How to Use Action Research in the Self-Renewing School

Learning to inquire together, to generate knowledge and action simultaneously-that's action research. This book provides practical guidance for conducting schoolwide action research to improve student learning. Emily Calhoun, a co-author of the ASCD book, The Self-Renewing School provides detailed instructions for conducting schoolwide action research. School staff should begin with a broad assessment of the health of the school or with the perception of a problem in one area, such as students' achievement in mathematics. Staff should obtain input from parents, community members, and students as the school begins the 5-step cycle of action research:

*First, seek agreement with others in your school community on what to study.

*Second, collect and share information about students' knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

*Third, search your own experiences and examine educational research for strategies and programs that will improve your students' math understanding.

*Fourth, collaborate to improve curriculum and instruction in math.

*Fifth, collect data on results, study effects, and begin the cycle all over again.

Calhoun provides background information on the origins of action research, examples of data-collection forms and results of data analysis, and answers to commonly asked questions.

Note: This product listing is for the Adobe Acrobat (PDF) version of the book.