Department of Education Regional Office No.
VIII (Eastern Visayas)
Policy, Planning and Research Division
REGIONAL ACTION RESEARCH WRITING WORKSHOP FOR TEACHERS
24-26 May 2016 at Cirilo Roy Montejo Night High School, Tacloban City
COURSE OUTLINE
(FACILITATOR’S GUIDE)
The following concepts are taken from the PRD-PS Action-Research Presentation and
DepEd Order No. 43, s. 2015. These are broad statements which may be discussed further in
details using other materials. Each topic must include the following management of learning
process observation and facilitation skills:
1. Climate building
2. Introduction / Review
3. Lecture / Discussion of Topic
4. Group Activity
5. Analysis of Outputs
6. Abstraction / Generalization
7. Individual Application (Writing their own Action Research parts)
8. Concluding Activity
I. Problem Sensing and Concept Development (3 hours)
(Marissa, Mau, and Robert)
Preliminary/Scoping/Reconnaisance Phase of Action Reseach
Ask “what is the situation at present?”
Gather information about the current state of things
Name issues and problems
Try to understand these issues
Context and Rationale – includes the description and context of the study and the reason for
conducting it; how the results could be used in action planning.
Research Questions – identifies the problem/s which will be addressed by the research in terms
of investigating or testing an idea; trying out solutions to a problem; creating a new procedure
or system; explaining a phenomenon; or a combination of any of these
Formulating Action Research Questions
Questions are at the heart of an inquiry
Focus, establish your action research territory
Identify a specific problem, a need
Show that the action research is relevant, interesting, problematic
Formulate clearly, articulate well
Encapsulate the action research undertaking
Sample Research Questions:
Can / does … increase …?
Can / does … reduce …?
Can / does … speed up …?
Review of Related Literature – focuses on key issues which underlie the action research; general
conclusions about related action research papers; what research still needs to be done; and what
knowledge gaps remain that the study will aim to fill.
Gathering and Synthesizing Literature
Frame the action research
Research does not come out of a vacuum
You are not the first one to do research on this
Go up – explore the bigger idea
Go down – explore specific approaches / techniques
Summarize literature
Some Useful Online Libraries
Elsevier (journals.elsevier.com)
Wiley (onlinelibrary.wiley.com)
Taylor and Francis (tandfonline.com)
Scope and Limitation – coverage of the research in terms of location, time, respondents, etc.;
inherent design or methodology parameters that can restrict the scope of the research findings
and are outside the control of the researcher.
II. Designing Methods and Statistics (4 hours)
(Josemilo, Milaner, Nilo)
Action Phase of the Action Research
Ask: “what changes can I try out?”
Come up with interventions and strategies that are likely to address issues or solve
problems
Implement these interventions / strategies
Monitor and collect evidences of change / improvement
The Action Research Design
Anchored on the action research questions
A clear “action” to be tried out in the research (an innovation, a new procedure or
system, a hypothesized solution)
Clearly identified research participants
Clearly planned timeframe (e.g. before and after, with and without)
The Action Research Participants
Who are your target research participants?
How many are they?
What sampling scheme will you use?
Sampling – details should be provided about who will participate in the research; number of
people and the characteristics of those who will participate in the research; and how will the
sample be selected or recruited.
Data Collection – the various instruments and procedures for data collection should be outlined
and extensively discussed.
Gathering Data
Testing (pretest-posttest)
Surveys
Observations
Interviews
Document review / analysis
Research Instruments
Cognitive tests
Affective scales
Observation protocols (to be discussed in topic V)
Interview schedules / guides
Checklists
Validity and Reliability
Encoding data
Quantitative vs. Qualitative
Use of spreadsheet or SPSS
Coding
Analyzing Data
Statistical methods
Comparing same group, measured different times
Comparing two groups, measured at the same time
Comparing more than two groups
Plan for Data Analysis – indicates how the data will be analyzed and reported; it should specify
the qualitative and/or quantitative methods that will be used in analyzing the data gathered for
the research.
III. Interpretation and Discussion of Results (1 hour)
(Josemilo, Milaner, Nilo)
Interpreting Findings
Congruent to research questions
Stay true to your gathered data
Admit delimitations, do not go beyond research participants, sample size, time frame,
methods chosen and research instruments
Some research questions remain unanswered
Evaluation Phase of Action Research
Ask: “did the interventions/strategies work?”
Explain why you think so
If not, propose explanations for the failure
Generate recommendations
Generating recommendations
Stick to what your action research is saying
Point out what worked and what did not work
Be specific, avoid blanket statements
Show further possibilities, but remain realistic
Ask: “what will I implement in my own practice?”
IV. Writing Other Parts (2 hours)
(Marissa, Mau, and Robert)
Workplan – contains the research timelines; when will the project begin and how long will it take
for it to be completed; include time estimates for each step in the research process (e.g. 5 days,
2 weeks)
Cost Estimates – includes detailed research cost, broken down per research task, activity and/or
deliverable; it can be further grouped by tranche for easier reference of the evaluation
committee. (Discuss Deliverables and Tranches in BERF)
Action Plan – indicate how the results of the action research will be utilized; how will the findings
be implemented in the classroom; how will the findings be shared to other teachers/schools
with different teaching environment; how will the findings be implemented to other
students/schools with different learning environment.
List of Reference – provide in text of work and reference list. Use APA 6th ed.
V. Observing Ethics in Conducting Classroom-based Action Research (1 hour)
(Helen, Sonia and Nenitabeth)
Ethical Issues – identification of ethical concerns that could possibly emanate from the conduct
of the research, and discussion on how to prevent these from taking place.
Some Ethical Procedures in Research
Inform participants of the nature of the action research, and what is expected of them
Obtain informed consent (verbal or written) from participants
Respecting a participant’s right to refuse to participate, or to withdraw without penalty
Identified, potentially identifiable, and deidentified/anonymized
Secure confidentiality of research data and storage
Child Protection Policy Commitments (DO 40, s2012)
Treat children with respect regardless of race, color, gender, language, religion, political
or other opinion, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status
Not use language or behavior towards children that is inappropriate, harassing, abusive,
sexually provocative, demeaning or culturally inappropriate
Whenever possible, ensure that another adult is present when working in the proximity
of children
Ensure file labels or text descriptions do not reveal identifying information about a child
when sending images electronically or publishing images in any form
Ensure images are honest representations of the context and the facts
On Photographs and Videos
Before photographing or filming a child, obtain consent from a parent of the child,
guardian, or teacher
Explain how the photograph or video will be used
Take photographs from behind or the side, not of children’s faces
Ensure that photographs and videos present children in a dignified and respectful
manner
Children should be adequately clothed, and not be in poses that could be seen as
sexually suggestive
VI. Becoming Effective on Oral or Poster Presentation (1 hour)
(Helen, Sonia and Neneth)
https://www.asp.org/education/EffectivePresentations.pdf
Prepared by Mark Gallano for the Action Research Writing Workshop for Teachers
