University of Bohol

City of Tagbilaran
Graduate School Deparment
Jimmy D. Bucar
Master of Arts in Psychology

Action Research: Pedagogy for

Instructional Improvement
Commentary
Mans desire for progress & self-actualization led him to his quest for
finding solutions in every problem he may encounter in his journey.
Problems and challenges are just anywhere and it is his duty to unlock these
mysteries. Throughout his journey his inquisitive mind helped him to solve
most of lifes enigmas and ignited him to climb in the ladder of
improvement. No wonder, with the advent of modern civilization, were
experiencing advancement of education that gave us the luxuries of life and
provide us better ways in finding solutions to different problems.
Nowadays, problem-solving through research has been the accepted
norm. Almost if not all human endeavors are based on prevailing research
methodologies. This is very true, especially in the academic world. Teachers
and academicians are encouraged to use Action Research to solve
significant puzzles in the classroom, school and even in the entire
educational system. As defined in the article, Action research is a
systematic way of pursuing action (change) and research (understanding)
both at the same time. It is done through cyclic process wherein similar
steps tend to recur, in a similar sequence 1. It is also described as emergent
process because it is growing and forward moving; iterative process,
since it is repetitive in nature; participative, since the clients and
informants are involved as partners, or at least active participants, in the
research process 2; and qualitative since it deals more often with language
than with numbers 3.

1. Quoted from: http://education.qld.gov.au/staff/development/performance/resources/readings/beginners-guide-action-research.pdf

2 & 3 Ibid.

In the teaching world, Action Research is a valuable tool that can be

used in helping educators to widen their horizon in dealing with their
learners. It gives them an avenue to solve their problems scientifically
which rules out bias and produces valid and reliable result. Teachers, who
decide to use actual research procedure, will surely learn how to formulate
focused questions, define terms, collect relevant data and analyze them. To
fully explain its importance in the academic setting, the writer of this article
gave four different scenarios that would somehow help us realize its
significance in solving peculiar issues found within or outside the fence of
school campuses.
The first example talks about a certain Juan who exhibited temper
tantrums every time the teacher gives the whole class something to work
on. This was very frustrating to the teacher because writing a referral for
Special Education takes several months and it would disrupt her time table.
In order to solve this problem, the teacher conducted a little research
project on Juan which brought her to the meat of the problem. First, she
asked a question: What upsets Juan?Next, she collected data to trace the
etiology of Juans emotional problem. Then, the data she collected were
analyzed. Suddenly, she came up with a sound finding: Juan erupted when
she passed out papers asking students to work on new concepts. After
which, was the Action Plan. She gently confronted Juan and found out her
finding was right. So, both of them agreed to work up a nice plan. The
teacher promised to Juan that she would give him fun paper to work on
every time she gives paper works on new concepts. The result was positive.
Juans emotional outburst diminished, until eventually his referral for SPED
was withdrawn by the teacher.
Moving outside the four walls of the classroom, Action Research is
also proven to solve problems in a larger situation. This is depicted in the
second example in the article. The story commenced in a certain high
school where issues centers on drop outs and the causal factor for this
are the teachers as stated in the research study published in the magazine.
The teacher who read the article investigated the issue by implementing an
action research process. Same with the first example, she started with the
formulation of question, followed by data collection, then data analysis.
After careful consideration on the presented data, she came up with a nice
finding: A significant number of students in both groups (At risk group and
Average group) felt overwhelmed by the social challenge of being relatively
anonymous in a large school setting. This finding then became a basis for
1. Quoted from: http://education.qld.gov.au/staff/development/performance/resources/readings/beginners-guide-action-research.pdf
2 & 3 Ibid.

her action plan. Together with the faculty, school counselor and school
principal, they concocted multiple plans to make the transition from
elementary to high school user friendly and later on additional surveys
were done to check their success in responding to the initial study.
Eventually, their study and plans were adopted by some high schools.
In the third and fourth example, Action research is also applied in
curriculum enrichment. Two teachers were conducting an experimental
study on the effectiveness of writing down the thought process in solving
math problems. The result of the study conducted in both Elementary and
High School proved that it has a significant effect on the subjects. It was
proven, therefore, that the tested method contributes to the subjects
intellectual progress. Another curriculum issue resolved is depicted in the
last example of this article. The teacher was a first year primary teacher
who is very confident on her Spelling Program but to her great dismay,
when she conducted a comprehensive spelling test to her pupils, most of
them failed. However, it turned out that her program broadened the pupils
vocabulary in their sentences and their stories which was a good result.
To sum it up, Action Research is indeed a useful tool in addressing
individual and group related concerns in the school setting. It can be used
to probe behavioral issues among learners in the classroom and even in the
entire school campus. Furthermore, it can also be used in curriculum
improvement by considering the four dimensions of educational psychology,
namely: Teacher, Learner, Subject Matter and Teaching Strategy.

1. Quoted from: http://education.qld.gov.au/staff/development/performance/resources/readings/beginners-guide-action-research.pdf

2 & 3 Ibid.