Of the various steps in the action research cycle, which is the most important and why?

Knowledge is a product of the research work done tirelessly by different groups of researchers all over the globe. The application of active research is seen in the classroom when teachers teach a lesson and later feel that it could be further improved through some little change in the methodology. Action Research is a form of self-reflective enquiry which is done by the various parties involved in social and or educational situations in order to improve their social and educational practices, their understanding of these practices, and the situations in which these practices are carried out (Carr & Kemmis, 1986). Active research can therefore be defined as the reflective continued process of solving problems individually or as a group in order to address the issues facing the society or a given education system. Active research can therefore be used as a data collecting device when one is doing a project or dissertation work.

The action research cycle has four main stages. They include; planning, acting, observation or data collection and reflection or reviewing. In the planning stage, the main interest is to device a plan that will help solve the problem at hand (Kember, 2000). It even involves brainstorming amongst the team members, if they are working in a group, to come up with a work plan on how to solve a student’s problem. As this progress the teacher is to reflect in the action. Reflecting on one’s practice is the climax of an action researcher (Kember, 2000). Reflection involves self evaluation. In the process one can be able to evaluate their teaching and on the learning speeds and process of different students.

The teacher is meant to learn the learning abilities and inabilities of the students in a variety of ways. Observation tells more about a student. The work of the pupil, registers, wall charts, pupil files or records, notes from parents, lesson plans or notes, school brochures are some of the few document from which data can be collected. A variety of data needs to be collected to avoid skewness when giving out the final report about the research finding. This data collected is then correctly analyzed and reviewed over and over again to ensue the right solution is realized to help salvage the issue being tackled.

Of the four action research stages, the action is the critical stage. It can actually be termed as the beginning of the whole research process. It the stage of careful thought and meditations in those moments of solitude reveal a lot. The weaknesses and the strengths of both the teacher and the student are recognized and identified. It’s the stage of correlation of the teaching and learning process and self evaluation in relation to objective achievement; whether the student is progressing or stagnant. It is at this level that a researcher follows their natural curiosities and interests, making a note of them as they arise during the reflective process. Eventually, one is able to redefine the research questions, or choose the course of research that will be the most rewarding. The researcher immerses themselves in the whole process and takes ownership of it. It is actually the foundation of active research.

List of references;

Carr, W. & Kemmis, S. W. (1986). Becoming critical: education, knowledge, and action research. Wilfred Carr. Routledge

Kember.D. (2000). Action learning and action research: improving the quality of teaching and learning. David. Routledge