Action Research 651

You have analyzed the social and political forces in your field of action. In this semester you will be thinking about the problems, challenges, or opportunities for change in your setting. You will be exploring the larger context of the problem though a literature review. Your goal is to map out possible solutions to your problem, or solutions to similar problems and think about what will, and will not, work in your context. Then, from looking at the issues and the ideas that other have used in addressing similar challenges, you will form your research questions. These questions will guide your work.

The Overall Plan

650--You learned about action research and explored ideas for action research in your workplace. You worked to help each other frame your ideas. You defined the forces that operate in your "field of action, " and reviewed ethical issues and agreed to share all consent procedures with your learning circle and me.

651- Now that you know what action research is, we will focus on why a person does action research. You will continue discussing the force field analysis and logic models of the change you have been contemplating. You will be reading and reflecting on ideas of others as you work on developing the first draft of your literature review and overall plan for your action research. Thinking about the problems and how others have addressed it, you will help you refine your research questions. A good goal is to complete your first cycle of action research in this semester. But each action research project will be different. Some of you will start right away and others will not start until next semester. As long as you are engaged in active planning and working to set up your actions, you will have time to complete your project.

653-- You will carry out your action research generally completing 2 or more cycles. This will involve planning, acting, collecting reactions, analyzing, and planning again.

654--You will finish your final cycle, reflect on the whole process and organizing all of your notes and works into a final report and presentation for the cadre in July. Then we hope that your work will be transformed into a publication, a presentation, and/or project proposal for the next year.

Your Action Research Website

• You should have a home for your action research. You will be revising work as we go along. The site will evolve with your work. For this semester, you might add the following to your website
• A detailed description of the problem you are tackling
• Your logic model
• A review of literature as part of a planning process
• A description of your research questions
• A plan and timeline for your research (as you fill this out, you might want to remove it... or it can be in your blog)

Your Action Research Blog

• Action Research Journal (Sakai -project site)
• Develop a deeper analysis of your field of action through discussion your force field analysis or logic models posted in the forums from summer session.)

University Policies

MAINTAINING COPIES OF ASSIGNED COURSE WORK FOR PROGRAM EVALUATION: The Graduate School of Education and Psychology evaluates its programs on an ongoing basis. The data from such evaluations provide us with information to help improve the quality of the educational experience we provide our students. In addition, the data are used by our accrediting bodies, such as the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). California Council on Teacher Credentials, and the American Psychological Association (APA), to make decisions as to whether we can maintain our accredited status with these respective associations. To this end, we may archive copies of the papers, examinations, exercises, etc. that students complete as part of their required course work so that we can track if students appearto be meeting the objectives of the program in which they are enrolled. Names will be that your course work not be archived for evaluation purposes, please let me know immediately so that I can make such a notation in the files I keep for each student who enrolls in my courses. You have writing help from Pepperdine by contacting the writing support center .

CODE OF CONDUCT: The Graduate School of Education and Psychology strives to create a learning environment which is respectful of the rights and dignity of all members our learning community. Students are expected to conduct themselves in a collegial, respectful, and professional manner while participating in all activities associated with this course. Students are expected to exhibit behaviors and attitudes consistent with appropriate ethical-legal standards, and to refrain from any fraudulent, dishonest, or harmful behaviors such as plagiarism, cheating, or harassment, which compromise the integrity of the academic standards of the university and/or impact the safety and security of fellow students, staff, and faculty. Failure to comply with appropriate standards of conduct may result in a grade of “F” in the course and dismissal from the program.

RESPECTFUL DISCOURSE: The Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology values and respects the perspectives and diversity of our students in regard to ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion, age, and ability status. Thus, it is critical that classroom discussions include respectful dialogue about any issue that impacts the lives of our students, and the individuals, families, and communities that our students serve.