Action Research means a method of inquiry that teachers undertake systematically as researchers of their own practice. Action research means an interactive inquiry process balancing problem-solving actions that are implemented within a collaborative context with the analysis of data-driven collaboration or research as a means of understanding underlying causes, hence enabling future predictions about organizational as well as personal change. The beginning of this process is generally an issue or situation that you want to change as a teacher. This ‘interesting problem’ is then turned into a ‘researchable question’ and then actions are developed to try out. The findings of other researchers can be used to help develop actions and interpret the consequences of the same.
As an action researcher (also known as a teacher-researcher) the teacher will generate the research. Enquiring into the practice will invariably lead to questioning the values and assumptions that are often overlooked over the course of normal school life. Assuming that the habit of inquiry is an ongoing commitment to developing and learning as a practitioner, it can be safely assumed that the responsibility for being the agent and source of change lies solely in the said practitioner.
The common feature that defines all Action Research projects is that it involves researchers planning for and reflecting on the outcomes of change in their practice within an ongoing cycle of planning, acting, and reflecting.
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