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The Importance of Action Research to Enhance Math Instruction

Ashley Horton
August 4, 2014
National Louis UniversityNational College of Education

Action research assists with my understanding of not only what occurs inside of my
classroom, but also allows me to adapt changes to improve my own learning and instruction.
Qualitative research helps acknowledge when students or even my own performance has
improved or declined; however, action research helps identify the specific causes. It provides the
qualitative data that I can use to not only amend my instructional practices, but also my
curriculum and content. When I reflect on my understanding of action research, I define each
word individually and its role. Action refers to the amending and adapting done to implement
and apply after my results are reported; research, on the other hand, is my understanding of the
environment through interactions, observations, etc.
It is also essential to understand the action research cycle. First, the I must develop a
wondering or identify the problem. This is usually most successful when the wondering is
something that you are investing in solving and interesting to learn. Next, an action plan evolves,
where I determine what is intended to accomplish, techniques to follow, and steps to take. As an
educator, it is important that I also focus on how my plan will show how my personal behavior or
instruction will be addressed. After the plan is developed, I will collect data that will help my
plan be a success. Creating a plan on how data will be collected is also essential, to ensure my
data is reliable and accurate. Next, data must be analyzed and conclusions should be formed.
Some conclusions will call for the need of more data to help revise or confirm conclusions.
Modifying my theory will begin the cycle over again to start asking new questions. Finally, the
results are reported. In other words, it is then time to recognize the change that needs to be made
in schools or in the classroom.
Action research can be used to explore the Common Core Standards for math. Often
times, students struggle with math because the instructor fails to make a real world connection to
the lives of students to help better understand the material. When a student can learns material

that can be applied to their own lives, they are more likely to participate and learn effectively. As
a math teacher, I could study the experiences of my students with math outside of the classroom,
such as its relevance in public places, such as stores and restaurants, as well as at home. My
wondering could be how the math standards specifically apply to the real world and how
common the experiences were with students based on different environments and home lives.
This could be useful when trying to connect their experiences to the classroom instruction. As a
result, student participation in discussions and activities could increase, as well as encourage
parental involvement at home and in the school. My results could enhance my math instruction
as well as help form connections with students to create a comfortable and trusting learning
environment.