B. Improvement Science and Cycles of Innovation

 

The public schools in Austin Texas are using a research process recently promoted by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. This info chart provides a good description of the cyclic process of doing action research. Here is a short video in which Austin Principal John Roca from Menchaca school describes how action research is helping new teachers learn to teach:



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At their school, they use time as a marker of cycles. The teachers have 2-week check-in with their mentor teacher but this does not necessarily mean that the cycles are all two weeks long.

Visit improvement science in action and listen to Tony Bryk talk about it these "new" ideas. Test your understanding of action research.  Use this chart to see how improvement science compares to action research.  Improvement science is very clear on the value of cyclic, improvement. Their goal is not to get teachers to do a project but rather to start them on a process of continual innovation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note the cycles of improvement increase in scope. It starts with the action research of one principal and then the learning extends as more principals and more school engage in the same process. So the teachers, as well as the principals, are doing action research.

You can also learn more about improvement science by watching Tony Bryk's short video and then exploring the resources on the Carnegie Foundation site.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C. Explore Action Research Reports to Understand Cycles

 

 

 

 

All of the action research reports on the Center for Collaborative Action Research are done in cycles.  You can read about how these action researchers linked their work to improve their skills in cycles. 

 

In the first example, Matt Jones in his action research was exploring ways to use technology to increase his effectiveness as a swim coach.  His overall research question was: "How can  I use  social learning technology to increase swimmer performance?" 

 In cycle one, he used an underwater camera to videotape his swimmer's practice.  Then he moderated student discussions where they viewed and analyzed each other swim strokes in terms of body position,  the pull and the kick, as well as other features. In his second cycle, he wondered if it might increase effective learning if the interaction took place online.  As often happens in a first or second cycle, things did not advance as well as he had expected.  Reflecting on the process he noted that the structured analysis that was present in the group discussions was missing online.   In the final cycle, he introduced a method of analysis to help the students give more effective online feedback to their peers.   He does a good job of summarizing the study, the findings, and his learning in his final reflection.  But here we are only looking at the flow of the circles from one to the next. 
 

Jones, M.  (2013) Seeing Below the Surface, How Technology Can Make Coaching a Shared Experience, Center for Collaborative Action Research. (Accessed on Aug 15, 2018)

 

Anne Smith provides a different example.  The problem she identified was a number of students were sliding through schools with D's.  She reported on a series of three smaller action cycles which she groups in her first cycle.   She started with the idea of taking away the option of passing with a D. She wanted them to either doing well enough to earn a C or flunk with an F.  She had to check this with her principal and with parents. Once she had permission, she started the first cycle.   The other two activities evolved from the first.  The students wanted an option to redo their work.  And then they wanted to know what needed to change in order to get the grades they wanted.    The first part of each of the research questions specified her action and the second part specifies the outcomes that she planned to assess. 

 

Cycle One Research Questions:
If I remove the possibility of my students getting a D, will my students…

• aim for the higher grade because failure isn’t an option

• be more motivated to try harder

• need more assistance from me to help when they aren’t understanding

• be more engaged in their learning

• seek out extra assistance when they aren’t understanding

 

If I give my students no deadlines except for at the end of each 6-week grading period,

will the students…

• redo the assignment over and over until they demonstrate their understanding

• seek extra assistance to turn in their best work

• start redoing assignments less because they do it correctly the first time

• be more motivated to be successful

• become better writers with multiple revisions of their work

 

 If I have my students create their own rubric for assessing A, B, C, and F work, will the students…

• have a clear understanding of their grade

• have a clear understanding of the assessment

• redo assignments less because they know what is expected from them in order to achieve

• be more motivated to be successful

 

So while Ann Smith decided to combine these "subcycles" into cycle 1, she could have reported each of these as a separate cycle.  Action researchers can decide where to make these breaks.  Anne continued all three of these practices throughout the year, but the focus of her action research shifted as moved from cycle to cycle.  (Explore her action research report to see how this project evolved across two more cycles. 

 

The point of the examples is to show how the project evolves through refining and extending the cycles.  Looking through the set of action research reports just to see how cycles evolved will provide many different examples for how to move from one cycle to the next.