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This professional development
opportunity, funded by the Southeast Regional Personnel Development Partnership,
is about empowering teachers to improve student learning through a continuous
cyclical process called action research. Participants will be supported through
the process of reflecting upon their teaching practice, identifying a need in
their classroom, collecting data and making instructional decisions based upon
that data, implementing a plan of action, and sharing results with others.
Special education teachers are
eligible to apply for funding of up to $400 for an action research project.
The action research project will be implemented in the teacher’s school, by the
teacher, with students. Teachers that are funded are required to attend a
one day workshop to develop their action research plan. (The workshop for
the 2006/2007 school year was held in Fall '06). For further information,
contact: Dr. Jim Forgan at jforgan@fau.edu
or you may mail in your questions to: Dr. Jim Forgan; 5353 Parkside Drive,
Jupiter, FL 33458
Print the three page application
HERE
(requires Adobe Reader).
For questions, email Dr. Jim Forgan (jforgan@fau.edu)
or Mrs. Sharon Bittle (BittleS@stlucie.k12.fl.us).
The last Action Research Workshop
was taught
in Fall '06 by Mrs. Sharon Bittle on the PSL
Campus. For directions to the St.
Lucie campus, click here:
http://www.fau.edu/psl/map-community.html
Introduction
Action Research Defined
Benefits of Action
Research
Introduction
The Southeastern Regional Personnel Development Partnership,
(SR-PDP) is dedicated to recruiting, retaining, and supporting
teachers of students with disabilities. The purposes of the action
research project are to help provide funding for special education
teachers to pursue special projects and to help teachers improve
their diagnostic and reflective thinking.
This is a wonderful opportunity for professional growth and
to enhance outcomes for students with disabilities.
We encourage you to apply and look forward to receiving your
application.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact
your SR-PDP district representative listed in the action research
application.
Sample topics for Action Research Projects may include:
¨
Strategies for
violence
¨
Social skills
¨
Parent
conferencing/involvement
¨
Transition activities
¨
Alternatives to
suspension
¨
Phonological awareness
¨
Balanced curriculum
Action Research Defined
Action research is a form of research that is conducted by
practitioners to improve practices in educational settings. Although
action research is generally identified with qualitative approaches,
action research incorporates both qualitative and quantitative
approaches. Action research differs with traditional research in
three ways:
-
Action
research is often less sophisticated
than traditional methods that
incorporate, for example, complicated
statistical techniques.
-
Action research is utilized primarily by
practitioners to solve specific
problems.
-
Findings from action research are often
not generalizable to other groups and
situations.
Benefits of Action Research
Although some educators think
that research is impractical, irrelevant, and simply not feasible
for practitioners given the exigencies and pressures of working in a
school, research, properly used, can have immeasurable benefits, for
it
-
Creates a systemwide mindset for school
improvement-a professional problem-solving ethos.
-
Enhances
decision making-greater feelings of competence in solving
problems and making instructional decisions. In other words,
action research provides for an intelligent way of making
decisions.
-
Promotes reflection and self-assessment.
-
Instills a commitment to continuous
improvement.
-
Creates a more positive school climate in
which teaching and learning are foremost concerns.
-
Impacts directly on practice.
-
Empowers those who participate in the process.
Educational leaders who undertake action research may no longer,
for instance, uncritically accept theories, innovations, and
programs at face value.
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