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Action research （AR）has become more and more popular in English teaching circle in recent years．To better understand its functions and how it works for teachers’development，we offer the following knowledge points，reading materials and cases for you to explore．
Since action research is closely related to the idea of reflective practice and encourages teachers to do research，as a student teacher，you should first understand what action research is and put it into practice．
Since action research is an effective method for our development，as a student teacher standing at the entry point，we also need to understand the concept of action research，cultivate，and practice in the way we are going on．
1．Concept
Action research is part of a broad movement that has been going on in education generally for some time．It is related to the ideas of “reflective practice”and “the teacher as researcher”．Action research involves taking a self－reflective，critical，and systematic approach to exploring your own teaching contexts．We often see gaps between what is actually happening in our teaching situation and what we would ideally like to see happening．So first，we need to identify the problem or issue，then intervene in a deliberate way in the problematic situation in order to bring about changes and，even better，improvements in practice．The changes made in the teaching situation arise from solid information rather than from our hunches or assumptions about the way we think things are．After that，we observe whether it has a positive change or improvement．At the end，we reflect on，evaluate and describe the effects of action to make sense of what has happened and to understand the issue we have explored more clearly．
2．Steps in action research
According to Kemmis and Mctaggart（1988），who are major authors in this field，AR typically involves four broad phases in a cycle of research．The first cycle may become a continuing，or iterative，spiral of cycles which recur until the action researcher has achieved a satisfactory outcome and feels it is time to stop．
（1）Planning
In this phase you identify a problem or issue and develop a plan of action in order to bring about improvements in a specific area of the research context．This is a forward－looking phase where you consider：i）what kind of investigation is possible within the realities and constraints of your teaching situation；and ii）what potential improvements you think are possible．
（2）Action
The plan is a carefully considered one which involves some deliberate interventions into your teaching situation that you put into action over an agreed period of time．The interventions are “critically informed”as you question your assumptions about the current situation and plan new and alternative ways of doing things．
（3）Observation
This phase involves you in observing systematically the effects of the action and documenting the context，actions and opinions of those involved．It is a data collection phase where you use open－eyed and open－minded tools to collect information about what is happening．
（4）Reflection
At this point，you reflect on，evaluate and describe the effects of the action in order to make sense of what has happened and to understand the issue you have explored more clearly．You may decide to do further cycles of AR to improve the situation even more，or to share the story of your research with others as part of your ongoing professional development．
Fig．2－1 Cyclical AR model based on Kemmis and McTaggart（1998）
There are many ways to teach primary school and middle school students．Mind map is one of the effective methods to teach children，and also improve our own learning．To be a young teacher，we absolutely need to grasp this method to help solve our problems and make us further develop in a professional way．So we introduce it here．
A mind map is a graphical representation of topics，ideas，or concepts in a radial，non－linear manner．A mind map focuses on a central keyword or topic，with other items linked to and arranged around the central idea． Mind maps encourage a brainstorming style approaching to planning and organizational tasks．
1．Characteristics of a mind map
A mind map can consist of words，images and additional rich－media content（audio，video，digital files）．The arrangement or order of ideas is based on the importance of the concepts，and can be classified into groups，enforcing the relationships of the topics and their overall involvement with the central topic．By including words，images and color schemes，a mind mapping diagram allows for greater creativity when brainstorming ideas and documenting information，or planning for a project． The arrangement of ideas and inclusion of contents enhances organization，memorization and presentation skills．
2．Uses of a mind map
Mind maps are used to visualize，organize，and classify ideas，making them perfect for study aids，organizing information，problem－solving，writing and making decisions．Mind maps have many applications in educational and other situations，including note－taking and writing to creating agendas and running meetings．Mind maps can be used for problem－solving，brainstorming，business plans，SWOT analysis，outlining documents，collaboration，creating presentations，and education sector．
In previous part，we offered some concepts which are related to action research．We also introduced a concept of mind map．The following cases are examples of implementing these methods and skills．Please pay attention to analyze these cases and practice the skills of mind mapping as well．
As part of the introduction of a new syllabus，a teacher wishes to know whether the use of group work will improve students’ability to speak English．
She first consults the literature on this area of research．She then decides on the approach and methods to be used．The teacher’s hypothesis is：group work will increase the development of both fluency and accuracy in oral tasks．
She assigns one group of students in a school to an experimental group，where all classroom tasks are conducted through group work for a period of two months．An equal number of students（the control group）are taught using the same tasks through a whole－class teacher fronted approach for the same period．
In order to ensure that the students in the experimental group are not at higher levels of language learning to begin with，the teacher first administers a test．She then assigns students to the groups on the basis of the test results．At the end of the two months，each of the groups is given a further identical test in order to，see whether the use of group work has resulted in higher results for the experimental group．
The results show that the students assigned to group work have performed at a higher level in relation to fluency，but that their performance on some aspects of grammatical accuracy is lower than the control group．The teacher publishes the findings of the study in a journal．
（Burn，2011）
思考问题
1．After studying this case，would you like to summarize what action research is？
2．Share with your classmates what you have learned from this case．
张老师是一位从教13年的小学英语教师，十多年的磨炼使她从一个刚刚走出大学校门的英语教育专业的女大学生，成长为一名独当一面的乡村中心学校的优秀英语教师。十多年的功夫，弹指一挥间，回想当年她刚刚走出校门的时候，怀抱理想，觉得自己是位英语教育的高才生，可以到工作单位施展拳脚，但事实与她的想法相距甚远。
2006年，张老师来到这所乡村小学，一个月的工资也就几百块，还没有自己上学时父母给的伙食费高，学校的教学环境也不如自己想象的那样好，学生来自周边的乡村，没有很好的英语基础与学习环境，看到一起毕业的同学有些去了大公司，有些拿到高薪，也萌生过转行或转工作的想法。但是，自从她给学生上了第一堂课，就深深地被这些天真可爱的孩子们所吸引，每当给他们上英语课，看着这些小学生渴求知识的脸，她就设法说服自己留下。另外还有年长的教师及老校长对她的关怀与鼓励，使她最终想清楚了，自己最初的理想就是成为一名小学教师，自己的兴趣爱好、特长与所学都与学校有着不可分割的联系，于是她下定决心安心在这所乡村小学扎根。
十几年来，有很多事情令她难忘，有一次在五年级的英语课堂上，她要求学生朗读课文中学过的句子，有的同学觉得读起来比较困难，就想放弃，还有同学趁机做起了其他作业，张老师那节课上得很提不起精神，到底是自己的方法有问题，还是学生不上心呢？她课后反思了自己的教学方法，下课后找个别学生谈话，同时每天早读去教室领着大家读，并观察学生朗读的习惯，经过一周的摸索，她发现几个问题：首先，农村学生英语环境比较薄弱，父母督促有限，留守儿童更是如此，学生读的机会很少；其次，由于缺乏文化背景知识，不少学生不理解朗读的意义，也体会不到语言的美，时间长了就没有兴趣再朗读了。针对这些问题，她修改了自己的教学计划，首先联系学生家长，了解学生的学习情况，特别是英语学习的情况；其次针对学生们对异国文化不熟悉的问题，她带来自己大学同学在澳大利亚生活的照片，使同学们开阔眼界，调动了他们学习的好奇心与积极性；她坚持早读时间跟班进行英语早读，进行个别辅导。短短几星期过去了，同学们的英语朗读习惯发生了很大的变化，至少不太惧怕朗读了，当然更多的变化还是远期的，这使得张老师对自己的教学更加充满信心。
十多年来，她努力钻研教学方法，使自己能够发现学生学习中的问题，创设英语环境，激发学生学习英语的兴趣。发现有些内容比较枯燥时，她就立即自己动手制作教具，创设各种游戏活动，使学生们积极投入英语学习中；发现有些学生英语学习不太主动，就深入了解情况，走访家庭，给学生制定学习计划，使学生迎头赶上。功夫不负有心人，她所带的班级学生屡屡在全区英语竞赛中获奖，并且平均成绩也名列前茅。与此同时，自己的专业发展也不断提升，公开发表学术论文探讨如何提高农村小学英语课堂教学效率。为了提高自己的教学能力、管理能力以及全科教育的能力，张老师潜心钻研，学习绘画、手工制作等技术，将这些技能用于课堂教学中，同时还自学其他学科的知识，适应小学的教学要求。如今的张老师，已经是一位深受学生喜爱的、专业娴熟的全科教师，不仅英语课带得好，还涉猎其他诸如音乐、美术、自然科学等课程。当实习生步入该所学校实习时，她悉心照顾、耐心带教、现身说法，使很多实习生真正了解并爱上小学英语教育。
现在，张老师经常自豪地说：“我的很多同学都羡慕我是一名小学英语教师，尽管工作繁忙，但我仍然觉得很有价值。”
思考问题
1．案例中，张老师是如何转变自己的思想，扎根乡村小学成为一名优秀的乡村小学英语教师的？试分析张老师的成长过程，对自己在职业生涯中确定目标有哪些启示？
2．行动研究少不了从发现问题开始，张老师是如何根据她们学校学生的具体情况，发现问题，制定解决方案，实现目标的？
3．反思性实践是教师成长的一个重要环节，和其他教师成长方式密不可分，该案例中反思性实践是否在张老师坚定职业目标上起到关键作用？作为一名普通的小学英语老师，张老师为什么觉得自己很有价值？
小魏老师从师范大学毕业2年，已经积累了一些班级管理经验，她所带的班级是三年级二班，平时比较活跃，同学们上进心也比较强，但最近有些同学有些好动，坐不住，有其他老师反映课堂纪律不太好。作为班主任，也是英语老师，她决定寻找有效的办法，因此她开始细致观察学生，以下是观察记录：
1．周一一早，小强穿着一身带蜘蛛人花纹的衣服，跟几个男生谈起蜘蛛人，并声称自己有特殊能量，可以爬高，其他同学羡慕不已。
2．周三上午，小明与邻桌同学发生小矛盾，由于对方语言有些不文明，然后差点产生肢体冲突。
3．周三下午，课外活动，几个女同学从花园边走过，发现花丛中有蜘蛛结的网，有个女生胆小，立马想走开，另外一个女同学试图用手抓蜘蛛，小魏老师及时赶到，叮嘱同学们不要触碰这些小动物。
经过一周的观察，小魏老师希望利用这些线索来促进同学们的学习，进行正向引导，她想到自己在大学里听的一次讲座，讲到mind map的方法，正逢讲到动物这一章节，她决定用mind map的方法，结合新的《义务教育英语课程标准》，来设计英语课堂教学，小魏老师是怎么做的呢？让我们一起来看看。
思考问题
1．学习了以上用思维导图解决问题的案例，对你学习和解决问题有什么帮助吗？请谈谈你的想法。
2．如果你今天的教学内容是教学生一些交通工具的英文说法与描述，如何用思维导图的方法设置一些活动来促进学生的学习呢？
· Burns，A． Doing Action Research in English Language Teaching ： A Guide for Practitioners ［M］．Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press，2011．