Every teacher should know Action Research!

          As we learnt during the pandemic era, life is rarely static and predictable. A subset of life, hence education is a world that looks static but rarely is. Needs and trends keep changing in education and it would be futile to hold tight to one’s own way while being a part of children’s lives who are developing and ought to have seeds of progressivism sowed in their minds and hearts (Author Unknown, n.d.). We can face this on our experiences and stay subjective or we can continuously challenge our assumptions or be open to those who challenge us to not fall in the trap of being the ‘know all’. Applied research is the way to do this. This is a focused and intentional scientific process to test a theory or to find solution to a burning question. And the burning question for educators would be in the field of their classroom or school. The goal could to (a) find the best way of teaching to a group of kids, (b) find the ideal teacher training program for the staff, (c) explore building architecture for supportive spaces or (d) use internet effectively. The question can be any but the need comes out of the practical situation and the implementation also is looped back to the situation in hand.

          Once we finish our education and enter into teaching, the opportunities for training and critically reflective activities about our practice are few (Hine, 2013). The days roll by with one class after another and at times the perspective is lost. Understanding the principles of action research would give teachers and leaders a systematic and reflective way to approach the issues in the classroom or school. Action research is a systematic inquiry into improving the lives of the individuals in a classroom (Hine, 2013). With the intention to improve lives, if one keeps the perspective of inquiry, one can avoid falling into the pitfall of ‘I know it all’ and stay consistently on the track of the inquirer.

          One is exposed to so many theories in the course of one’s work in education. Which one is the best theory? An action researcher would never answer this question with a particular theory for he/she would know that each theory is applicable in a subjective set up. For example, collaborative learning may work in a certain group but be a failure in another. Keeping the approach of research, one stays in an observer’s mode taking each moment in the school as nothing more than another variable to observe, test and arrive at a conclusion that is ever progressive.



References

1. Author Unknown. (n.d.) Education trends. George Lucas Educational Foundation. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blogs/beat/education-trends

2. Hine, G. (2013) The importance of action research in teacher education programs. Retrieved from http://clt.curtin.edu.au/events/conferences/tlf/tlf2013/refereed/hine.html