani, Majida "Mohammed Yousef "

2015-01-01

This study aimed to describe the implementation of individual action research projects among some forty English language teachers distributed in thirty Palestinian schools in Ramallah and Qabatya districts-Palestine. It aimed to analyze the outcomes of the teachers' action research as part of a broader participatory action research project that is…

Bench to Bedside: The Effectiveness of a Professional Development Program Focused on Biomedical Sciences and Action Research

PubMed Central

Barnes, Marianne B.; Barnes, Lehman W.; Cooper, Lou Ann; Bokor, Julie R.; Koroly, Mary Jo

2017-01-01

A three-year, National Institutes of Health-funded residential project at a southeastern research university immersed 83 secondary science teachers in a summer institute called “Bench to Bedside.” Teachers were provided with knowledge, skills, experiences, and incentives to improve their science teaching and increase their awareness of scientific processes, technologies, and careers by examining the translational medicine continuum of basic to clinical research. This was done with the help of medical school researchers, clinical personnel, biotechnology entrepreneurs, program mentors, and prior year participants. A critical component of the institute was the preparation and implementation of an action research project that reflected teachers’ newly acquired knowledge and skills. Action research proposals were critiqued by project team members and feedback provided prior to action research implementation in schools during the following year. Teachers shared their action research with colleagues and project team at a symposium and online as a critical step in networking the teachers. Results of a mixed methods program evaluation strategy indicate that the program produced significant gains in teachers’ confidence to explain advanced biosciences topics, development of action research skills, and formation of a statewide biosciences network of key stakeholders. Constraints of time, variation in teacher content and action research background, technology availability, and school-related variables, among others, are discussed. PMID:29733086

Participatory Action Research Experiences for Undergraduates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sample McMeeking, L. B.; Weinberg, A. E.

2013-12-01

Research experiences for undergraduates (REU) have been shown to be effective in improving undergraduate students' personal/professional development, ability to synthesize knowledge, improvement in research skills, professional advancement, and career choice. Adding to the literature on REU programs, a new conceptual model situating REU within a context of participatory action research (PAR) is presented and compared with data from a PAR-based coastal climate research experience that took place in Summer 2012. The purpose of the interdisciplinary Participatory Action Research Experiences for Undergraduates (PAREU) model is to act as an additional year to traditional, lab-based REU where undergraduate science students, social science experts, and community members collaborate to develop research with the goal of enacting change. The benefits to traditional REU's are well established and include increased content knowledge, better research skills, changes in attitudes, and greater career awareness gained by students. Additional positive outcomes are expected from undergraduate researchers (UR) who participate in PAREU, including the ability to better communicate with non-scientists. With highly politicized aspects of science, such as climate change, this becomes especially important for future scientists. Further, they will be able to articulate the relevance of science research to society, which is an important skill, especially given the funding climate where agencies require broader impacts statements. Making science relevant may also benefit URs who wish to apply their science research. Finally, URs will gain social science research skills by apprenticing in a research project that includes science and social science research components, which enables them to participate in future education and outreach. The model also positively impacts community members by elevating their voices within and outside the community, particularly in areas severely underserved

Action Research as a Professional Development Activity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

West, Chad

2011-01-01

Reflective teachers are always searching for ways to improve their teaching. When this reflection becomes intentional and systematic, they are engaging in teacher research. This type of research, sometimes called "action research", can help bridge the gap between theory and practice by addressing topics that are relevant to practicing teachers.…

Culminating Experience Action Research Projects, Volume 2, Fall 2002.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McAllister, Deborah A., Ed.; Moyer, Peggy S., Ed.

As part of the graduate teacher licensure program at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, candidates are required to complete an action research project during a course that coincides with the student teaching experience. The syllabus for the course, "Education 590 Culminating Experience," is included, followed by action research projects…

Phenomenography: Implications for Expanding the Educational Action Research Lens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beaulieu, Rodney

2017-01-01

Action research is a growing tradition for improving teachers' practice and students' learning outcomes, and it draws from a variety of methods for collecting and analysing data. In this article, phenomenography is proposed as an innovative approach for enhancing action research. With an emphasis on mapping variations on students' experience,…

Staying Mindful in Action: The Challenge of "Double Awareness" on Task and Process in an Action Lab

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Svalgaard, Lotte

2016-01-01

Action Learning is a well-proven method to integrate "task" and "process", as learning about team and self (process) takes place while delivering on a task or business challenge of real importance (task). An Action Lab® is an intensive Action Learning programme lasting for 5 days, which aims at balancing and integrating…

Using action research to design bereavement software: engaging people with intellectual disabilities for effective development.

PubMed

Read, Sue; Nte, Sol; Corcoran, Patsy; Stephens, Richard

2013-05-01

 Loss is a universal experience and death is perceived as the ultimate loss. The overarching aim of this research is to produce a qualitative, flexible, interactive, computerised tool to support the facilitation of emotional expressions around loss for people with intellectual disabilities. This paper explores the process of using Participatory Action Research (PAR) to develop this tool.  Participator Action Research provided the indicative framework for the process of developing a software tool that is likely to be used in practice. People with intellectual disability worked alongside researchers to produce an accessible, flexible piece of software that can facilitate storytelling around loss and bereavement and promote spontaneous expression that can be shared with others. This tool has the capacity to enable individuals to capture experiences in a storyboard format; that can be stored; is easily retrievable; can be printed out; and could feasibly be personalised by the insertion of photographs. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Making Tracks 1.0: Action Researching an Active Transportation Education Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Daniel; Foran, Andrew; Robinson, Ingrid

2014-01-01

This paper reports on the results of the first cycle of an action research project. The objective of this action research was to examine the implementation of a school-based active transportation education program (Making Tracks). A two-cycle action research design was employed in which elementary school students' (ages 7-9), middle school…

Admiral nursing competency project: practice development and action research.

PubMed

Dewing, Jan; Traynor, Victoria

2005-07-01

Admiral Nurses are specialist dementia care nurses working in the community with carers of those who have a dementia. The aim of the competency project (2000-2003) was threefold. Firstly to work collaboratively with these specialist nurses to facilitate the development a competency framework that reflects the needs of the Admiral Nursing Service. Secondly, to provide a way to structure evidence demonstrating evolving competency. Thirdly, to specifically enable the nurses to demonstrate evidence of achieving the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council's Higher Level Practice standard. The two complementary approaches of emancipatory action research and systematic practice development were adopted. Methods were taken from action research and systematic practice development approaches with an emphasis on promoting and enabling enlightenment, critical reflection, ownership and creating the best conditions for long-term commitment to the competency framework. The main outcome from this project was the development of a specialist nursing competency framework. The Admiral Nurses' Competency Framework is made up of a set of eight core competencies with three levels of competency statements, loosely structured around the Higher Level Practice standard, and guidance documentation to illustrate how work-based evidence can be generated to demonstrate competence. There were also process-derived outcomes associated with combining systematic practice development with emancipatory action research that had an impact on the culture. The main outcomes here were that practitioners engaged in and experienced learning about how to research their own practice and the consequences of doing this. They also learnt about specialist nursing practice more widely than Admiral Nursing. Finally, there was some increase in awareness about the culture within their teams and organizations. The final competency framework reflects the needs of the service, is owned by the majority of practitioners and

Action Research in Urban Schools: Empowerment, Transformation, and Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Razfar, Aria

2011-01-01

This article examines the experiences of a cohort of seven urban educators who conducted action research over a two-year period. Of the seven participants, six were teacher-researchers ("TRs") and one was a bilingual coordinator. The author provides an analysis of focus group discussions conducted after the completion of the action research…

Professional Learning with Action Research in Innovative Middle Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Netcoh, Steven; Olofson, Mark W.; Downes, John M.; Bishop, Penny A.

2017-01-01

This article illustrates how action research can be used as a model for professional development with middle grades educators in rapidly changing and technology-intensive schools. Drawing upon ten years of using this model, the authors present three examples of educator action research to highlight five characteristics of effective projects: (1)…

The Promise, Pitfalls, and Persistent Challenge of Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Higgins, Chris

2016-01-01

Action research began as an ambitious epistemological and social intervention. As the concept has become reified, packaged for methodology textbooks and professional development workshops, it has degenerated into a cure that may be worse than the disease. The point is not the trivial one that action research, like any practice, sometimes shows up…

DPADL: An Action Language for Data Processing Domains

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Golden, Keith; Clancy, Daniel (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

This paper presents DPADL (Data Processing Action Description Language), a language for describing planning domains that involve data processing. DPADL is a declarative object-oriented language that supports constraints and embedded Java code, object creation and copying, explicit inputs and outputs for actions, and metadata descriptions of existing and desired data. DPADL is supported by the IMAGEbot system, which will provide automation for an ecosystem forecasting system called TOPS.

Assessment as Action Research: Bridging Academic Scholarship and Everyday Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malenfant, Kara J.; Hinchliffe, Lisa Janicke; Gilchrist, Debra

2016-01-01

This introductory essay to this special issue demonstrates that action research has a vital role in evidence-informed practice in academic libraries. This special issue of "College and Research Libraries" ("C&RL") proudly features a selection of action research studies by participants of the Association of College and…

Using Grounded Theory and Action Research to Raise Attainment in, and Enjoyment of, Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butterfield, Jill

2009-01-01

This paper describes a small-scale, qualitative research project that critically reflects on the process and impact of using both grounded and action research to enhance attainment and enjoyment of reading, in such a way as to raise awareness at an individual and whole school level. The purpose of the project was to ascertain if the selected…

How Does Telling the Truth Help Educational Action Research?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blair, Erik

2010-01-01

A number of key constructs underpin educational action research. This paper focuses on the concept of "truth" and by doing so hopes to highlight some debate in this area. In reflecting upon what "truth" might mean to those involved in action research, I shall critically evaluate Thorndike's "Law of Effect" and Bruner's "Three Forms of…

Shaping a New Professional Identity by Building a New Personal Concept of Leadership through Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Margolin, Ilana

2007-01-01

This study describes three action cycles I identified retrospectively and examines the processes I underwent through the lens of research literature dealing with leadership. I then provide a retrospective account of my reflections on my actions over a four-year period. As the head of the Elementary School Department in a teacher education college,…

7 CFR 1794.15 - Limitations on actions during the NEPA process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 12 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Limitations on actions during the NEPA process. 1794... Implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act § 1794.15 Limitations on actions during the NEPA process. (a) General. Until RUS concludes its environmental review process, the applicant shall take no action...

Action Research on Development and Application of Internet of Things Services in Hospital.

PubMed

Park, Arum; Chang, Hyejung; Lee, Kyoung Jun

2017-01-01

Services based on the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies have emerged in various business environments. To enhance health service quality and maximize benefits, this study applied an IoT technology based on NFC and iBeacon as an omni-channel service for patient care in hospitals. Application of the IoT technology based on NFC and iBeacon was conducted in a general hospital during August 2015 through June 2016, and the development and evaluation results were aligned to an action research framework. The five phases in the action research included diagnosing, planning action, taking action, evaluating action, and specifying learning phases. During the first two phases, problems of functional operations in a hospital were diagnosed and eight service models were designed by using iBeacon and NFC to solve the problems. Service models were applied to the hospital by installing beacons, wearable beacons, beacon scanners, and NFC tags during the third phase. During the fourth and fifth phases, the roles and benefits of stakeholders participating in the service models were evaluated, and issues and knowledge of the whole application process were derived and summarized from technological, economic, social and legal perspectives, respectively. From an action research perspective, IoT-based healthcare services were developed and verified. IoT-based services enable the hospital to acquire lifelog data for precision medicine and ultimately be able to go one step closer to precision medical care. The derived service models could provide patients more enhanced healthcare services and improve the work efficiency and effectiveness of the hospital.

Action Research on Development and Application of Internet of Things Services in Hospital

PubMed Central

Park, Arum; Chang, Hyejung

2017-01-01

Objectives Services based on the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies have emerged in various business environments. To enhance health service quality and maximize benefits, this study applied an IoT technology based on NFC and iBeacon as an omni-channel service for patient care in hospitals. Methods Application of the IoT technology based on NFC and iBeacon was conducted in a general hospital during August 2015 through June 2016, and the development and evaluation results were aligned to an action research framework. The five phases in the action research included diagnosing, planning action, taking action, evaluating action, and specifying learning phases. Results During the first two phases, problems of functional operations in a hospital were diagnosed and eight service models were designed by using iBeacon and NFC to solve the problems. Service models were applied to the hospital by installing beacons, wearable beacons, beacon scanners, and NFC tags during the third phase. During the fourth and fifth phases, the roles and benefits of stakeholders participating in the service models were evaluated, and issues and knowledge of the whole application process were derived and summarized from technological, economic, social and legal perspectives, respectively. Conclusions From an action research perspective, IoT-based healthcare services were developed and verified. IoT-based services enable the hospital to acquire lifelog data for precision medicine and ultimately be able to go one step closer to precision medical care. The derived service models could provide patients more enhanced healthcare services and improve the work efficiency and effectiveness of the hospital. PMID:28261528

Science Teachers Taking their First Steps toward Teaching Socioscientific Issues through Collaborative Action Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Hyunju; Yang, Jung-eun

2017-06-01

This study presents two science teachers, Catherine and Jennifer, who took their first steps toward teaching socioscientific issues through collaborative action research. The teachers participated in the collaborative action research project because they wanted to address socioscientific issues but had limited experience in teaching them. The research questions included what kinds of challenges the teachers encountered when implementing socioscientific issues and to what extent they resolved the challenging issues as participating in collaborative action research. The primary data source consisted of audiotapes of regular group meetings containing information on the process of constructing and implementing lesson plans and reflecting on their teaching of socioscientific issues. We also collected classroom videotapes of the teachers' instruction and audiotapes of students' small group discussions and their worksheets. The findings indicated that when addressing socioscientific issues in the classes, the teachers encountered several challenging issues. We categorized them into four: (1) restructuring classroom dynamics and culture, (2) scaffolding students' engagement in socioscientific issues, (3) dealing with values, and (4) finding their niche in schools. However, this study showed that collaborative action research could be a framework for helping the teachers to overcome such challenges and have successful experiences of teaching socioscientific issues. These experiences became good motivation, to gradually develop their understanding of teaching socioscientific issues and instructional strategies for integrating the knowledge and skills that they had accumulated over the years.

Action Research Projects in Distance Education: A Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramakrishna, C. Pushpa; Prasad, V. S.

This manual, prepared by the Distance Education Council (India) presents guidelines for action research in distance education, balancing practical research activities with a sound theoretical research base. Chapter 1, "Scope, Purpose and Design of the Manual," suggests several definitions of research; draws distinctions between academic…

Leading multi-professional teams in the children's workforce: an action research project.

PubMed

Stuart, Kaz

2012-01-01

The 2004 Children Act in the UK saw the introduction of integrated working in children's services. A raft of change followed with processes designed to make joint working easier, and models and theories to support the development of integrated work. This paper explores the links between key concepts and practice. A practitioner action research approach is taken using an autoethnographic account kept over six months. The research question was, to what extent is this group collaborating? When the architecture of practice was revealed, differences between espoused and real practice could be seen. Whilst understanding and displaying the outward signs of an effective multi professional group, the individuals did not trust one another. This was exhibited by covert interprofessional issues. As a result, collaborative inertia was achieved. This realisation prompted them to participate in further developmental and participative action research. The paper concludes that trust and relational agency are central to effective leadership of multi professional teams.

Early error detection: an action-research experience teaching vector calculus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magdalena Añino, María; Merino, Gabriela; Miyara, Alberto; Perassi, Marisol; Ravera, Emiliano; Pita, Gustavo; Waigandt, Diana

2014-04-01

This paper describes an action-research experience carried out with second year students at the School of Engineering of the National University of Entre Ríos, Argentina. Vector calculus students played an active role in their own learning process. They were required to present weekly reports, in both oral and written forms, on the topics studied, instead of merely sitting and watching as the teacher solved problems on the blackboard. The students were also asked to perform computer assignments, and their learning process was continuously monitored. Among many benefits, this methodology has allowed students and teachers to identify errors and misconceptions that might have gone unnoticed under a more passive approach.

Expanding Learning and Teaching Processes in an ESL/Civics ABE Classroom Using an Interactive Video Lesson Plan in the U.S. Southwest: An Action Research Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cajar-Bravo, Aristides

2010-01-01

This study is an action research project that analyzed the ways in which ESL students improve their language learning processes by using as a teaching tool a media literacy video and Civics Education for social skills; it was presented to two groups of 12 students who were attending an ESL/Civics Education Intermediate-Advanced class in an ABE…

Cultural variation in the focus on goals versus processes of actions.

PubMed

Miyamoto, Yuri; Knoepfler, Christopher A; Ishii, Keiko; Ji, Li-Jun

2013-06-01

Everyday actions (e.g., riding a bike) can be described in ways that emphasize either the goals of the action by adapting a higher level identification (e.g., getting exercise) or the processes of the action by adapting a lower level identification (e.g., pedaling). In Studies 1 and 2, we demonstrate cultural differences in focusing on the process or goal of actions at the individual level: Americans are more likely than Japanese to focus on the goal (rather than the process) of actions. Study 3 recruited Chinese participants in addition to American and Japanese participants and found that cultural differences in action identification are partly explained by cultural differences in self-consistency. Study 4 further showed cultural differences at the collective level: American media presents more goal-oriented information and less process-oriented information than does Japanese media. These findings highlight the role of culture in shaping how people attend to different aspects of actions.

Action video games do not improve the speed of information processing in simple perceptual tasks.

PubMed

van Ravenzwaaij, Don; Boekel, Wouter; Forstmann, Birte U; Ratcliff, Roger; Wagenmakers, Eric-Jan

2014-10-01

Previous research suggests that playing action video games improves performance on sensory, perceptual, and attentional tasks. For instance, Green, Pouget, and Bavelier (2010) used the diffusion model to decompose data from a motion detection task and estimate the contribution of several underlying psychological processes. Their analysis indicated that playing action video games leads to faster information processing, reduced response caution, and no difference in motor responding. Because perceptual learning is generally thought to be highly context-specific, this transfer from gaming is surprising and warrants corroborative evidence from a large-scale training study. We conducted 2 experiments in which participants practiced either an action video game or a cognitive game in 5 separate, supervised sessions. Prior to each session and following the last session, participants performed a perceptual discrimination task. In the second experiment, we included a third condition in which no video games were played at all. Behavioral data and diffusion model parameters showed similar practice effects for the action gamers, the cognitive gamers, and the nongamers and suggest that, in contrast to earlier reports, playing action video games does not improve the speed of information processing in simple perceptual tasks.

Action Video Games Do Not Improve the Speed of Information Processing in Simple Perceptual Tasks

PubMed Central

van Ravenzwaaij, Don; Boekel, Wouter; Forstmann, Birte U.; Ratcliff, Roger; Wagenmakers, Eric-Jan

2015-01-01

Previous research suggests that playing action video games improves performance on sensory, perceptual, and attentional tasks. For instance, Green, Pouget, and Bavelier (2010) used the diffusion model to decompose data from a motion detection task and estimate the contribution of several underlying psychological processes. Their analysis indicated that playing action video games leads to faster information processing, reduced response caution, and no difference in motor responding. Because perceptual learning is generally thought to be highly context-specific, this transfer from gaming is surprising and warrants corroborative evidence from a large-scale training study. We conducted 2 experiments in which participants practiced either an action video game or a cognitive game in 5 separate, supervised sessions. Prior to each session and following the last session, participants performed a perceptual discrimination task. In the second experiment, we included a third condition in which no video games were played at all. Behavioral data and diffusion model parameters showed similar practice effects for the action gamers, the cognitive gamers, and the nongamers and suggest that, in contrast to earlier reports, playing action video games does not improve the speed of information processing in simple perceptual tasks. PMID:24933517

Dissociable intrinsic functional networks support noun-object and verb-action processing.

PubMed

Yang, Huichao; Lin, Qixiang; Han, Zaizhu; Li, Hongyu; Song, Luping; Chen, Lingjuan; He, Yong; Bi, Yanchao

2017-12-01

The processing mechanism of verbs-actions and nouns-objects is a central topic of language research, with robust evidence for behavioral dissociation. The neural basis for these two major word and/or conceptual classes, however, remains controversial. Two experiments were conducted to study this question from the network perspective. Experiment 1 found that nodes of the same class, obtained through task-evoked brain imaging meta-analyses, were more strongly connected with each other than nodes of different classes during resting-state, forming segregated network modules. Experiment 2 examined the behavioral relevance of these intrinsic networks using data from 88 brain-damaged patients, finding that across patients the relative strength of functional connectivity of the two networks significantly correlated with the noun-object vs. verb-action relative behavioral performances. In summary, we found that verbs-actions and nouns-objects are supported by separable intrinsic functional networks and that the integrity of such networks accounts for the relative noun-object- and verb-action-selective deficits. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Self-Study of the Teaching of Action Research in a University Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Choi, Jung-ah

2011-01-01

Despite the potential benefits of action research, teaching action research in a university setting can present challenges. Analyzing my own experiences of teaching a university-based course on action research, this self-study investigates what my students (all classroom teachers) did and did not understand about action research and what hindered…

Motor Simulation during Action Word Processing in Neurosurgical Patients

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tomasino, Barbara; Ceschia, Martina; Fabbro, Franco; Skrap, Miran

2012-01-01

The role that human motor areas play in linguistic processing is the subject of a stimulating debate. Data from nine neurosurgical patients with selective lesions of the precentral and postcentral sulcus could provide a direct answer as to whether motor area activation is necessary for action word processing. Action-related verbs (face-, hand-,…

Participatory Action Research: An Overview--What Makes It Tick?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gaffney, Michael

2008-01-01

In this article I outline different elements of action research in an attempt to describe and define participatory action research (PAR). There is a lot more material available to readers these days, some of which I will refer you to in this article. I see my role here is to summarise enough of this material to help support your reading of the…

Action history influences subsequent movement via two distinct processes

PubMed Central

Poh, Eugene; de Rugy, Aymar

2017-01-01

The characteristics of goal-directed actions tend to resemble those of previously executed actions, but it is unclear whether such effects depend strictly on action history, or also reflect context-dependent processes related to predictive motor planning. Here we manipulated the time available to initiate movements after a target was specified, and studied the effects of predictable movement sequences, to systematically dissociate effects of the most recently executed movement from the movement required next. We found that directional biases due to recent movement history strongly depend upon movement preparation time, suggesting an important contribution from predictive planning. However predictive biases co-exist with an independent source of bias that depends only on recent movement history. The results indicate that past experience influences movement execution through a combination of temporally-stable processes that are strictly use-dependent, and dynamically-evolving and context-dependent processes that reflect prediction of future actions. PMID:29058670

Complexity, Methodology and Method: Crafting a Critical Process of Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alhadeff-Jones, Michel

2013-01-01

This paper defines a theoretical framework aiming to support the actions and reflections of researchers looking for a "method" in order to critically conceive the complexity of a scientific process of research. First, it starts with a brief overview of the core assumptions framing Morin's "paradigm of complexity" and Le…

Community action against asthma: examining the partnership process of a community-based participatory research project.

PubMed

Parker, Edith A; Israel, Barbara A; Williams, Melina; Brakefield-Caldwell, Wilma; Lewis, Toby C; Robins, Thomas; Ramirez, Erminia; Rowe, Zachary; Keeler, Gerald

2003-07-01

Community Action Against Asthma (CAAA) is a community-based participatory research (CBPR) project that assesses the effects of outdoor and indoor air quality on exacerbation of asthma in children, and tests household- and neighborhood-level interventions to reduce exposure to environmental asthma triggers. Representatives of community-based organizations, academia, an integrated health system, and the local health department work in partnership on CAAA's Steering Committee (SC) to design and implement the project. To conduct a process evaluation of the CAAA community-academic partnership. In-depth interviews containing open-ended questions were conducted with SC members. Analysis included established methods for qualitative data, including focused coding and constant comparison methods. Community setting in Detroit, Michigan. Twenty-three members of the CAAA SC. Common themes identified by SC members relating to the partnership's ability to achieve project goals and the successes and challenges facing the partnership itself. Identified partnership accomplishments included: successful implementation of a complex project, identification of children with previously undiagnosed asthma, and diverse participation and community influence in SC decisions. Challenges included ensuring all partners' influence in decision-making, the need to adjust to "a different way of doing things" in CBPR, constraints and costs of doing CBPR felt by all partners, ongoing need for communication and maintaining trust, and balancing the needs of science and the community through intervention. CBPR can enhance and facilitate basic research, but care must be given to trust issues, governance issues, organizational culture, and costs of participation for all organizations involved.

Culture Change in Long-Term Care: Participatory Action Research and the Role of the Resident

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shura, Robin; Siders, Rebecca A.; Dannefer, Dale

2011-01-01

Purpose: This study's purpose was to advance the process of culture change within long-term care (LTC) and assisted living settings by using participatory action research (PAR) to promote residents' competence and nourish the culture change process with the active engagement and leadership of residents. Design and Methods: Seven unit-specific PAR…

Ethical issues in action-oriented research in Indonesia.

PubMed

Rachmawaty, Rini

2017-09-01

Action-oriented research is one of the most frequent research types implemented to transform community health in Indonesia. Three researchers and 11 graduate students from a developed country in East Asia conducted a fieldwork program in a remote area in South Sulawesi Province. Although the project was completed, whether or not the international standards for human subject research were applied into that study remains unclear. This study aimed to examine ethical issues raised from that case, analyze constraints to the problems, and recommend alternatives to protect vulnerable populations from being exploited by local/international researchers. A problem-solving approach was used in this study. It began with problem identification, evaluation of the action-oriented research goal, investigation of the constraints to the problem, and recommendation of some relevant alternatives to address the central issue. Ethical Consideration: The approval for conducting the action-oriented research that being investigated in this work was only obtained from the Head of local district. Some ethical issues were found in this case. No special protection for this population, no informed consent was obtained from the participants, exposure to social and economic risks, no future benefits for the subjects, and conflict of interests. Lack of control from the local research ethics committee and lack of competence of local researchers on human subject research were considered as the constraints to the problems. Creating an independent research ethics committee, providing research ethics training to the local researchers, obtaining written/video consents from underserved populations, and meeting local health needs were recommended alternatives to solve these problems. Indonesian government bodies should reform their international collaborative system on research involving human subjects. Exploitation may not occur if all participants as well as all local and national governing bodies

The case for integrating grounded theory and participatory action research: empowering clients to inform professional practice.

PubMed

Teram, Eli; Schachter, Candice L; Stalker, Carol A

2005-10-01

Grounded theory and participatory action research methods are distinct approaches to qualitative inquiry. Although grounded theory has been conceptualized in constructivist terms, it has elements of positivist thinking with an image of neutral search for objective truth through rigorous data collection and analysis. Participatory action research is based on a critique of this image and calls for more inclusive research processes. It questions the possibility of objective social sciences and aspires to engage people actively in all stages of generating knowledge. The authors applied both approaches in a project designed to explore the experiences of female survivors of childhood sexual abuse with physical therapy and subsequently develop a handbook on sensitive practice for clinicians that takes into consideration the needs and perspectives of these clients. Building on this experience, they argue that the integration of grounded theory and participatory action research can empower clients to inform professional practice.

Human Research Program Unique Processes, Criteria, and Guidelines (UPCG). Revision C, July 28, 2011

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chin, Duane

2011-01-01

This document defines the processes, criteria, and guidelines exclusive to managing the Human Research Program (HRP). The intent of this document is to provide instruction to the reader in the form of processes, criteria, and guidelines. Of the three instructional categories, processes contain the most detail because of the need for a systematic series of actions directed to some end. In contrast, criteria have lesser detail than processes with the idea of creating a rule or principle structure for evaluating or testing something. Guidelines are a higher level indication of a course of action typically with the least amount of detail. The lack of detail in guidelines allows the reader flexibility when performing an action or actions.

From Good to Great: An Action Research Study to Improve the New Faculty Onboarding Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams-Smith, Rachel E.

2017-01-01

Onboarding is a procedure an organization implements to help new employees adjust to their new roles and environment. This action research project sought to answer the question of how the new faculty onboarding process at a small, private, Midwestern university could be improved. Following a review of the literature, a researcher-generated plan on…

Different Types of Action Research to Promote Chemistry Teachers' Professional Development--A Joined Theoretical Reflection on Two Cases from Israel and Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mamlok-Naaman, Rachel; Eilks, Ingo

2012-01-01

Action research is defined as using research activities to develop concrete societal practices. Action research understands the change of practice as being already a central aim of the research process itself, and it also seeks to contribute to the professional development of all participants in the particular field of study. Even though (or maybe…

Action Research: Order Out of Chaos.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geffen, Mitzi

2002-01-01

Describes on Israeli English-as-a-Foreign-Language teacher's action research project that focused on how to teach reading comprehension in English to a class of ninth grade boys. Outlines the teacher's goals, implementation of the project, and thoughts on the outcomes. (Author/VWL)

Action Research Approach on Mobile Learning Design for the Underserved

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Paul H.

2009-01-01

This paper discusses an action research study focused on developing a mobile learning model of literacy development for underserved migrant indigenous children in Latin America. The research study incorporated a cyclical action model with four distinctive stages (Strategize, Apply, Evaluate, and Reflect) designed to guide constituencies involved…

Action Research to Encourage Pupils' Active Participation in the Sustainable School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Katsenou, Christina; Flogaitis, Evgenia; Liarakou, Georgia

2015-01-01

This article aims to explore the contribution of action research to the development of active participation of pupils in the context of the sustainable school. Action research is looked at not simply as a methodological tool for the exploration of participation, but as a key element of the educational actions that promote the active participation…

EEG beta-power changes reflect motor involvement in abstract action language processing.

PubMed

Schaller, Franziska; Weiss, Sabine; Müller, Horst M

2017-05-01

Brain oscillations in the α- and β-range become suppressed during motor processing and motor imagery. It has recently been discussed that such power changes also occur during action language processing. In our study, we compared β 2 -oscillations (16-25Hz) during the observation of prototypical arm movements (revealed via motion tracking) as well as during semantic processing of concrete and abstract sentences containing arm-related action verbs. Whereas we did find a strong desynchronization in the β 2 -range during action observation, the processing of action sentences evoked a rather weak desynchronization. However, this desynchronization occurred for action verbs in both concrete and abstract contexts. These results might indicate a tendency for abstract action language to be processed similar to concrete action language rather than abstract sentences. The oscillation patterns reflect the close relationship between language comprehension and motor functions - one of the core claims of current theories on embodied cognition. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Action research methodology in clinical pharmacy: how to involve and change.

PubMed

Nørgaard, Lotte Stig; Sørensen, Ellen Westh

2016-06-01

Introduction The focus in clinical pharmacy practice is and has for the last 30-35 years been on changing the role of pharmacy staff into service orientation and patient counselling. One way of doing this is by involving staff in change process and as a researcher to take part in the change process by establishing partnerships with staff. On the background of the authors' widespread action research (AR)-based experiences, recommendations and comments for how to conduct an AR-study is described, and one of their AR-based studies illustrate the methodology and the research methods used. Methodology AR is defined as an approach to research which is based on a problem-solving relationship between researchers and clients, which aims at both solving a problem and at collaboratively generating new knowledge. Research questions relevant in AR-studies are: what was the working process in this change oriented study? What learning and/or changes took place? What challenges/pitfalls had to be overcome? What were the influence/consequences for the involved parts? When to use If you want to implement new services and want to involve staff and others in the process, an AR methodology is very suitable. The basic advantages of doing AR-based studies are grounded in their participatory and democratic basis and their starting point in problems experienced in practice. Limitations Some of the limitations in AR-studies are that neither of the participants in a project steering group are the only ones to decide. Furthermore, the collective process makes the decision-making procedures relatively complex.

How Trainee Music Teachers Learn about Teaching by Talking to Each Other: An Action Research Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cain, Tim

2011-01-01

This article presents an action research study into how trainee music teachers in England use a structured discussion process called "Collegial Consultation" to learn about teaching. The research shows that, in Collegial Consultation, trainees learn from each other by offering several solutions to a problem, offering reasons for their…

Incongruent Imagery Interferes with Action Initiation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramsey, Richard; Cumming, Jennifer; Eastough, Daniel; Edwards, Martin G.

2010-01-01

It has been suggested that representing an action through observation and imagery share neural processes with action execution. In support of this view, motor-priming research has shown that observing an action can influence action initiation. However, there is little motor-priming research showing that imagining an action can modulate action…

Productive Tensions in Youth Participatory Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kirshner, Ben

2010-01-01

Youth participatory action research (YPAR) brings young people together with adult researchers to identify, study, and act on relevant social problems. In this chapter, the author draws on examples from a recent YPAR project, called Tracing Transitions, whose aim was to study the impact of school closure on students. After defining YPAR in terms…

Action Research as Primary Vehicle for Inquiry in the Professional Development School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tunks, Jeanne L.

2011-01-01

This Yearbook chapter, a compilation of multiple sources, presents both the history of action research and an analysis of reported action research in the professional development school (PDS) between 1992 and 2010. The history begins prior to the inception of the PDS and provides a theoretical premise for action research in the PDS in subsequent…

Case management: developing practice through action research.

PubMed

Smith, Annetta; Mackay, Seonaid; McCulloch, Kathleen

2013-09-01

This article is a report of an action research study carried out with community nurses to help develop case management within their practice. Using action research principles, nurses reviewed and analysed their current practice and developed recommendations for further embedding case management as a means of supporting patients with complex care needs in their own homes. Findings indicate that a number of factors can influence the community nurse's ability to implement case management. These factors include approaches to case finding, availability of resources and interprofessional working. Important considerations for nurses were the influence of the context of care, the geographical location and the health needs of the local patient population, which meant that case management may need to be adapted to meet local circumstances.

Action Research Built on Uncertain Foundations: The Internship and Action-Research in a Graduate Teaching Degree

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loughland, Tony; Bowen, Margo

2012-01-01

This paper analyses the uncertain foundations of the use of action research in a graduate teaching degree. This analysis is conducted by the course coordinator in partnership with a recent graduate. The uncertainty is traced to the pedagogical incoherence of the course that is caused by philosophical infidelity. The philosophy and practice of the…

From Voice to Knowledge: Participatory Action Research, Inclusive Debate and Feminism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krumer-Nevo, Michal

2009-01-01

This article discusses the relations between participatory action research and feminist research, through an examination of the metaphor of "voice" and its possible replacement with the idea of "knowledge." The article describes in detail a participatory action research project undertaken in Israel, which was aimed at forging…

Building Action Research Teams: A Case of Struggles and Successes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Du, Fengning

2009-01-01

Teaching teams can hold the promise of being an ideal vehicle in which collaborative action research is conducted. This case documents the mixed results of a team leader's efforts to improve teaching and introduce inquiry-based professional development through action research in a community college. This case paints a realistic and…

Teacher Researchers in Action Research in a Heavily Centralized Education System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kayaoglu, M. Naci

2015-01-01

Action research is characterized by a new paradigm of empowering teachers to monitor their own practices in a more autonomous manner with a vision of challenging and improving their own techniques of teaching through their own participatory research. Yet in spite of this apparently radical shift in the function of the teacher from the constant…

Resilient actions in the diagnostic process and system performance.

PubMed

Smith, Michael W; Davis Giardina, Traber; Murphy, Daniel R; Laxmisan, Archana; Singh, Hardeep

2013-12-01

Systemic issues can adversely affect the diagnostic process. Many system-related barriers can be masked by 'resilient' actions of frontline providers (ie, actions supporting the safe delivery of care in the presence of pressures that the system cannot readily adapt to). We explored system barriers and resilient actions of primary care providers (PCPs) in the diagnostic evaluation of cancer. We conducted a secondary data analysis of interviews of PCPs involved in diagnostic evaluation of 29 lung and colorectal cancer cases. Cases covered a range of diagnostic timeliness and were analysed to identify barriers for rapid diagnostic evaluation, and PCPs' actions involving elements of resilience addressing those barriers. We rated these actions according to whether they were usual or extraordinary for typical PCP work. Resilient actions and associated barriers were found in 59% of the cases, in all ranges of timeliness, with 40% involving actions rated as beyond typical. Most of the barriers were related to access to specialty services and coordination with patients. Many of the resilient actions involved using additional communication channels to solicit cooperation from other participants in the diagnostic process. Diagnostic evaluation of cancer involves several resilient actions by PCPs targeted at system deficiencies. PCPs' actions can sometimes mitigate system barriers to diagnosis, and thereby impact the sensitivity of 'downstream' measures (eg, delays) in detecting barriers. While resilient actions might enable providers to mitigate system deficiencies in the short run, they can be resource intensive and potentially unsustainable. They complement, rather than substitute for, structural remedies to improve system performance. Measures to detect and fix system performance issues targeted by these resilient actions could facilitate diagnostic safety.

Resilient Actions in the Diagnostic Process and System Performance

PubMed Central

Smith, Michael W.; Giardina, Traber Davis; Murphy, Daniel R.; Laxmisan, Archana; Singh, Hardeep

2013-01-01

Objectives Systemic issues can adversely affect the diagnostic process. Many system-related barriers can be masked by ‘resilient’ actions of frontline providers (ie, actions supporting the safe delivery of care in the presence of pressures that the system cannot readily adapt to). We explored system barriers and resilient actions of primary care providers (PCPs) in the diagnostic evaluation of cancer. Methods We conducted a secondary data analysis of interviews of PCPs involved in diagnostic evaluation of 29 lung and colorectal cancer cases. Cases covered a range of diagnostic timeliness and were analyzed to identify barriers for rapid diagnostic evaluation, and PCPs’ actions involving elements of resilience addressing those barriers. We rated these actions according to whether they were usual or extraordinary for typical PCP work. Results Resilient actions and associated barriers were found in 59% of the cases, in all ranges of timeliness, with 40% involving actions rated as beyond typical. Most of the barriers were related to access to specialty services and coordination with patients. Many of the resilient actions involved using additional communication channels to solicit cooperation from other participants in the diagnostic process. Discussion Diagnostic evaluation of cancer involves several resilient actions by PCPs targeted at system deficiencies. PCPs’ actions can sometimes mitigate system barriers to diagnosis, and thereby impact the sensitivity of ‘downstream’ measures (eg, delays) in detecting barriers. While resilient actions might enable providers to mitigate system deficiencies in the short run, they can be resource intensive and potentially unsustainable. They complement, rather than substitute for, structural remedies to improve system performance. Measures to detect and fix system performance issues targeted by these resilient actions could facilitate diagnostic safety. PMID:23813210

Action Research Localization in China: Three Cases

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bai, Yimin

2009-01-01

Since the introduction of the action research into China in the 1980s, especially since the start of the twenty-first century, Chinese education researchers have been trying to localize it in relation to the backdrop of the national curriculum reform in basic education. This article presents three cases in which educators aimed for a conscious…

Compilation of Action Research Papers in English Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sherman, Thomas F.; Lundquist, Margaret

This action research compilation contains two research projects: "Increasing Student Appreciation of Poetry through the Use of Contemporary Music" by Paul G. Senjem and "Are Men and Women Created Equal? Gender in the Classroom" by Jennifer Joyce Plitzuweit. The researcher/author of the first paper states that his goal was to…

Assessment in Action: Collaborative Action Research Focused on Mathematics and Science Assessments. Reports of Twenty-Three Teacher-Research Projects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dearn, Ceri; And Others

The works reported in this book represent a second phase to a 2-day summer conference that focused on assessment in mathematics and science classrooms. This book presents research and findings of a subset of the conference participants who investigated a self-selected aspect of assessment in their educational environments. Action research was the…

Meta-Action Research with Pre-Service Teachers: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villacañas de Castro, Luis Sebastián

2014-01-01

This article analyses a case of action research collaboratively conducted by a university teacher and 50 students in a master's course in teacher training. Its originality resides in the socio-economic, academic, and conceptual nature of the obstacles encountered in the module; in the meta-theoretical orientation of the action research that was…

Purposeful Action Research: Reconsidering Science and Technology Teacher Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

vanOostveen, Roland

2017-01-01

Initial plans for this project arose from a need to address issues of professional development of science and technology teachers that went beyond the norm available within school board settings. Two teams of 4 teachers responded to an invitation to participate in a collaborative action research project. Collaborative action research was chosen in…

Facts for a Change: Citizen Action Research for Better Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burges, Bill

In an action research project, local citizens and community groups (often in collaboration with school professionals) investigate community-defined issues. Action research is geared to help people think clearly about an issue and find the resources they need to face it. In such a project, citizens develop skills in organizing, finding resources,…

National action for European public health research.

PubMed

McCarthy, Mark; Zeegers Paget, Dineke; Barnhoorn, Floris

2013-11-01

Research and innovation are the basis for improving health and health services. The European Union (EU) supports research through multi-annual programmes. Public Health Innovation and Research in Europe (PHIRE) investigated how European countries cooperate for action in public health research. In PHIRE, following stakeholder workshops and consultations, a national report on public health research was created for 24 of 30 European countries. The report template asked five questions, on national links to European public health research and on national research through the Structural Funds and Ministry of Health. The national reports were assessed with framework analysis, and the country actions were classified strong/partial/weak or none. There were responses to the five questions sufficient for this analysis for between 14 and 20 countries Six countries had public health research aligned with the EU, while three (large) countries were reported not aligned. Only two countries expressed strong engagement in developing public health research within Horizon 2020: most Ministries of Health had no position and only had contact with EU health research through other ministries. Only two countries reported use of the 2007-13 Structural Funds for public health research. While seven Ministries of Health led research from their own funds, or linked with Ministries of Science in six, the Ministries of Health of seven countries were reported not to be involved in public health research. Ministries of Health and stakeholders are poorly engaged in developing public health research, with the Horizon 2020 research programme, or the Structural Funds. The European Commission should give more attention to coordination of public health research with member states if it is to give best value to European citizens.

Reconnecting with Your Passion: An Action Research Study Exploring Humanities and Professional Nursing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snyder, Melissa J.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this action research study was two-fold. The first purpose was to examine the process of how nurses engaged in a professional development program that drew upon reading and creative writing related to their lives and work as nurses. Secondly, this study examined the nurses' perspectives on how their involvement in the process…

Giving Student Groups a Stronger Voice: Using Participatory Research and Action (PRA) to Initiate Change to a Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Neill, Geraldine; McMahon, Sinead

2012-01-01

Traditional student feedback mechanisms have been criticised for being teacher-centred in design and, in particular, for their absence of transparent follow-up actions. In contrast, this study describes the process and the evaluation of a participatory research and action (PRA) approach used in an undergraduate physiotherapy degree. This approach…

"Who Did What?": A Participatory Action Research Project to Increase Group Capacity for Advocacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garcia-Iriarte, E.; Kramer, J. C.; Kramer, J. M.; Hammel, J.

2009-01-01

Background: This participatory action research (PAR) project involved a collaboration with a self-advocacy group of people with intellectual disabilities that sought to build group capacity for advocacy. Materials and Methods: This study used a focus group, sustained participatory engagement and a reflexive process to gather qualitative and…

Action Research, Assessment, and Institutional Review Boards (IRB): Conflicting Demands or Productive Tension for the Academic Librarian?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farrell, Robert

2014-01-01

This article puts forward an "assessment/action research/publication" cycle that integrates aspects of the assessment, research, and Institutional Review Board (IRB) processes to provide academic librarians with a systematic approach for balancing competing workplace demands and give library managers a roadmap for creating a…

Leading multi-professional teams in the children’s workforce: an action research project

PubMed Central

Stuart, Kaz

2012-01-01

Introduction The 2004 Children Act in the UK saw the introduction of integrated working in children’s services. A raft of change followed with processes designed to make joint working easier, and models and theories to support the development of integrated work. This paper explores the links between key concepts and practice. Methods A practitioner action research approach is taken using an autoethnographic account kept over six months. The research question was, to what extent is this group collaborating? Results When the architecture of practice was revealed, differences between espoused and real practice could be seen. Whilst understanding and displaying the outward signs of an effective multi professional group, the individuals did not trust one another. This was exhibited by covert interprofessional issues. As a result, collaborative inertia was achieved. This realisation prompted them to participate in further developmental and participative action research. Conclusion The paper concludes that trust and relational agency are central to effective leadership of multi professional teams. PMID:22371690

Feedback in clinical practice: Enhancing the students' experience through action research.

PubMed

Adamson, Elizabeth; King, Linda; Foy, Lynn; McLeod, Margo; Traynor, Jennifer; Watson, Wendy; Gray, Morag

2018-05-01

Feedback within clinical practice is known to be central to the learning and development of student nurses and midwives. A study that focused on student experience of assessment identified that a high proportion of students reported that they had received insufficient feedback whilst on clinical placement. In response to this academics and members of the clinical education team set out to explore this with a view to improving the student experience using action research. Key findings indicated that responsibility for feedback on clinical placement lies with both students and mentors, distinct factors can enable effective feedback and that positive outcomes for mentors and students resulted through engaging with the project. The process, outcomes and actions taken to improve practice are the focus of this paper. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Concepts Within Reach: Action Performance Predicts Action Language Processing in Stroke

PubMed Central

Desai, Rutvik H.; Herter, Troy; Riccardi, Nicholas; Rorden, Chris; Fridriksson, Julius

2015-01-01

The relationship between the brain’s conceptual or semantic and sensory-motor systems remains controversial. Here, we tested manual and conceptual abilities of 41 chronic stroke patients in order to examine their relationship. Manual abilities were assed through a reaching task using an exoskeleton robot. Semantic abilities were assessed with implicit as well as explicit semantic tasks, for both verbs and nouns. The results show that that the degree of selective impairment for action word processing was predicted by the degree of impairment in reaching performance. Moreover, the implicit semantic measures showed a correlation with a global reaching parameter, while the explicit semantic similarity judgment task predicted performance in action initiation. These results indicate that action concepts are dynamically grounded through motoric simulations, and that more details are simulated for more explicit semantic tasks. This is evidence for a close and causal relationship between sensory-motor and conceptual systems of the brain. PMID:25858602

Feminist-informed participatory action research: a methodology of choice for examining critical nursing issues.

PubMed

Corbett, Andrea M; Francis, Karen; Chapman, Ysanne

2007-04-01

Identifying a methodology to guide a study that aims to enhance service delivery can be challenging. Participatory action research offers a solution to this challenge as it both informs and is informed by critical social theory. In addition, using a feminist lens helps acquiesce this approach as a suitable methodology for changing practice. This methodology embraces empowerment self-determination and the facilitation of agreed change as central tenets that guide the research process. Encouraged by the work of Foucault, Friere, Habermas, and Maguire, this paper explicates the philosophical assumptions underpinning critical social theory and outlines how feminist influences are complimentary in exploring the processes and applications of nursing research that seeks to embrace change.

Applying the Participatory Action Research Model to the Study of Social Inclusion at Worksites.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Park, Hyun-Sook; Gonsier-Gerdin, Jean; Hoffman, Stacey; Whaley, Susan; Yount, Michael

1998-01-01

A study used participatory action research (PAR) to explore social inclusion/relationships at worksites of 10 students (ages 17-21). The participatory intervention process assisted teachers and job coaches in making constructive changes in transition work experience programs to provide social opportunities for students and help them become part of…

Critical Pedagogy and Praxis with Native American Youth: Cultivating Change through Participatory Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Groves Price, Paula; Mencke, Paul D.

2013-01-01

The author's used this article to discuss critical pedagogy and praxis, but also provided an example of their work and process of engaging in participatory action research (PAR) with Native American Youth as they navigated through their own tensions of positionality and criticality with historically marginalized teens. They introduce the…

Lessons from the Field: Participatory Action Research in a Family Research Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robison, Dorothy; Krauss, Marty Wyngaarden

2003-01-01

This paper describes development of a study that includes participatory action research, specifically the establishment of a family advisory committee. The study involved a survey of Massachusetts families of children with disabilities. Suggestions for establishing and integrating the committee into the research enterprise are offered, as are…

40 CFR 1506.1 - Limitations on actions during NEPA process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... process. 1506.1 Section 1506.1 Protection of Environment COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OTHER REQUIREMENTS OF NEPA § 1506.1 Limitations on actions during NEPA process. (a) Until an agency issues a record of decision as provided in § 1505.2 (except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section), no action...

The development of peer reflective supervision amongst nurse educator colleagues: An action research project.

PubMed

Bulman, C; Forde-Johnson, C; Griffiths, A; Hallworth, S; Kerry, A; Khan, S; Mills, K; Sharp, P

2016-10-01

This action research study developed the use of peer reflective supervision (PRS) amongst eight nurse educators contributing to an undergraduate Adult Nursing programme at a UK University. During the academic year (2013-14), nurse educator co-researchers met for an introductory workshop and then met regularly in pairs to facilitate each other's reflection. This provided an opportunity for nurse educators to reflect on identified issues linked to their role with a facilitative peer. Educators met three additional times in a Reflexive Learning Group (RLG), to gather data on their use of PRS. Audio-recordings from the RLGs were transcribed and analysed using Norton's (2009) thematic analysis framework. Co-researchers iteratively validated the data and an external validation group critically viewed the evidence. Overall, seven themes were generated from the three research cycles. These were: PRS as a Valuable Affirming Experience; Time Issues; Facilitation- Support, Trust and Challenge; Developing a Flexible 'Toolbox'; To Write or Not to Write; Drawing on Literature; and Requirement for Action. Findings add new evidence regarding use of a flexible toolbox of resources to develop reflection and offer practical guidance on the development of PRS. Nurse educators often experienced similar concerns, and a facilitative supervision structure allowed co-researchers to positively explore these. Recognition of work pressures and requirement for time and space for reflection was highlighted, particularly regarding writing, and exploring the literature, to develop critical analysis of experiences. The importance of action as part of the reflective process was emphasised. Co-researchers reported positive personal change as well as the opportunity to highlight issues through their reflection for further action within the organisation. The study adds constructive evidence for the use of reflection to explore professional work, make sense of experiences and develop positive action

Action Research and Its History as an Adult Education Movement for Social Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glassman, Michael; Erdem, Gizem; Bartholomew, Mitchell

2013-01-01

This article is an attempt to tell the story of action research as it has developed over the last half century. Action research has become an important part of a number of research programs, especially in the field of education. Action research is a powerful idea centering on humans' ability to break free from deleterious social habits…

Language Teacher Action Research: Achieving Sustainability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Emily; Burns, Anne

2016-01-01

Action research (AR) is becoming increasingly popular in ELT contexts as a means of continuous professional development. The positive impacts of AR on language teacher development are well documented, but the important question of how those impacts can be sustained over time is virtually unexplored. Drawing on findings from a study of teachers in…

Action Learning in Postgraduate Research Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marchand, Trevor

2017-01-01

This account of practice explores the benefits and challenges of using Action Learning (AL) with junior researchers. Findings are grounded in an AL set of six doctoral students, organised and convened by the author. The case study reveals the range of emotional and structural hurdles that Ph.D. candidates typically face in completing their…

Multilingual Affordances in a Swedish Preschool: An Action Research Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ljunggren, Åsa

2016-01-01

This article summarizes the work and the main findings of an action research project that was conducted in an early childhood education and care setting in the city of Malmö, Sweden in the autumn of 2013 and spring 2014. Rönnerman's model (Aktionsforskning i praktiken: förskola och skola på vetenskaplig grund [Action research in practice:…

Strategic Approaches to Practice: An Action Research Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burwell, Kim; Shipton, Matthew

2013-01-01

The importance of personal practice for instrumentalists and vocalists is well established among researchers, and axiomatic for practitioners. This paper reports on a phase of an action research project, investigating student approaches to personal practice. Following a preliminary questionnaire study, a residential clinic was conducted by…

Photovoice Participatory Action Research for the Communication Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Lance Brendan

2017-01-01

Courses: Qualitative research methods, health communication, organizational communication, or any course that could incorporate advocacy or social change into the content area. Objectives: On completion of this assignment, students will (1) understand why and how action research is undertaken; (2) develop skill in perceiving and representing the…

Hierarchical processing in music, language, and action: Lashley revisited.

PubMed

Fitch, W Tecumseh; Martins, Mauricio D

2014-05-01

Sixty years ago, Karl Lashley suggested that complex action sequences, from simple motor acts to language and music, are a fundamental but neglected aspect of neural function. Lashley demonstrated the inadequacy of then-standard models of associative chaining, positing a more flexible and generalized "syntax of action" necessary to encompass key aspects of language and music. He suggested that hierarchy in language and music builds upon a more basic sequential action system, and provided several concrete hypotheses about the nature of this system. Here, we review a diverse set of modern data concerning musical, linguistic, and other action processing, finding them largely consistent with an updated neuroanatomical version of Lashley's hypotheses. In particular, the lateral premotor cortex, including Broca's area, plays important roles in hierarchical processing in language, music, and at least some action sequences. Although the precise computational function of the lateral prefrontal regions in action syntax remains debated, Lashley's notion-that this cortical region implements a working-memory buffer or stack scannable by posterior and subcortical brain regions-is consistent with considerable experimental data. © 2014 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of The New York Academy of Sciences.

Creative Pedagogies and Collaboration: An Action Research Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuntz, Aaron M.; Presnall, Marni M.; Priola, Maria; Tilford, Amy; Ward, Rhiannon

2013-01-01

This action research study involves nine elementary school teacher-researchers, one university faculty member, and one graduate student engaged in developing creative pedagogical practices in one elementary school in an urban school in Alabama, USA. Participants found that a teacher's experience of agency and their ability to work creatively…

Developmental Advising for Marginalized Community College Students: An Action Research Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Terrica S.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this action research study was to understand, evaluate, and improve the developmental advising practices used at a Washington State community college. This action research study endeavored to strengthen the developmental advising model originally designed to support the college's marginalized students. Guiding questions for the…

Process Induction: Researching Skills Development across the Social Studies Curriculum. Middle Grades.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peters, Richard O.

This document discusses the use of process induction and the proactive action model to teach research skills across the social studies curriculum. Process induction is the ability of an individual to transfer schema related knowledge and skills to other situations and settings, to use knowledge and process skills in new and diverse instances to…

Using Action Research to Engage K-6 Teachers in Nature of Science Inquiry as Professional Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cullen, Theresa A.; Akerson, Valarie L.; Hanson, Deborah L.

2010-12-01

Teachers are required to work with data on a daily basis to assess the effectiveness of their teaching strategies, but may not approach it as research. This paper presents a reflective discussion of how and when a professional development team used an action research project to help 12 K-6 teachers explore the effectiveness of reform based Nature of Science (NOS) teaching strategies in their classrooms. The team encouraged community development and provided “just in time” supports to scaffold the steps of the action research process for teachers. The discussion includes concerns they addressed and issues related to management and support of the professional development model. Evaluation results are shared to suggest how this approach can be improved in the future.

From Reluctant Teacher to Empowered Teacher-Researcher: One Teacher's Journey toward Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Esposito, Jennifer; Smith, Shayla

2006-01-01

The focus of this paper will be one of the authors' transformation from reluctant teacher-researcher to empowered teacher-researcher. The authors will describe Shayla's journey through action research because it was this journey from circumspection to empowerment that strengthened her in ways that she had not foreseen or anticipated. It allowed…

A global call for action to include gender in research impact assessment.

PubMed

Ovseiko, Pavel V; Greenhalgh, Trisha; Adam, Paula; Grant, Jonathan; Hinrichs-Krapels, Saba; Graham, Kathryn E; Valentine, Pamela A; Sued, Omar; Boukhris, Omar F; Al Olaqi, Nada M; Al Rahbi, Idrees S; Dowd, Anne-Maree; Bice, Sara; Heiden, Tamika L; Fischer, Michael D; Dopson, Sue; Norton, Robyn; Pollitt, Alexandra; Wooding, Steven; Balling, Gert V; Jakobsen, Ulla; Kuhlmann, Ellen; Klinge, Ineke; Pololi, Linda H; Jagsi, Reshma; Smith, Helen Lawton; Etzkowitz, Henry; Nielsen, Mathias W; Carrion, Carme; Solans-Domènech, Maite; Vizcaino, Esther; Naing, Lin; Cheok, Quentin H N; Eckelmann, Baerbel; Simuyemba, Moses C; Msiska, Temwa; Declich, Giovanna; Edmunds, Laurel D; Kiparoglou, Vasiliki; Buchan, Alison M J; Williamson, Catherine; Lord, Graham M; Channon, Keith M; Surender, Rebecca; Buchan, Alastair M

2016-07-19

Global investment in biomedical research has grown significantly over the last decades, reaching approximately a quarter of a trillion US dollars in 2010. However, not all of this investment is distributed evenly by gender. It follows, arguably, that scarce research resources may not be optimally invested (by either not supporting the best science or by failing to investigate topics that benefit women and men equitably). Women across the world tend to be significantly underrepresented in research both as researchers and research participants, receive less research funding, and appear less frequently than men as authors on research publications. There is also some evidence that women are relatively disadvantaged as the beneficiaries of research, in terms of its health, societal and economic impacts. Historical gender biases may have created a path dependency that means that the research system and the impacts of research are biased towards male researchers and male beneficiaries, making it inherently difficult (though not impossible) to eliminate gender bias. In this commentary, we - a group of scholars and practitioners from Africa, America, Asia and Europe - argue that gender-sensitive research impact assessment could become a force for good in moving science policy and practice towards gender equity. Research impact assessment is the multidisciplinary field of scientific inquiry that examines the research process to maximise scientific, societal and economic returns on investment in research. It encompasses many theoretical and methodological approaches that can be used to investigate gender bias and recommend actions for change to maximise research impact. We offer a set of recommendations to research funders, research institutions and research evaluators who conduct impact assessment on how to include and strengthen analysis of gender equity in research impact assessment and issue a global call for action.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: Decomposing the Processes Underlying Action Preparation.

PubMed

Bestmann, Sven; Duque, Julie

2016-08-01

Preparing actions requires the operation of several cognitive control processes that influence the state of the motor system to ensure that the appropriate behavior is ultimately selected and executed. For example, some form of competition resolution ensures that the right action is chosen among alternatives, often in the presence of conflict; at the same time, impulse control ought to be deployed to prevent premature responses. Here we review how state-changes in the human motor system during action preparation can be studied through motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation over the contralateral primary motor cortex (M1). We discuss how the physiological fingerprints afforded by MEPs have helped to decompose some of the dynamic and effector-specific influences on the motor system during action preparation. We focus on competition resolution, conflict and impulse control, as well as on the influence of higher cognitive decision-related variables. The selected examples demonstrate the usefulness of MEPs as physiological readouts for decomposing the influence of distinct, but often overlapping, control processes on the human motor system during action preparation. © The Author(s) 2015.

Participatory Action Research and Environmental Learning: Implications for Resilient Forests and Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ballard, Heidi L.; Belsky, Jill M.

2010-01-01

How can a participatory approach to research promote environmental learning and enhance social-ecological systems resilience? Participatory action research (PAR) is an approach to research that its' supporters claim can foster new knowledge, learning, and action to support positive social and environmental change through reorienting the standard…

The processing of actions and action-words in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients.

PubMed

Papeo, Liuba; Cecchetto, Cinzia; Mazzon, Giulia; Granello, Giulia; Cattaruzza, Tatiana; Verriello, Lorenzo; Eleopra, Roberto; Rumiati, Raffaella I

2015-03-01

(frontal) motor centers and the executive-control machinery housed in the frontal brain, and the implications of executive dysfunctions in tasks such as action processing. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preparing Pre-Service Teachers as Emancipatory and Participatory Action Researchers in a Teacher Education Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Esau, Omar

2013-01-01

In this paper I analyse the potential that participatory action research holds for educating pre-service teachers to become more critically reflective and socially conscious. I also describe the rationale for and process of engaging pre-service teachers in their teacher education programme. Involving these candidate teachers in participatory…

Critical Issues in Research Design in Action Research in an SME Development Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGrath, Helen; O'Toole, Thomas

2012-01-01

Purpose: The main aim of this paper is to develop guidelines on the critical issues to consider in research design in an action research (AR) environment for SME network capability development. Design/methodology/approach: The issues in research design for AR studies are developed from the authors' experience in running learning sets but, in…

Theme and Variations: One Middle School's Interpretation of Mandated Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sheridan-Thomas, Heather K.

2006-01-01

In the current climate of accountability, action research is one way for teachers to evaluate instructional changes designed to improve assessment results. It may become increasingly common for administrators to mandate teacher involvement in action research, yet few studies have been conducted in such settings. This article focuses on one middle…

Aristotelian Action Research: Its Value for Studying Character Education in Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanderse, Wouter

2016-01-01

This article explores what it means for teachers to engage in and evaluate students' character education, by examining the connections between action research and Aristotelian virtue ethics. These connections are explored in two ways. Firstly, the article examines what perspective action research has on how moral education, understood in an…

The Case for Pedagogical Action Research in Psychology Learning and Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norton, Lin

2014-01-01

It is just over 12 years since "Psychology Teaching Review"'s first Special Issue on action research psychology. In the guest editorial for that issue Lin Norton suggested that pedagogical action research can be controversial, and that for some academic psychologists it appears to be more than curriculum development rather than…

Implementing solutions to improve and expand telehealth adoption: participatory action research in four community healthcare settings.

PubMed

Taylor, Johanna; Coates, Elizabeth; Wessels, Bridgette; Mountain, Gail; Hawley, Mark S

2015-12-01

Adoption of telehealth has been slower than anticipated, and little is known about the service improvements that help to embed telehealth into routine practice or the role of frontline staff in improving adoption. This paper reports on participatory action research carried out in four community health settings using telehealth for patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Chronic Heart Failure. To inform the action research, in-depth case studies of each telehealth service were conducted (May 2012-June 2013). Each service was then supported by researchers through two cycles of action research to implement changes to increase adoption of telehealth, completed over a seven month period (July 2013-April 2014). The action research was studied via observation of multi-stakeholder workshops, analysis of implementation plans, and focus groups. Action research participants included 57 staff and one patient, with between eight and 20 participants per site. The case study findings were identified as a key source of information for planning change, with sites addressing common challenges identified through this work. For example, refining referral criteria; standardizing how and when patients are monitored; improving data sharing; and establishing evaluation processes. Sites also focused on raising awareness of telehealth to increase adoption in other clinical teams and to help secure future financial investment for telehealth, which was required because of short-term funding arrangements. Specific solutions varied due to local infrastructures, resources, and opinion, as well as previous service developments. Local telehealth champions played an important role in engaging multiple stakeholders in the study. Action research enabled services to make planned changes to telehealth and share learning across multiple stakeholders about how and when to use telehealth. However, adoption was impeded by continual changes affecting telehealth and wider service provision

Using Action Research to Foster Positive Social Values

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benton, Jean

2005-01-01

"Using Action Research to Foster Positive Social Values" provides teachers with a unique framework in which to consider classroom violence. It uses actual case studies and working models done through classroom research to produce more effective classrooms that foster positive social values. The author lays out a theoretical framework for: (1)…

Temporal prediction restores the evaluative processing of delayed action feedback: an electrophysiological study.

PubMed

Kimura, Kenta; Kimura, Motohiro

2016-09-28

The evaluative processing of the valence of action feedback is reflected by an event-related brain potential component called feedback-related negativity (FRN) or reward positivity (RewP). Recent studies have shown that FRN/RewP is markedly reduced when the action-feedback interval is long (e.g. 6000 ms), indicating that an increase in the action-feedback interval can undermine the evaluative processing of the valence of action feedback. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether or not such undermined evaluative processing of delayed action feedback could be restored by improving the accuracy of the prediction in terms of the timing of action feedback. With a typical gambling task in which the participant chose one of two cards and received an action feedback indicating monetary gain or loss, the present study showed that FRN/RewP was significantly elicited even when the action-feedback interval was 6000 ms, when an auditory stimulus sequence was additionally presented during the action-feedback interval as a temporal cue. This result suggests that the undermined evaluative processing of delayed action feedback can be restored by increasing the accuracy of the prediction on the timing of the action feedback.

Relational information processing of novel unrelated actions by infants.

PubMed

Knopf, Monika; Kraus, Uta; Kressley-Mba, Regina A

2006-01-01

Declarative memory in infants is often assessed via deferred imitation. Not much is known about the information processing basis of the memory effect found in these experiments. While in the typical deferred imitation study the order of actions remains the same during demonstration and retrieval, in two experiments with n=30 respective n=25, 10- and 11-month-old infants, the order of novel unrelated actions in demonstration and retrieval was varied (same, reversed, mixed). This allowed a separation of item-specific from item-relational information processing. In both experiments best memory performance was found when the order of target actions remained the same during encoding and recall, demonstrating that infants seem to rely on item-specific as well as item-relational information which has to be ad hoc constructed while encoding.

Content Analysis of Master Theses and Dissertations Based on Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Durak, Gürhan; Yünkül, Eyup; Cankaya, Serkan; Akpinar, Sükran; Erten, Emine; Inam, Nazmiye; Taylan, Ufuk; Tastekin, Eray

2016-01-01

Action Research (AR) is becoming popular in the field of education, and according to literature, it could be stated that AR studies have positive influence on practice in education. The present study aims at conducting content analysis of action research (AR) master theses and doctoral dissertations submitted at the level of Turkish higher…

Authenticity, Aims and Authority: Navigating Youth Participatory Action Research in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rubin, Beth C.; Ayala, Jennifer; Zaal, Mayida

2017-01-01

Motivated by the addition of a curriculum standard for active citizenship into New Jersey's social studies standards a group of educators and researchers set out to integrate an action research curriculum, based on a youth participatory action research (YPAR) model, into social studies classrooms. Adapting YPAR, with its promising blend of…

Re-Mediating Practitioners' Practice for Equity in Higher Education: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vines, Erin

2012-01-01

This study examines the influence of action research on California community college practitioners' attitudes, beliefs, and behavior using the Center for Urban Education's (CUE) Equity Scorecard tools and process. This developmental evaluation study began March 2011 and concluded April 2012. The pseudonym of the field site studied is Las Flores…

Exploring teacher's perceptions of concept mapping as a teaching strategy in science: An action research approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marks Krpan, Catherine Anne

In order to promote science literacy in the classroom, students need opportunities in which they can personalize their understanding of the concepts they are learning. Current literature supports the use of concept maps in enabling students to make personal connections in their learning of science. Because they involve creating explicit connections between concepts, concept maps can assist students in developing metacognitive strategies and assist educators in identifying misconceptions in students' thinking. The literature also notes that concept maps can improve student achievement and recall. Much of the current literature focuses primarily on concept mapping at the secondary and university levels, with limited focus on the elementary panel. The research rarely considers teachers' thoughts and ideas about the concept mapping process. In order to effectively explore concept mapping from the perspective of elementary teachers, I felt that an action research approach would be appropriate. Action research enabled educators to debate issues about concept mapping and test out ideas in their classrooms. It also afforded the participants opportunities to explore their own thinking, reflect on their personal journeys as educators and play an active role in their professional development. In an effort to explore concept mapping from the perspective of elementary educators, an action research group of 5 educators and myself was established and met regularly from September 1999 until June 2000. All of the educators taught in the Toronto area. These teachers were interested in exploring how concept mapping could be used as a learning tool in their science classrooms. In summary, this study explores the journey of five educators and myself as we engaged in collaborative action research. This study sets out to: (1) Explore how educators believe concept mapping can facilitate teaching and student learning in the science classroom. (2) Explore how educators implement concept

Broca's area processes the hierarchical organization of observed action

PubMed Central

Wakita, Masumi

2014-01-01

Broca's area has been suggested as the area responsible for the domain-general hierarchical processing of language and music. Although meaningful action shares a common hierarchical structure with language and music, the role of Broca's area in this domain remains controversial. To address the involvement of Broca's area in the processing action hierarchy, the activation of Broca's area was measured using near-infrared spectroscopy. Measurements were taken while participants watched silent movies that featured hand movements playing familiar and unfamiliar melodies. The unfamiliar melodies were reversed versions of the familiar melodies. Additionally, to investigate the effect of a motor experience on the activation of Broca's area, the participants were divided into well-trained and less-trained groups. The results showed that Broca's area in the well-trained participants demonstrated a significantly larger activation in response to the hand motion when an unfamiliar melody was played than when a familiar melody was played. However, Broca's area in the less-trained participants did not show a contrast between conditions despite identical abilities of the two participant groups to identify the melodies by watching key pressing actions. These results are consistent with previous findings that Broca's area exhibits increased activation in response to grammatically violated sentences and musically deviated chord progressions as well as the finding that this region does not represent the processing of grammatical structure in less-proficient foreign language speakers. Thus, the current study suggests that Broca's area represents action hierarchy and that sufficiently long motor training is necessary for it to become sensitive to motor syntax. Therefore, the notion that hierarchical processing in Broca's area is a common function shared between language and music may help to explain the role of Broca's area in action perception. PMID:24478668

Teacher to Researcher: Reflections on a New Action Research Program for University EFL Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burns, Anne; Westmacott, Anne

2018-01-01

One of the current challenges facing many universities is how to support teachers in becoming researchers. This article discusses the experiences at a small private Chilean university of a new action research programme that was developed as a vehicle for helping teachers to become involved in research and write a research publication for…

Teaching Action Research: The Role of Demographics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mcmurray, Adela J.

2006-01-01

This article summarizes a longitudinal study of employed MBA students with particular emphasis on findings involving their choice of action research model to implement personal and organizational change in their environment. A multi-method approach merging both quantitative and qualitative techniques was utilized. A questionnaire consisting of…

Exploring Scientific, Artistic, Moral and Technical Reflection in Teacher Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luttenberg, Johan; Oolbekkink-Marchand, Helma; Meijer, Paulien

2018-01-01

Reflection in action research is a complicated matter because of the many domains of reflection and most significantly, the lack of understanding of these domains of reflection in action research and how these are supported. In this paper, we propose a framework based on four domains of reflection, namely, scientific, artistic, moral and technical…

Idea and Action: Action Research and the Development of Conceptual Change Teaching of Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tabachnick, B. Robert; Zeichner, Kenneth M.

1999-01-01

Describes and analyzes an action-research seminar for prospective elementary and secondary teachers in terms of how it facilitated prospective teachers' learning to teach for conceptual change. Contains 37 references. (Author/WRM)

Building capacity for knowledge translation in occupational therapy: learning through participatory action research.

PubMed

Bennett, Sally; Whitehead, Mary; Eames, Sally; Fleming, Jennifer; Low, Shanling; Caldwell, Elizabeth

2016-10-01

shaping the knowledge translation program across the department and within their specific clinical areas. To build capacity for knowledge translation, it is important to involve clinicians. The action cycle of the Knowledge to Action framework is a useful guide to introduce the knowledge translation process to clinicians. It may be used to engage the department as a whole, and facilitate the learning and application of knowledge translation within specific clinical areas. Research evaluating this knowledge translation program is being conducted.

Action Learning--A Process Which Supports Organisational Change Initiatives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joyce, Pauline

2012-01-01

This paper reflects on how action learning sets (ALSs) were used to support organisational change initiatives. It sets the scene with contextualising the inclusion of change projects in a masters programme. Action learning is understood to be a dynamic process where a team meets regularly to help individual members address issues through a highly…

Automatic Imitation of Intransitive Actions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Press, Clare; Bird, Geoffrey; Walsh, Eamonn; Heyes, Cecilia

2008-01-01

Previous research has indicated a potential discontinuity between monkey and human ventral premotor-parietal mirror systems, namely that monkey mirror systems process only transitive (object-directed) actions, whereas human mirror systems may also process intransitive (non-object-directed) actions. The present study investigated this discontinuity…

Exploring Action Research as an Enduring Experience of Professional Development for Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hummel, Robin Ellen

2017-01-01

This study was an inquiry into the influence of action research on teachers' practice and an exploration of the idea that teaching is synonymous with learning. After 14 participants engaged in individual action research projects that were facilitated by the researcher, the qualitative method of narrative inquiry was used to gather data from the…

Action Research as a Practice-Based Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kemmis, Stephen

2009-01-01

Action research changes people's practices, their understandings of their practices, and the conditions under which they practice. It changes people's patterns of "saying", "doing" and "relating" to form new patterns--new ways of life. It is a meta-practice: a practice that changes other practices. It transforms the…

21 CFR 1301.32 - Action on applications for research in Schedule I substances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Action on applications for research in Schedule I... REGISTRATION OF MANUFACTURERS, DISTRIBUTORS, AND DISPENSERS OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES Action on Application for Registration: Revocation Or Suspension of Registration § 1301.32 Action on applications for research in...

The SPIRIT Action Framework: A structured approach to selecting and testing strategies to increase the use of research in policy.

PubMed

Redman, Sally; Turner, Tari; Davies, Huw; Williamson, Anna; Haynes, Abby; Brennan, Sue; Milat, Andrew; O'Connor, Denise; Blyth, Fiona; Jorm, Louisa; Green, Sally

2015-07-01

The recent proliferation of strategies designed to increase the use of research in health policy (knowledge exchange) demands better application of contemporary conceptual understandings of how research shapes policy. Predictive models, or action frameworks, are needed to organise existing knowledge and enable a more systematic approach to the selection and testing of intervention strategies. Useful action frameworks need to meet four criteria: have a clearly articulated purpose; be informed by existing knowledge; provide an organising structure to build new knowledge; and be capable of guiding the development and testing of interventions. This paper describes the development of the SPIRIT Action Framework. A literature search and interviews with policy makers identified modifiable factors likely to influence the use of research in policy. An iterative process was used to combine these factors into a pragmatic tool which meets the four criteria. The SPIRIT Action Framework can guide conceptually-informed practical decisions in the selection and testing of interventions to increase the use of research in policy. The SPIRIT Action Framework hypothesises that a catalyst is required for the use of research, the response to which is determined by the capacity of the organisation to engage with research. Where there is sufficient capacity, a series of research engagement actions might occur that facilitate research use. These hypotheses are being tested in ongoing empirical work. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Vocational rehabilitation: facilitating evidence based practice through participatory action research.

PubMed

Maciver, Donald; Prior, Susan; Forsyth, Kirsty; Walsh, Mike; Meiklejohn, Allison; Irvine, Linda; Pentland, Duncan

2013-04-01

Improving vocational rehabilitation in line with the current evidence base is an area of considerable interest. Aims To describe the strategies used by a multidisciplinary team in the initial stages of a participatory action research (PAR) approach to improving a vocational rehabilitation service. A literature review and PAR process were completed. One hundred and fifteen participants engaged in multifaceted data collection and analysis, building consensus around key principles for a new vocational rehabilitation service. A synthesis of our literature review and PAR process was developed into a set of principles for practice which we plan to implement across the service. We have developed methodologies in interdisciplinary collaborations spanning statutory and non-statutory services. We have developed a set of principles for practice and detailed plans for implementation are being drawn up to inform provision in the future.

Transition from an open-plan to a two-cot neonatal intensive care unit: a participatory action research approach.

PubMed

Broom, Margaret; Gardner, Anne; Kecskes, Zsuzsoka; Kildea, Sue

2017-07-01

To facilitate staff transition from an open-plan to a two-cot neonatal intensive care unit design. In 2012, an Australian regional neonatal intensive care unit transitioned from an open-plan to a two-cot neonatal intensive care unit design. Research has reported single- and small-room neonatal intensive care unit design may negatively impact on the distances nurses walk, reducing the time they spend providing direct neonatal care. Studies have also reported nurses feel isolated and need additional support and education in such neonatal intensive care units. Staff highlighted their concerns regarding the impact of the new design on workflow and clinical practice. A participatory action research approach. A participatory action group titled the Change and Networking Group collaborated with staff over a four-year period (2009-2013) to facilitate the transition. The Change and Networking Group used a collaborative, cyclical process of planning, gathering data, taking action and reviewing the results to plan the next action. Data sources included meeting and workshop minutes, newsletters, feedback boards, subgroup reports and a staff satisfaction survey. The study findings include a description of (1) how the participatory action research cycles were used by the Change and Networking Group: providing examples of projects and strategies undertaken; and (2) evaluations of participatory action research methodology and Group by neonatal intensive care unit staff and Change and Networking members. This study has described the benefits of using participatory action research to facilitate staff transition from an open-plan to a two-cot neonatal intensive care unit design. Participatory action research methodology enabled the inclusion of staff to find solutions to design and clinical practice questions. Future research is required to assess the long-term effect of neonatal intensive care unit design on staff workload, maintaining and supporting a skilled workforce as well as

Identifying the Priorities and Practices of Virtual School Educators Using Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dawson, Kara; Dana, Nancy Fichtman; Wolkenhauer, Rachel; Krell, Desi

2013-01-01

This study examined the nature of thirty virtual educators' action research questions during a yearlong action research professional development experience within a large, state-funded virtual school. Virtual educators included instructional personnel (i.e., individuals responsible for teaching virtual courses) and noninstructional personnel…

Initiating Teachers' Action Research: Empowering Teachers' Voices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bognar, Branko

2013-01-01

The role of a teacher as an action researcher in Croatia is still insufficiently appreciated and promoted in initial teachers' training, school students learning and in the employed teachers' professional post-qualification development. In this country, teachers are most frequently perceived as mediators or technicians whose task is to prepare and…

Indigenizing Teacher Education: An Action Research Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kitchen, Julian; Raynor, Marg

2013-01-01

This action research report focuses on a new elective course entitled "Indigenizing Education: Education for/about Aboriginal Peoples" that was developed and taught by two teacher educators--one Euro-Canadian and the other Metis. The purpose of the course was to increase understanding of Indigenous peoples and of the impact of…

Digital Process and Product: Engaging the Next Generation of Art Education Researchers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baer, Stephanie A.; Danker, Stephanie

2017-01-01

As art teacher educators, we want our students to be passionate, informed advocates for art education and capable of conducting action research as artist/teacher/researchers. Students are constantly in the process of understanding what it means to teach with and through the arts. In our art education program, we work to exemplify this complex…

Designing and Implementing Collaborative Improvement in the Extended Manufacturing Enterprise: Action Learning and Action Research (ALAR) in CO-IMPROVE

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coghlan, David; Coughlan, Paul

2006-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to provide a design and implementation framework for ALAR (action learning action research) programme which aims to address collaborative improvement in the extended manufacturing enterprise. Design/methodology/approach: This article demonstrates the design of a programme in which action learning and action…

Action Research as Professional Development: Its Role in Education Reform in the United Arab Emirates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hathorn, Conley; Dillon, Anna Marie

2018-01-01

This paper is concerned with exploring the microsystem of teachers' experiences with education reform within the action research (AR) model for professional development (PD). Within the macrosystem of current major education reform in the UAE, it is timely to explore teachers' experiences of AR as PD to improve pedagogy. The process of engaging in…

Teaching Formative Assessment Strategies to Preservice Teachers: Exploring the Use of Handheld Computing to Facilitate the Action Research Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennett, Kristin Redington; Cunningham, Ann C.

2009-01-01

Appropriate classroom assessment now tends to utilize formative measures with greater frequency, especially in the early grades and with learner groups at risk of not passing state-mandated standardized tests. Within the authentic context of an action research project, teacher candidates were given handheld computers equipped with data-collection…

The effects of an action video game on visual and affective information processing.

PubMed

Bailey, Kira; West, Robert

2013-04-04

Playing action video games can have beneficial effects on visuospatial cognition and negative effects on social information processing. However, these two effects have not been demonstrated in the same individuals in a single study. The current study used event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to examine the effects of playing an action or non-action video game on the processing of emotion in facial expression. The data revealed that 10h of playing an action or non-action video game had differential effects on the ERPs relative to a no-contact control group. Playing an action game resulted in two effects: one that reflected an increase in the amplitude of the ERPs following training over the right frontal and posterior regions that was similar for angry, happy, and neutral faces; and one that reflected a reduction in the allocation of attention to happy faces. In contrast, playing a non-action game resulted in changes in slow wave activity over the central-parietal and frontal regions that were greater for targets (i.e., angry and happy faces) than for non-targets (i.e., neutral faces). These data demonstrate that the contrasting effects of action video games on visuospatial and emotion processing occur in the same individuals following the same level of gaming experience. This observation leads to the suggestion that caution should be exercised when using action video games to modify visual processing, as this experience could also have unintended effects on emotion processing. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Action and object processing in brain-injured speakers of Chinese.

PubMed

Arévalo, Analia L; Lu, Ching-Ching; Huang, Lydia B-Y; Bates, Elizabeth A; Dronkers, Nina F

2011-11-01

To see whether action and object processing across different tasks and modalities differs in brain-injured speakers of Chinese with varying fluency and lesion locations within the left hemisphere. Words and pictures representing actions and objects were presented to a group of 33 participants whose native and/or dominant language was Mandarin Chinese: 23 patients with left-hemisphere lesions due to stroke and 10 language-, age- and education-matched healthy control participants. A set of 120 stimulus items was presented to each participant in three different forms: as black and white line drawings (for picture-naming), as written words (for reading) and as aurally presented words (for word repetition). Patients were divided into groups for two separate analyses: Analysis 1 divided and compared patients based on fluency (Fluent vs. Nonfluent) and Analysis 2 compared patients based on lesion location (Anterior vs. Posterior). Both analyses yielded similar results: Fluent, Nonfluent, Anterior, and Posterior patients all produced significantly more errors when processing action (M = 0.73, SD = 0.45) relative to object (M = 0.79, SD = 0.41) stimuli, and this effect was strongest in the picture-naming task. As in our previous study with English-speaking participants using the same experimental design (Arévalo et al., 2007, Arévalo, Moineau, Saygin, Ludy, & Bates, 2005), we did not find evidence for a double-dissociation in action and object processing between groups with different lesion and fluency profiles. These combined data bring us closer to a more informed view of action/object processing in the brain in both healthy and brain-injured individuals.

Empowering members of a rural southern community in Nigeria to plan to take action to prevent maternal mortality: A participatory action research project.

PubMed

Esienumoh, Ekpoanwan E; Allotey, Janette; Waterman, Heather

2018-04-01

To facilitate the empowerment of members of a rural community to plan to take action to prevent maternal mortality. Globally, about 300,000 maternal deaths occur yearly. Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia regions account for almost all the deaths. Within those regions, India and Nigeria account for over a third of the global maternal deaths. Problem of maternal mortality in Nigeria is multifaceted. About 80% of maternal deaths are avoidable, given strategies which include skilled attendants, emergency obstetric care and community mobilisation. In this article, a strategy of community empowerment to plan to take action to prevent maternal mortality is discussed. Participatory action research was used. Twelve volunteers were recruited as coresearchers into the study through purposive and snowball sampling who, following an orientation workshop, undertook participatory qualitative data collection with an additional 29 community members. Participatory thematic analysis of the data was undertaken which formed the basis of the plan of action. Community members attributed maternal morbidities and deaths to superstitious causes, delayed referrals by traditional birth attendants, poor transportation and poor resourcing of health facilities. Following critical reflection, actions were planned to empower the people to prevent maternal deaths through community education and advocacy meetings with stakeholders to improve health and transportation infrastructures; training of existing traditional birth attendants in the interim and initiating their collaboration with skilled birth attendants. The community is a resource which if mobilised through the process of participatory action research can be empowered to plan to take action in collaboration with skilled birth attendants to prevent maternal mortality. Interventions to prevent maternal deaths should include community empowerment to have better understanding of their circumstances as well as their collaboration with health

Empowering Communities in Educational Management: Participatory Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruechakul, Prayad; Erawan, Prawit; Siwarom, Manoon

2015-01-01

The participatory learning and action: PLA was the process used for empowering in this program. This process has four steps: 1) create awareness, 2) specify problems or needs, 3) act and 4) present and reflect or monitor. The purposes of this study were: 1) to investigate the conditions of communities in terms of context and problems or needs in…

Contributing Meaning to Research in Developmental Disabilities: Integrating Participatory Action and Methodological Rigor

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Powers, Laurie E.

2017-01-01

Action research approaches reflecting power sharing by academic and community researchers, full engagement of community partners across all study phases, and ongoing commitment to partnership and capacity building have been increasingly embraced, particularly in research affecting marginalized populations. Findings suggest action research…

Enhancing Students' Creative Writing Skills: An Action Research Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nasir, Laraib; Naqvi, Syeda Meenoo; Bhamani, Shelina

2013-01-01

This research aimed to improve written expression (composition) skills of 5th grade students of an elite private school. The research was designed under the paradigm of action research. A total sample of 39 students' from the same grade was chosen for the study. The baseline assessment was carried out to explore the pre-intervention writing skill…

Exploring teachers' beliefs and knowledge about scientific inquiry and the nature of science: A collaborative action research project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fazio, Xavier Eric

Science curriculum reform goals espouse the need to foster and support the development of scientific literacy in students. Two critical goals of scientific literacy are students' engagement in, and developing more realistic conceptions about scientific inquiry (SI) and the nature of science (NOS). In order to promote the learning of these curriculum emphases, teachers themselves must possess beliefs and knowledge supportive of them. Collaborative action research is a viable form of curriculum and teacher development that can be used to support teachers in developing the requisite beliefs and knowledge that can promote these scientific literacy goals. This research study used a collective case study methodology to describe and interpret the views and actions of four teachers participating in a collaborative action research project. I explored the teachers' SI and NOS views throughout the project as they investigated ideas and theories, critically examined their current curricular practice, and implemented and reflected on these modified curricular practices. By the end of the research study, all participants had uniquely augmented their understanding of SI and NOS. The participants were better able to provide explanatory depth to some SI and NOS ideas; however, specific belief revision with respect to SI and NOS ideas was nominal. Furthermore, their idealized action research plans were not implemented to the extent that they were planned. Explanations for these findings include: impact of significant past educational experiences, prior understanding of SI and NOS, depth of content and pedagogical content knowledge of the discipline, and institutional and instructional constraints. Nonetheless, through participation in the collaborative action research process, the teachers developed professionally, personally, and socially. They identified many positive outcomes from participating in a collaborative action research project; however, they espoused constraints to

Building Capacity through Action Research Curricula Reviews

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Vanessa; Coombe, Leanne; Robinson, Priscilla

2015-01-01

In Australia, graduates of Master of Public Health (MPH) programmes are expected to achieve a set of core competencies, including a subset that is specifically related to Indigenous health. This paper reports on the methods utilised in a project which was designed using action research to strengthen Indigenous public health curricula within MPH…

Using Participatory Action Research to Address Absenteeism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferrell, Elizabeth W.; Nance, Cara N.; Torres, Amanda L.; Torres, Selina M.

2014-01-01

Many urban high schools serving low-income families have below-average attendance rates, which can indicate that fewer students are prepared to matriculate into college and career opportunities. Through the use of participatory action research (PAR), we--a group of four educators at Wilson High School--have changed school policies and procedures…

Introducing a new COST Action: ES1306: Connecting European Connectivity Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keesstra, Saskia; Cerda, Artemi; Parsons, Tony; Vericat, Damià; Wainwright, John; Heckmann, Tobias; Mueller, Eva; Poeppl, Ronald; Brazier, Richard; Nunes, Joao; Brardinoni, Francesco; Marques, Maria Jose

2014-05-01

In November 2013 a new COST Action entitled 'Connecting European Connectivity Research' was approved by the European Union. This Action aims to connect researchers across Europe (and beyond) that study the concept of water and sediment connectivity. Successful prediction of pathways of storm runoff generation and associated soil erosion is of considerable societal importance, including off-site impacts such as water quality and the provision of related ecosystem services. Recently, the role of connectivity in controlling runoff and erosion has received significant and increasing scientific attention, though in a disparate and uncoordinated way. There is a wealth of experience and expertise in connectivity across Europe that could be harnessed to ensure that the potential already demonstrated in key studies can be more widely fulfilled; to move forward along agreed lines and identify emerging goals, and to benefit from cross-fertilization of ideas from the fields of Hydrology, Soil Science, Geomorphology and Ecology. The key benefit of this Action will be to establish connectivity as a research paradigm. The Action will then permit transfer of current understanding into useable science, by developing it's conceptual basis and transferring it into a series of monitoring and modelling tools that will provide the platform for indices that will inform holistic management of catchment systems. In this presentation we want to show you the planned actions of this new COST Action.

Future Action Research - The Relationship of the General and Special Education Teachers in the Inclusive Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oliver, James D., III

2008-01-01

This paper describes the process taken for a future action research project "the relationship of the general and special education teachers in an inclusive setting". The author observed that general education teachers made attempts to exclude students from "their classroom" who they felt "don't belong". For inclusion…

Using a Critical Reflection Framework and Collaborative Inquiry to Improve Teaching Practice: An Action Research Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Briscoe, Patricia

2017-01-01

This action research reports on a three-year collaborative learning process among three teachers. We used current literature and a critical reflection framework to understand why our teaching approaches were not resulting in increased student learning. This allowed us to examine our previously unrecognized and uninterrupted--and often,…

A Signature Pedagogy for Leadership Education: Preparing Principals through Participatory Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sappington, Neil; Baker, Paul J.; Gardner, Dianne; Pacha, Joe

2010-01-01

This study proposes participatory action research as a signature pedagogy for principal preparation programs. Signature pedagogies bring professional knowledge and core values together in distinctive teaching and learning arrangements. A rationale and learning results are presented that describe key components of action research intended to help…

Posture-based processing in visual short-term memory for actions.

PubMed

Vicary, Staci A; Stevens, Catherine J

2014-01-01

Visual perception of human action involves both form and motion processing, which may rely on partially dissociable neural networks. If form and motion are dissociable during visual perception, then they may also be dissociable during their retention in visual short-term memory (VSTM). To elicit form-plus-motion and form-only processing of dance-like actions, individual action frames can be presented in the correct or incorrect order. The former appears coherent and should elicit action perception, engaging both form and motion pathways, whereas the latter appears incoherent and should elicit posture perception, engaging form pathways alone. It was hypothesized that, if form and motion are dissociable in VSTM, then recognition of static body posture should be better after viewing incoherent than after viewing coherent actions. However, as VSTM is capacity limited, posture-based encoding of actions may be ineffective with increased number of items or frames. Using a behavioural change detection task, recognition of a single test posture was significantly more likely after studying incoherent than after studying coherent stimuli. However, this effect only occurred for spans of two (but not three) items and for stimuli with five (but not nine) frames. As in perception, posture and motion are dissociable in VSTM.

Finalizing the Libby Action Plan Research Program | Science ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Libby, Montana is the location of a former vermiculite mine that operated from 1923 to 1990. The vermiculite ore from the mine co-existed with amphibole asbestos, referred to as Libby Amphibole Asbestos (LAA). Combined with the cessation of the asbestos mining and processing operations, there has been significant progress in reducing the exposure to LAA in Libby, Montana. In 2009, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) jointly with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) declared a public health emergency in Libby due to observed asbestos-related health effects in the region. As part of this effort, the EPA led a cross-agency research program that conducted analytical, toxicological, and epidemiological research on the health effects of asbestos at the Libby Asbestos Superfund Site (Libby Site) in Libby, Montana. The Libby Action Plan (LAP) was initiated in 2007 to support the site-specific risk assessment for the Libby Site. The goal of the LAP research program was to explore the health effects of LAA, and determine toxicity information specific to LAA in order to accurately inform a human health risk assessment at the Libby Site. LAP research informed data gaps related to the health effects of exposure to LAA, particularly related to specific mechanisms of fiber dosimetry and toxicity (e.g., inflammatory responses), as well as investigated disease progression in exposed populations and advanced asbestos analytical techniques. This work incl

Can action research strengthen district health management and improve health workforce performance? A research protocol.

PubMed

Mshelia, C; Huss, R; Mirzoev, T; Elsey, H; Baine, S O; Aikins, M; Kamuzora, P; Bosch-Capblanch, X; Raven, J; Wyss, K; Green, A; Martineau, T

2013-08-30

the methodology. These include the changing context in the study districts, competing with other projects and duties for the time of district managers, complexity of the study design, maintaining the anonymity and confidentiality of study participants as well as how to record the processes during the study. We also discuss how these challenges are being addressed. The dissemination of this research protocol is intended to generate interest in the PERFORM project and also stimulate discussion on the use of action research in complex studies such as this on strengthening district health management to improve health workforce performance.

Co-Teaching an Online Action Research Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Brent G.; Linder VanBerschot, Jennifer

2014-01-01

Two instructors report our experience co-teaching an action research (AR) required as part of an e-learning master's degree. Adopting a practice-centered stance we focus on the course activities of participants (instructors and students), with particular attention to the careful crafting of course elements with the goal of achieving an…

Conceptualizing Indicator Domains for Evaluating Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Piggot-Irvine, Eileen; Rowe, Wendy; Ferkins, Lesley

2015-01-01

The focus of this paper is to share thinking about meta-level evaluation of action research (AR), and to introduce indicator domains for assessing and measuring inputs, outputs and outcomes. Meta-level and multi-site evaluation has been rare in AR beyond project implementation and participant satisfaction. The paper is the first of several…

Utilizing Action Research to Improve Counseling Education Course Work for Culturally Diverse Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Vries, Sabina; McDonald, Deirdre; Mayorga, Mary G.

2017-01-01

This article informs counselor educators and psychologists on how to utilize action research to evaluate diverse students, course work, and to improve classroom instruction. A paucity exists in research investigating educational needs of diverse counseling students. The present action research study examined educational experiences of diverse…

Integrating Geospatial Technologies, Action Research, and Curriculum Theory to Promote Ecological Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agnello, Mary Frances; Carpenter, Penny

2010-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine and report on the impact of integrating geospatial technology and ecological literacy into an educational leadership Master's class block comprised of action research and curriculum theory. Design/methodology/approach: Action and teacher research informed by environmental issues framed an action…

The Contribution of Pragmatism to Understanding Educational Action Research: Value and Consequences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hammond, Michael

2013-01-01

This paper argues that action research finds a rationale in the pragmatic position that knowledge is provisional and generated through a transaction between agent and environment. Action research finds a further methodological rationale in the pragmatic view that knowledge is generated within indeterminate situations, requires habits of reflection…

Literate Bodies: Multigenerational Participatory Action Research and Embodied Methodologies as Critical Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fox, Madeline

2012-01-01

The recent study Polling for Justice (PFJ) used a multigenerational participatory action research approach with embodied methodologies to document youth experiences of education, criminal justice, and public health in New York City. Through an exploration of the PFJ project, this column demonstrates how participatory action research and embodied…

Conservation Action Planning: Lessons learned from the St. Marys River watershed biodiversity conservation planning process

USGS Publications Warehouse

Patterson, Tamatha A.; Grundel, Ralph

2014-01-01

Conservation Action Planning (CAP) is an adaptive management planning process refined by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and embraced worldwide as the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation. The CAP process facilitates open, multi-institutional collaboration on a common conservation agenda through organized actions and quantified results. While specifically designed for conservation efforts, the framework is adaptable and flexible to multiple scales and can be used for any collaborative planning effort. The CAP framework addresses inception; design and development of goals, measures, and strategies; and plan implementation and evaluation. The specific components of the CAP include defining the project scope and conservation targets; assessing the ecological viability; ascertaining threats and surrounding situation; identifying opportunities and designing strategies for action; and implementing actions and monitoring results. In 2007, TNC and a multidisciplinary graduate student team from the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and Environment initiated a CAP for the St. Marys River, the connecting channel between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, and its local watershed. The students not only gained experience in conservation planning, but also learned lessons that notably benefited the CAP process and were valuable for any successful collaborative effort—a dedicated core team improved product quality, accelerated the timeline, and provided necessary support for ongoing efforts; an academic approach in preparation for engagement in the planning process brought applicable scientific research to the forefront, enhanced workshop facilitation, and improved stakeholder participation; and early and continuous interactions with regional stakeholders improved cooperation and built a supportive network for collaboration.

Is There an "F" in Your PAR? Understanding, Teaching and Doing Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lorenzetti, Liza; Walsh, Christine Ann

2014-01-01

Participatory Action Research (PAR) is increasingly recognized within academic research and pedagogy. What are the benefits of including feminism within participatory action research and teaching? In responding to this question, we discuss the similarities and salient differences between PAR and feminist informed PAR (FPAR). There are eight themes…

Applications of Participatory Action Research with Students Who Have Disabilities. ERIC/OSEP Digest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warger, Cynthia; Burnette, Jane

This brief paper defines participatory action research, reviews the literature on its use, and offers examples of how researchers and practitioners are applying principles of participatory action research data to select effective practices and support change and innovation in schools. Generation of data-based strategies in natural environments is…

"I'm Not so Sure…": Teacher Educator Action Research into Uncertainty

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, Carrie

2016-01-01

Using a framework of uncertainty that is informed by Hannah Arendt's philosophy this four-semester action research project describes the creation and analysis of an assignment that allows teacher candidates to explore their own uncertainties in regards to the teaching profession. This action research project examines the assignment and its…

Transformative Change in Higher Education through Participatory Action Research: A Capabilities Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Melanie; Loots, Sonja

2018-01-01

As a methodological approach, participatory action research (PAR), and its variant of critical action research in education, aims to further social justice and generate transformative change. Although this understanding of PAR is well rehearsed, there is still a gap in detailed explorations of the transformative impact of PAR projects in higher…

Making DATA Work: A Process for Conducting Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Anita; Kaffenberger, Carol

2013-01-01

This conceptual model introduces a process to help school counselors use data to drive decision making and offers examples to implement the process. A step-by-step process is offered to help school counselors and school counselor supervisors address educational issues, close achievement gaps, and demonstrate program effectiveness. To illustrate…

21 CFR 1301.32 - Action on applications for research in Schedule I substances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Action on applications for research in Schedule I... Registration: Revocation Or Suspension of Registration § 1301.32 Action on applications for research in Schedule I substances. (a) In the case of an application for registration to conduct research with...

Teacher Identity Development through Action Research: A Chinese Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yuan, Rui; Burns, Anne

2017-01-01

This study explores how two language teachers constructed and reconstructed their professional identities through their action research (AR) facilitated by university researchers in China. Informed by the theory of 'community of practice', the findings of the study show that AR exerted a transformative impact on the teachers' identity development.…

The Data-to-Action Framework: A Rapid Program Improvement Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zakocs, Ronda; Hill, Jessica A.; Brown, Pamela; Wheaton, Jocelyn; Freire, Kimberley E.

2015-01-01

Although health education programs may benefit from quality improvement methods, scant resources exist to help practitioners apply these methods for program improvement. The purpose of this article is to describe the Data-to-Action framework, a process that guides practitioners through rapid-feedback cycles in order to generate actionable data to…

Signed language and human action processing: evidence for functional constraints on the human mirror-neuron system.

PubMed

Corina, David P; Knapp, Heather Patterson

2008-12-01

In the quest to further understand the neural underpinning of human communication, researchers have turned to studies of naturally occurring signed languages used in Deaf communities. The comparison of the commonalities and differences between spoken and signed languages provides an opportunity to determine core neural systems responsible for linguistic communication independent of the modality in which a language is expressed. The present article examines such studies, and in addition asks what we can learn about human languages by contrasting formal visual-gestural linguistic systems (signed languages) with more general human action perception. To understand visual language perception, it is important to distinguish the demands of general human motion processing from the highly task-dependent demands associated with extracting linguistic meaning from arbitrary, conventionalized gestures. This endeavor is particularly important because theorists have suggested close homologies between perception and production of actions and functions of human language and social communication. We review recent behavioral, functional imaging, and neuropsychological studies that explore dissociations between the processing of human actions and signed languages. These data suggest incomplete overlap between the mirror-neuron systems proposed to mediate human action and language.

Participatory action research: involving students in parent education.

PubMed

Fowler, Cathrine; Wu, Cynthia; Lam, Winsome

2014-01-01

Competition for scarce clinical placements has increased requiring new and innovative models to be developed to meet the growing need. A participatory action research project was used to provide a community nursing clinical experience of involvement in parent education. Nine Hong Kong nursing students self-selected to participate in the project to implement a parenting program called Parenting Young Children in a Digital World. Three project cycles were used: needs identification, skills development and program implementation. Students were fully involved in each cycle's planning, action and reflection phase. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected to inform the project. The overall outcome of the project was the provision of a rich and viable clinical placement experience that created significant learning opportunities for the students and researchers. This paper will explore the student's participation in this PAR project as an innovative clinical practice opportunity. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Action Researchers Encountering Ethical Review: A Literature Synthesis on Challenges and Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fouché, Christa B.; Chubb, Laura A.

2017-01-01

Action research (AR) comprises a diverse family of methodologies. Common amongst most types of AR are both an emergent design--leading to action or change--and participation or community involvement. While this type of research has expanded considerably since the early 2000s, the criteria used for ethical review have apparently been slow to adapt…

Action Research on the Application of Variation Theory in Mathematics Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bragg, Leicha A.

2017-01-01

This article reports on action research that was undertaken while teaching a mathematics education subject to a series of cohorts of final-year primary pre-service teachers at a university in Australia. My aim was to increase the understanding of an assessment task, as well as its intrinsic value. Each action research cycle involved the…

Perspectives from Teachers' Classrooms. Action Research. Science FEAT (Science for Early Adolescence Teachers).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spiegel, Samuel A., Ed.; And Others

Action research is one of the more increasingly popular and innovative techniques for engaging teachers in shaping change in the classroom. The research in this monograph was conducted by teachers in classrooms in Florida and Georgia. Papers were selected from 65 action research papers written in fulfillment of one of the requirements of the…

Developing effective assignment feedback for an interprofessional learning module-An action research project.

PubMed

Strudwick, Ruth; Day, Jane

2015-09-01

The first year interprofessional learning module at University Campus Suffolk (UCS) is delivered to 300 students and the students' assignments are marked by 20 members of staff from different health and social care professions. We were keen to find a way to reduce any inconsistencies and work with both staff and students to ensure that the essay and subsequent feedback were useful for all involved. The aims of the project were to evaluate the current marking process and feedback sheets used for year one inter-professional learning (IPL) marking, and to develop an appropriate marking tool and feedback sheet that would enable markers to provide more consistent feedback to the students. Participatory action research was used with both students and staff members being involved. Focus group and questions were used to ascertain views about the assignment feedback. The feedback from this action learning project helped us to enhance the feedback for students. There was also an increase in engagement with the assessment and feedback process amongst both staff and students. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language for action: Motor resonance during the processing of human and robotic voices.

PubMed

Di Cesare, G; Errante, A; Marchi, M; Cuccio, V

2017-11-01

In this fMRI study we evaluated whether the auditory processing of action verbs pronounced by a human or a robotic voice in the imperative mood differently modulates the activation of the mirror neuron system (MNs). The study produced three results. First, the activation pattern found during listening to action verbs was very similar in both the robot and human conditions. Second, the processing of action verbs compared to abstract verbs determined the activation of the fronto-parietal circuit classically involved during the action goal understanding. Third, and most importantly, listening to action verbs compared to abstract verbs produced activation of the anterior part of the supramarginal gyrus (aSMG) regardless of the condition (human and robot) and in the absence of any object name. The supramarginal gyrus is a region considered to underpin hand-object interaction and associated to the processing of affordances. These results suggest that listening to action verbs may trigger the recruitment of motor representations characterizing affordances and action execution, coherently with the predictive nature of motor simulation that not only allows us to re-enact motor knowledge to understand others' actions but also prepares us for the actions we might need to carry out. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Studying Studies on Teacher Reflection and Action: An Appraisal of Research Contributions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marcos, Juan Jose Mena; Tillema, Harm

2006-01-01

For decades a substantial body of research on teacher reflection and action has been conducted. This research contains a wealth of information on teachers' thinking about their daily work in classrooms. But what do these studies tell us about the linkage between thought and action in actual teaching? How do they contribute to our understanding, or…

An Investigation of Preschool Teachers' Ways of Seeing Action Research Using Phenomenography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lam, Ho Cheong

2016-01-01

One of the purposes of introducing the use of action research in schools is to bring about educational change in policy and practice. To make this happen, it is of paramount importance to look into how teachers actually see action research. We, the writers of this paper, are teacher educators, teaching preschool teachers courses related to action…

Exploring the Connections between Action Research and Teacher Leadership: A Reflection on Teacher-Leader Research for Confronting New Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolkenhauer, Rachel; Hill, Ashley Pennypacker; Dana, Nancy Fichtman; Stukey, Marisa

2017-01-01

This reflective article examines the relationship between teachers' engagement in action research and their ability to lead within their schools. As part of "The New Educator's" special issue, "Developing an Inquiry Stance toward Instructional Improvement: Teacher-Leader Action Research," this article demonstrates the…

Participatory Action Research and Its Meanings: Vivencia, Praxis, Conscientization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glassman, Michael; Erdem, Gizem

2014-01-01

This article traces the development of the "second" and arguably more well-known "genre" of participatory action research (PAR). The article argues that the origins of PAR are highly distributed and cannot really be traced back to the ideas of a single person or even a single group of researchers. Instead, the development of…

Values-Based Self-Reflective Action Research for Promoting Gender Equality: Some Unexpected Lessons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Lesley

2014-01-01

The idea of using values as a means of guiding our research decisions and judging the validity of our claims of knowledge is well established in literature on the self-reflective genre of action research. Values in action research should always result in virtuous behaviour--to promote the general social good. However, ideas of what constitutes the…

The importance of sensory integration processes for action cascading

PubMed Central

Gohil, Krutika; Stock, Ann-Kathrin; Beste, Christian

2015-01-01

Dual tasking or action cascading is essential in everyday life and often investigated using tasks presenting stimuli in different sensory modalities. Findings obtained with multimodal tasks are often broadly generalized, but until today, it has remained unclear whether multimodal integration affects performance in action cascading or the underlying neurophysiology. To bridge this gap, we asked healthy young adults to complete a stop-change paradigm which presented different stimuli in either one or two modalities while recording behavioral and neurophysiological data. Bimodal stimulus presentation prolonged response times and affected bottom-up and top-down guided attentional processes as reflected by the P1 and N1, respectively. However, the most important effect was the modulation of response selection processes reflected by the P3 suggesting that a potentially different way of forming task goals operates during action cascading in bimodal vs. unimodal tasks. When two modalities are involved, separate task goals need to be formed while a conjoint task goal may be generated when all stimuli are presented in the same modality. On a systems level, these processes seem to be related to the modulation of activity in fronto-polar regions (BA10) as well as Broca's area (BA44). PMID:25820681

The Union RAP: Industry-Wide Research-Action Projects to Win Health and Safety Improvements

PubMed Central

McQuiston, Thomas H.; Lippin, Tobi Mae; Anderson, Leeann G.; Beach, M. Josie; Frederick, James; Seymour, Thomas A.

2009-01-01

Unions are ripe to engage in community-based participatory research (CBPR). We briefly profile 3 United Steelworker CBPR projects aimed at uncovering often-undocumented, industry-wide health and safety conditions in which US industrial workers toil. The results are to be used to advocate improvements at workplace, industry, and national policy levels. We offer details of our CBPR approach (Research-Action Project [RAP]) that engages workers and others in all research stages. Elements of RAPs include strategically constructed teams with knowledge of the industry and health and safety and with skills in research, participatory facilitation, and training; reciprocal training on these knowledge and skill areas; iterative processes of large and small group work; use of technology; and facilitator-developed tools and intermediate products. PMID:19890145

Knowledge and Transformative Social Action: The Encounter of Selected Traditions of Participatory (Action) Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Streck, Danilo Romeu

2014-01-01

The argument in this paper is that action and participatory research developed within the context of social and political movements aimed at promoting democratic relationships and institutions represents a methodological strategy for deconstructing and reconstructing the hegemonic perspective of knowledge and knowledge production. After a brief…

Practitioner Action Research on Writing Center Tutor Training: Critical Discourse Analysis of Reflections on Video-Recorded Sessions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pigliacelli, Mary

2017-01-01

Training writing center tutors to work collaboratively with students on their writing is a complex and challenging process. This practitioner action research uses critical discourse analysis (Gee, 2014a) to interrogate tutors' understandings of their work, as expressed in their written reflections on video-recorded tutoring sessions, to facilitate…

Emotions and Reflexivity in Feminised Education Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burman, Erica

2006-01-01

The paper addresses contemporary relations between emotions, gender and feminist action research. Starting from analysis of the increasing emotionalisation of everyday life, it explores the quasi-feminist--or what the author calls "feminised"--forms of incitement to reflexive confession that are increasingly gaining favour within professional and…

How to Ensure Ethicality of Action Research in the Classroom?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peltokorpi, Eeva-Liisa; Määttä, Kaarina; Uusiautti, Satu

2012-01-01

During the past few years, child research has increased both when it comes to various disciplines and various methods. The purpose of this article is to discuss those common, special ethical viewpoints that the researcher has to take into consideration when conducting action research in the classroom. The article is based on the…

Making science accessible through collaborative science teacher action research on feminist pedagogy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capobianco, Brenda M.

The underrepresentation of women and minorities in science is an extensively studied yet persistent concern of our society. Major reform movements in science education suggest that better teaching, higher standards, and sensitivity to student differences can overcome long-standing obstacles to participation among women and minorities. In response to these major reform movements, researchers have suggested teachers transform their goals, science content, and instructional practices to make science more attractive and inviting to all students, particularly young women and minorities (Barton, 1998; Brickhouse, 1994; Mayberry & Rees, 1999; Rodriguez, 1999; Roychoudhury, Tippins, & Nichols, 1995). One of the more dominant approaches currently heralded is the use of feminist pedagogy in science education. The purpose of this study was to examine the ways eleven middle and high school science teachers worked collaboratively to engage in systematic, self-critical inquiry of their own practice and join with other science teachers to engage in collaborative conversations in effort to transform their practice for a more equitable science education. Data were gathered via semi-structured interviews, whole group discussions, classroom observations, and review of supporting documents. Data analysis was based on grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1990) and open coding (Miles and Huberman, 1994). This study described the collective processes the science teachers and university researcher employed to facilitate regular collaborative action research meetings over the course of six months. Findings indicated that engaging in collaborative action research allowed teachers to gain new knowledge about feminist science teaching, generate a cluster of pedagogical possibilities for inclusive pedagogy, and enhance their understanding for science teaching. Additional findings indicated dilemmas teachers experienced including resistance to a feminist agenda and concerns for validity in action

Linking Participatory Action Research, Global Education, and Social Justice: Emerging Issues from Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaukko, Mervi; Fertig, Michael

2016-01-01

This article focuses on the practical, ontological, and epistemological similarities and differences between global education and participatory action research (PAR). The paper starts by presenting classical definitions of action research, highlighting their similarities with the ideas of global education. Considering the aim of global education…

Closing the Professional Development, Learning Outcome and Budget Proposal Gap at a Two-Year Eduational Institution: An Action Research Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mason, Eric L.

2014-01-01

Two-year community colleges are commissioned to close the assessment-outcome loop, which includes the research site for this study. This action research study, which utilized quantitative and qualitative data sets, was designed to close the assessments, learning outcomes and the professional development budget proposal process gap. The developed…

Whistle-blowing process in healthcare: From suspicion to action.

PubMed

Pohjanoksa, Johanna; Stolt, Minna; Suhonen, Riitta; Löyttyniemi, Eliisa; Leino-Kilpi, Helena

2017-01-01

Whistle-blowing is an ethical activity that tries to end wrongdoing. Wrongdoing in healthcare varies from inappropriate behaviour to illegal action. Whistle-blowing can have negative consequences for the whistle-blower, often in the form of bullying or retribution. Despite the wrongdoing and negative tone of whistle-blowing, there is limited literature exploring them in healthcare. The aim was to describe possible wrongdoing in Finnish healthcare and to examine whistle-blowing processes described on the basis of the existing literature in healthcare as perceived by healthcare professionals. The study was a cross-sectional descriptive survey. The data were collected using the electronic questionnaire Whistle-blowing in Health Care and analysed statistically. Participants and research context: A total of 397 Finnish healthcare professionals participated, 278 of whom had either suspected or observed wrongdoing in healthcare, which established the data for this article. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the University (20/2015). Permission to conduct the study was received according to the organisation's policies. Wrongdoing occurs in healthcare, as 96% of the participants had suspected and 94% had observed wrongdoing. Regarding the frequency, wrongdoing was suspected (57%) and observed (52%) more than once a month. Organisation-related wrongdoing was the most common type of wrongdoing (suspected 70%, observed 66%). In total, two whistle-blowing processes were confirmed in healthcare: (1) from suspicion to consequences occurred to 27%, and (2) from observation to consequences occurred to 37% of the participants. Wrongdoing occurs in healthcare quite frequently. Whistle-blowing processes were described based on the existing literature, but two separate processes were confirmed by the empirical data. More research is needed on wrongdoing and whistle-blowing on it in healthcare.

10 CFR 1021.211 - Interim actions: Limitations on actions during the NEPA process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... during the NEPA process. While DOE is preparing an EIS that is required under § 1021.300(a) of this part, DOE shall take no action concerning the proposal that is the subject of the EIS before issuing an ROD... which an EIS is being prepared shall not be categorically excluded under subpart D of these regulations...

Action Research Projects in Pre-Service Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clayton, Courtney; Meadows, George