Assignment: Action Research Plan Guidelines
The plan should be written in a narrative format, using first person, clearly discussing the context of your classroom, your students, and your ideas and beliefs about teaching and learning.
The Introduction should present the phenomenon, problem, or question you are investigating in your study. Why is this phenomenon interesting, important, and relevant? Why do you care about it? You should address the purpose of your inquiry. You should also include how this idea fits into the larger world of teaching and learning--this is where you make connections to theory and other research, and include citations to support your story. Include some references to previous studies that are relevant to your inquiry.
The Methodology section describes how you will go about conducting the study. This includes identifying the sources of data and the methods of data collection. Be sure to include yourself as a data source and your own reflections as a data collection method. Describe what changes or innovations you are implementing. Design protocols for making observations, conducting interviews, holding focus groups, and so on. Also describe how you will address the rights of human subjects and obtain informed consent. Present a timeline for how the study will be carried out, typically within one semester.
The overall presentation of your plan should be communicated clearly and with detail. This includes appropriate attention to conventions of grammar and usage, sentence fluency, and organization.