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Teachers investigate their workAction research is one of the most popular methods of professional developmentfor teachers. It provides a practical way for teachers to uncover some of thecomplexities of the teaching process and thereby to improve the quality of theirpupils’ learning.Teachers Investigate their Work introduces the methods and concepts of actionresearch through examples drawn from studies carried out by teachers. The bookis arranged as a handbook with numerous subheadings for easy reference and 41practical methods and strategies to put into action, some of them flagged assuitable ‘starters’. Throughout the book, the authors draw on their internationalpractical experience of action research, working in close collaboration withteachers.Teachers Investigate their Work is an essential guide for teachers, senior staffand co-ordinators of teacher professional development who are interested ininvestigating their own practice in order to improve it.Herbert Altrichter is Professor of Business Education and PersonalDevelopment at the University of Innsbruck. Peter Posch is Professor ofCurriculum Studies at the University of Klagenfurt. Bridget Somekh is Lecturerat the Centre for Applied Research in Education at the University of East Angliaand Co-ordinator of the Classroom Action Research Network.
Routledge series in investigating schoolingEmerging as a TeacherRobert V.Bullough Jnr., J.Gary Knowles and Nedra A.CrowStudying Teachers’ LivesEdited by Ivor F.GoodsonTeachers’ Voices for School ChangeA.Gitlin, K.Bringhurst, M.Burns, V.Cooley, B.Myers, K.Price,R.Russell, P.Tiess
Teachers investigate their workAn introduction to the methods ofaction researchHerbert Altrichter, Peter Posch and BridgetSomekhLondon and New York
First published in 1993by Routledge11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EESimultaneously published in the USA and Canadaby Routledge29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001Reprinted 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor& Francis GroupThis edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’scollection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” 1993Herbert Altrichter, Peter Posch and Bridget SomekhAll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted orreproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafterinvented, including photocopying and recording, or in anyinformation storage or retrieval system, without permission inwriting from the publishers.British Library Cataloguing in Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British LibraryLibrary of Congress Cataloguing in Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of CongressISBN 0-203-97897-8 Master e-book ISBNISBN 0-415-09356-2 (hbk)ISBN 0-415-09357-0 (pbk)
ContentsList of methods and strategies1234viiiList of figuresxAcknowledgementsxiIntroduction: What will you find in this book?1The purposes of action research4Features that distinguish action research5Stages of action research6Structure and use of this book7The research diary: companion to the researchprocess11Why diaries are useful for research11Some suggestions for writing research diaries13An example taken from a research diary16Different kinds of diary entries19Getting started27Finding a starting point for your own research33What do we mean by ‘starting points for research’?33Finding starting points37Approaches to choosing a starting point39Clarifying the starting point of research45From the ‘first impression’45Activating additional knowledge en route48Towards elaborating practical theories51
vi5678Suggested methods for clarifying the starting point ofresearch57Conversations58Using diagrams61Finding patterns in experience65Data collection69Gaining experience and collecting data69Criteria for judging the quality of action research74Collecting existing data80Observing and documenting situations83Interviewing100The written survey108Collecting data as part of classroom work112A combined method: triangulation113Data analysis117Making sense of data117Constructive methods of data analysis120Critical methods of data analysis128Complex methods of data analysis131Developing action strategies and putting them intopractice151Practical action as an integral part of research151What are action strategies?154How can I find a variety of suitable action strategies?157How can I choose which action strategy to put intopractice from therange of available alternatives?159How can I plan concrete steps to make sure I feelcomfortable with myaction strategy?165How can I check the results of action strategies andrecord theexperiences I have gained?167Making teachers’ knowledge public173Why is it important to make teachers’ knowledge public?173
viiDisseminating teachers’ knowledge: what, how, towhom?176Writing reports to disseminate teachers’ knowledge180Further ideas about writing188Assorted tool-box for producing written reports190Behind the scenes: a theoretical foundation foraction research199Action type 1:tacit knowing-in-action201Action type 2:reflection-in-action202Action type 3:reflection-on-action203The importance of teachers’ action research204References207Index2159
Methods and M34M35M36M37Research diary (1st Starter)Exercise to warm up your research muscles (2nd Starter)In-depth reflectionIndividual brainstorming: finding starting points (3rd Starter)Giving consideration to several starting pointsChoosing a starting point (4th Starter)Analytic discourse in a groupConversation with a critical friendGraphical reconstructions (5th Starter)A story from cardsFrom categories to hypothesesThe ladder of inferenceMaking a dossierRecording and making use of cluesGetting tuned into doing observationsAnecdotesSelective observation using topic cardsObservation profilesNotes on lesson observationsShadow studyPartial transcription of recordingsUsing abbreviations and annotations when transcribingFirst attempts at interviewing‘Standard questions’ for the analysis of classroomsMaking data summariesDeveloping categories and coding dataWriting theoretical notesQuantificationShaping metaphorsTesting the findingsCommunicative validationIndividual brainstormingCross-checking alternative action strategiesNominal Group TechniqueTime planPotential audiences for action research reportsProducing cross-case analyses as a 5106121121124124125129131159160161167176184
ixM38 What does writing mean to you?M39 Learning to be flexible in writingM40 From interview to textual collage189190196
Figures12345678910111213Stages of action research processesStructure of the bookGraphical reconstructionThe ladder of inferenceObservation profileThe three corners of triangulationThe analytic processExample of inductive codingDevelopment of the T-P-T patternExcerpt from a graphical reconstruction—‘Course on statistics’Time planExamples of classroom improvementsThe circle of action and reflection68647289114119123137155167169205
AcknowledgementsA considerable portion of this book was first published in German: HerbertAltrichter and Peter Posch (1990) Lehrer erforschen ihren Unterricht, BadHeilbrunn/OBB: Klinkhardt. Chapters 1 and 9 have been substantially rewrittenand throughout the book many examples have been changed from Austrianschools to British schools. The authors and publisher thank Oxford UniversityPress for permission to reproduce the poem My Old Cat by Hal Summers onpage 94.
xii
Chapter 1Introduction:What will you find in this book?The reader is just opening this book, slowly reading the first lines and starting tobuild up an impression of what may be contained in the following pages. Howcan we give this reader an idea of the book’s importance for us, and what hasdriven us to devote energy to writing it over a long period of time (which wecould easily have spent on easier jobs)? These are the wistful thoughts of manyauthors sitting in front of a manuscript which has achieved a certain status—or atleast size—through being written, rewritten and finally polished. It is now to begiven the last finishing touch: the introduction, which will introduce some keyideas and whet the reader’s appetite to read on.We have decided to tackle the introduction in a particular way. We want torecount some personal experiences that convinced us of the importance of thisapproach to research: specifically, research conducted by teachers in order todevelop their own practice. Maybe, like us at the time, you will wish to learnmore. If so, it is the purpose of this book to satisfy your curiosity.In the early 1980s we were all three strongly influenced by the work of theTeacher-Pupil Interaction and the Quality of Learning Project (TIQL) in whichteacher-researchers investigated what it means to understand a subject or a topicand how pupils’ understanding can best be developed through classroom work(see Ebbutt and Elliott 1985). They investigated this question in their ownclassrooms, shared their experiences, tried to identify and explain common andcontradictory findings, developed and experimented with new teaching strategies,and wrote case studies of their work. Although we had different connections withthe project—as a project teacher (Bridget Somekh) and as interested observers(Herbert Altrichter and Peter Posch)—for all three of us it was an importantlandmark in our professional development. The teachers’ research provided uswith new insights into the process of teaching and learning: it paid much closerattention to details and practicalities than other kinds of research; and it probedthe differences between stated aims and actual practice in a way that integratedteaching with research. To show you what we mean, there follow someexamples.The first example focuses on Carol Jones (1986), teacher of a mixed-age classof 7 to 9 year olds. She investigated her pupils’ understanding of their schoolwork. She kept notes of what the children did each day, the tasks she set, andanything special about the way in which they carried them out. She soon realised
2 TEACHERS INVESTIGATE THEIR WORKthat the children understood the tasks in terms of their previous expectations, andhad developed an idea of the sort of work she, as their teacher, would beexpecting. Her research then focused on, ‘the extent to which children operateaccording to criteria of their own, rather than according to the intention of theteacher’. She enlisted the help of an outsider who visited her classroom andinterviewed the children. By transcribing and analysing these interviews, shefound that the children’s criteria for judging the value and importance of theirwork were, indeed, different from hers. For example, when they were asked toobserve puss moth caterpillars, and make drawings and notes of what they saw,they made a clear distinction between writing and drawing, ‘holding writing tobe a more “worthwhile”, or higher status task, than drawing’. In addition,because they were used to being given cards to help with spelling, one child hadnot understood that the work card gave instructions about how to observe thecaterpillars, and instead said, ‘it just tells you the spellings’. These datasuggested that the children were not engaging in the kind of observation andinterpretation that Carol had intended, but instead had turned the work into ‘aroutine writing task’. She also found that the children did not value working incollaboration as she did, but instead used the criterion of ‘liking to have yourown ideas’ and rejected sharing ideas, calling this ‘copying’.Another teacher, Nell Marshall (1986), carried out research into the way inwhich 13–16 year old pupils in her school prepared for written examinations.She chose this topic because she had begun to suspect that examinations were animportant incentive for the pupils’ learning, but also had an impact upon the natureof their learning. She began by administering a questionnaire during the weekbefore the examinations. She found that over two-thirds of the pupils had notbegun ‘revising’ until the last two or three weeks. In part this seemed to bebecause they had not completed the course and were still being given ‘new’ workand no specified homework time for revision, but in part it seemed to be becausethey saw revision as a rote learning exercise and felt it was best left to the lastminute—as one pupil put it: ‘it is impossible to revise three weeks in advanceand be expected to remember it’. On the basis of these preliminary data, Nellbegan to focus her research on the quality of pupils’ understanding when theywere ‘revising’. She found that most pupils had very little idea about how torevise effectively. They ended to ‘read through the notes’ without any plannedstructure. If they had found difficulty understanding the work when it wasoriginally taught, many pupils were unable to understand it any better at revisiontime, when they had nowhere to turn for help. In some cases this made revising,‘so daunting that many do not begin’.In addition to developing their own teaching, some of the TIQL teachersworked in schools where a number of other colleagues were also engaging inresearch. Thus, it was possible to discuss what they were doing and to begin todevelop new shared understandings. This kind of work can be a valuableprofessional development experience for many individual teachers, but in someschools, with the support of a member of senior management, teachersundertaking research can also make a significant impact on the development of
INTRODUCTION 3the curriculum as a whole. For example, in a large secondary school, BrianWakeman, one of the deputy heads, co-ordinated a group of teachers who allcarried out research into aspects of their pupils’ understanding and in this waybuilt up a picture of the kind of changes which it might be helpful for the staff asa whole to implement (Wakeman et al. 1985).Looking back after a number of years, it is easy to explain the deep impressionthe TIQL Project made on us from our different points of view.For Herbert and Peter, as visitors from Austria with experience in educationalresearch and teacher education, it was important and unusual that these teachersnot only saw themselves as ‘users of knowledge produced by professionalresearchers’ but also did research themselves—producing knowledge about theirprofessional problems and substantially improving their practice. In theirdevelopmental work, the teachers sometimes made use of external support (forexample, inservice training courses and external consultancy from the projectteam) but, on the whole, retained the initiative in the work themselves.For Bridget, it was an opportunity to stand back after ten years’ experience asa teacher and analyse the complexities of teacher-pupil interactions and theirimpact on children’s learning. For the first time she described, and theorisedabout, her professional practice and found that others were interested. Sherealised that as a teacher she had insights into classroom processes which wereof value in developing educational knowledge.It was impressive that the TIQL teachers were reflecting on their experiencesand self-confidently discussing them in public, thus suc-cessfully overcoming thenotorious disregard for teachers’ knowledge and the tradition of teacher‘privatism’.These practitioners understood themselves as ‘teacher-researchers’ and theyare not alone. Through the Classroom Action Research Network,1 and contactswith a large number of schools, in-service institutions and universities, we havemet enough individuals and teams working in a comparable way to understand whysome people talk about an action research ‘movement’. This book is rooted in theBritish tradition of action research and in recent developments in Austria thatbuild on this tradition. (For an account of the German tradition of action research,and suggested reasons why recent work in Austria links more closely with theEnglish tradition, see Altrichter and Gstettner 1992.) This book attempts tocollect and present in concise form the various ideas, methods and strategies forresearch that have been developed by British and Austrian action-researchers inrecent years—in particular, in the fields of in-service training of teachers (Posch1986b; Somekh 1991a), initial teacher education (Altrichter 1988), staffdevelopment in higher education (Altrichter 1986b), curriculum innovation(Somekh 1991b; Somekh and Davies 1991) and environmental education (Posch1990; OECD 1991).In this book we draw exclusively upon examples of action research carried outby teachers because this is the field of our personal experience. However, anumber of individuals and groups from other professional fields are also activelyinvolved. For example, there is a tradition of action research in industrial and social
4 TEACHERS INVESTIGATE THEIR WORKsettings, police training and nursing. We are therefore confident that many of themethodological and strategic considerations presented in this book are relevantfor research carried out by practitioners from fields other than schools.THE PURPOSES OF ACTION RESEARCHThe shortest and most straightforward definition of action research is given byJohn Elliott (1991:69), whose work has been influential in this ‘movement’:action research is ‘the study of a social situation with a view to improving thequality ofs action within it’. This simple definition directs attention to one of themost essential motives for doing action research. It lies in the will to improve thequality of teaching and learning as well as the conditions under which teachersand students work in schools. Action research is intended to support teachers,and groups of teachers, in coping with the challenges and problems of practiceand carrying through innovations in a reflective way. Experience with actionresearch, so far, has shown that teachers are able to do this successfully and canachieve remarkable results when given opportunities and support.These teachers have not only carried out development work for their schoolsbut have also broadened their knowledge and their professional competency.They have passed on this knowledge to colleagues, students, parents and, inwritten form, also to the wider public. They have shown that teachers can makean important contribution to the knowledge base of their profession. And theyhave demonstrated that they can engage successfully with professional problemswithout recourse to external direction. They did not restrict their work toadopting a set of practical routines, but acted as professionals precisely indeveloping new theories about their practice, including a critique of itseducational and social contexts.These teachers are ‘normal’ teachers, who reflect on their practice tostrengthen and develop its positive features. They are not prepared to acceptblindly the problems they face from day to day, but instead they reflect uponthem and search for solutions and improvements. They are committed to buildingon their strengths and to overcoming their weaknesses. They wish to experimentwith new ideas and strategies, rather than letting their practice petrify.Through our book we aim to encourage teachers to investigate those aspects oftheir practice that they want to improve and develop in their classroom work, andto investigate also their relationships with students, colleagues, parents, externalgroups and managers/administrators. We want to provide a range of methodswhich can help them to gain a more comprehensive view of their situation, todevelop action strategies to bring about improvement, and to evaluate the1 CARN is an international network linking all those interested in action research throughregular confe
practical experience of action research, working in close collaboration with teachers. Teachers Investigate their Work is an essential guide for teachers, senior staff and co-ordinators of teacher professional development who are interested in
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