Last Updated on 12/11/2021 by James Barron
The purpose of action research is to gather information in an attempt to solve a problem or make an improvement, which may have been highlighted as a result of self-evaluation or student feedback. While this is the core purpose, the motivations may be different, the motivation may be sincere and the goal to be improvement of student education, behaviour or morale, alternatively the motivation could be disingenuous, including aspects such as increasing chances of promotion, making teaching easier or promoting one’s own agenda.
Within education “action research supports practitioners to seek ways in which they can provide good quality education by transforming the quality of teaching related activities, thereby enhancing students’ learning.” (Koshy, 2010, p. 1)
The aim of action research is to be able to answer a question/hypothesis, such as will allowing mobile phone use within lessons increase the levels of referencing within assignments? Experienced teachers will be able to provide large quantities of anecdotal evidence, including aspects such as levels of engagement decreases and behaviour worsens, however, without performing an action research project, the question remains unanswered in any reliable form.
Koshy, V. (2010). Action Research for Improving Educational Practice: A Step-By-Step Guide. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
Author Profile
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My first experience of teaching was in 2016, when I was asked to
deliver a talk to a group of 16-year-olds on what it was like to start
your own business. I immediately knew I wanted to become more
involved in teaching but I didn’t know where to start as I had not
previously considered a career in education. A few weeks later I
agreed to teach a class of Chinese students from the Shanghai
Technical Institute of Electronics and Information, who had travelled
to the UK to learn English and Software Engineering, after that I was
hooked. Within the next few years, I taught hundreds of students of
many different nationalities, aged from 16 to 60, and from
levels 2 to 6. I focused my time teaching with Bath University and
Bath College for several more years until I felt a change was in order.
For the last few years, I have taught remotely with several private
training organisations, provided dedicated one to one coaching
sessions, provided consultancy on teaching and assessment practices
and written about my experiences as a teacher. I plan to continue
with my current activities for the foreseeable future but I’m always
open to new teaching experiences.
