Supporting/Facilitating Action Research

The mere fact that practitioners within a school are doing action research does not guarantee that students are benefitting.

In schools where pratitioners operate in isolation, it is possible that research questions are selected based entirely on personal interest. This may be engaging for the practitioner, but of questionable value in terms of real instructinal needs. In the opposite extreme schools or districts mandate the topics/practices to be examined. This does not constitute action research, nor is it likely to engage the practitioner.

Information technology in and of itself cannot assure that the right questions are being asked or that the findings will inform practice; however, it can most definitely facilitate good action research and increase the likelihood that it will make a difference for greater numbers of students.

Click the links above to see further explanation and examples.