Provide a response to each post below: Each response must be at 150 words.
1. Action research is a methodology that places a strong emphasis on working together to identify issues, create solutions, and carry out changes with participants (What Is Action Research, 2024). This image illustrates the iterative process of action research. It divides this process into four main stages: planning, acting, observing, and reflecting.
In the Planning stage, the focus is on identifying the issue or area for improvement. This involves gathering relevant data, allocating resources, and developing action plans to address the identified problems. Key activities include assessing needs, informing stakeholders, and establishing the necessary procedures to initiate the research.
The Acting stage involves implementing the proposed solutions, collecting data on their effectiveness, and continuously questioning and adjusting the strategy based on feedback. Activities include testing interventions, gathering information, and analyzing findings to refine the action plan. This phase is crucial for testing theories and gaining insights into what works and what doesn’t.
In the Observing stage, attention shifts to monitoring and evaluating the actions’ results. After analyzing the data, findings are reported and shared with relevant parties. Tasks include disseminating insights, reporting discoveries, and analyzing results. Observation provides an understanding of the impact of activities, highlighting areas for improvement and showcasing achievements.
The Reflecting stage focuses on assessing the overall effectiveness of the interventions. This involves integrating successful strategies into routine practice and revising the original plan based on the observed outcomes. Activities include reviewing the action plan for continuous improvement, implementing best practices, and evaluating results. Reflection offers guidance, ensuring that each iteration builds on previous knowledge to develop more effective solutions.
The diagram’s cyclical shape visually reinforces the ongoing, iterative nature of action research. Clear tasks and distinct boundaries make the process easy to follow and understand. Placing “Action Research” at the center highlights the interconnectedness of each step, emphasizing that each phase is essential and influences the others.
2. The components include Diagnosing, Action Planning, Taking Action, Evaluating, and Specifying Learning. Each phase plays an essential role, collectively ensuring a coherent and efficient method to address issues and implement solutions.
Diagnosing: Identifying or Defining a Problem
This initial phase is important as it sets the groundwork for the entire process. Diagnosing involves a thorough examination to clearly identify and define the problem at hand. This step requires critical thinking and observation to pinpoint the core issue, distinguishing it from its symptoms. Visual representations of this stage might include flowcharts, cause-and-effect diagrams, or detailed problem statements. These tools help in breaking down complex problems into more manageable components, facilitating a comprehensive understanding.
Action Planning: Considering Alternative Courses of Action
Once the problem is diagnosed, the next step is to view various strategies for resolution. Action Planning includes brainstorming and evaluating different approaches, considering their feasibility and potential impact.
Taking Action: Selecting a Course of Action
In this phase, the most acceptable course of action is chosen and implemented. This step is important as it transitions from theoretical planning to practical execution. Visual tools are often used to outline the steps required, assign responsibilities, and monitor progress. These visuals make sure that the action plan is organized and adjusted as necessary, facilitating a smooth implementation process.
Evaluating: Studying the Consequences of an Action
Post-implementation, it is essential to assess the outcomes of the action taken. Evaluating involves a detailed analysis of the results, determining whether the objectives have been achieved, and identifying any unexpected consequences.
Specifying Learning: Identifying General Findings
The final component focuses on combining the insights gained from the process. Specifying Learning involves documenting the general findings, lessons learned, and best practices that can inform future attempts. Visual representations such as summary reports, lesson learned databases and knowledge-sharing platforms are instrumental in this stage. These tools facilitate the spreading of knowledge, ensuring that valuable experiences are captured and leveraged for continuous improvement.
3. Stringer and Aragon’s model, shown above, has similarities and noticeable differences from the original model I shared in Discussion Post One. The model designed by Stringer is a simplified representation and contains a three-step process over a five-step process. It is designed with the idea of circles, which help emphasize a continuous, iterative process that promotes ongoing learning and improvement. It is also intended to delineate steps, each requiring planning, taking action, and reflecting on the results to help improve each process step. Both models are also systematically used to improve practices or solve problems through a structured process. Besides the apparent differences in the model’s design, the first model from Discussion Post One is more detailed and has five clear phases, whereas the AR model from Stringer and Aragon simplifies it further into the three steps of planning, doing, and studying. The design of the figure above does not have a central focus on Action Research and how it works with the surrounding steps, which is helpful because it emphasizes the interconnectedness of all phases around the central theme of action research. I prefer the first model as it is more visually accessible to track. However, both models are missing things that could keep the process from moving in a complete circle. Neither model alludes to challenges with stakeholders or pauses for ethical considerations or things like informed consent in research. If the model is used mainly for a study involving humans, it seems this should be called out instead of assumed in the “think” or “look” phases. It may be helpful to define what it means to “act fully,” “think,” and “look” so all the critical pieces of the research are not assumed but also transparent to the user.
