by Middle School and Academy Faculty

by Steven Baldino, Konstandinos Koudounis, Eleftheria Maratos, Evan Syropoulos, Jay Whalen and Amalia Zavacopoulou, Elementary, Middle School and Academy Faculty

As educators in a K-12 American International School developing global citizens, sharing our knowledge and experiences with university students is not a regular part of our day. When we were approached by Dr. Pelonis to participate in a virtual presentation on Action Research to students at a graduate level Education course offered at Chapman University in California, we were excited to say the least. Since one of the final courses at Chapman includes an Action Research component, ACS Athens presented a series of workshops in the form of four sessions.

We participated in the second session, entitled “Faculty: From Theory to Practice” in which we presented our Action Research stories, focusing on our different learning experiences, the benefits of Action Research and even any challenges we had to overcome. What a wonderful opportunity to showcase what a reflective practitioner looks like at ACS Athens! The Chapman presentation provided a great opportunity for us to learn about each other’s projects and work process. We were able to come together as a team, make connections in our projects, and give each other valuable feedback along the way. Dr. Evan Syropoulos - Literacy Action Research provided me with a unique opportunity to reflect on my practice and evolve as an educator. It enabled me to rethink learning in an exclusively online environment and redesign my syllabus accordingly. Inviting students to become my collaborators in the Action Research journey radically altered the class dynamic. It empowered and actively engaged them, highlighting that we are a community of learners, building on each other’s constructive criticism and thoughtful feedback.

Working with my colleagues on the Chapman presentation enabled me to compare and contrast practices, recontextualize my teaching methodology, and rethink curriculum alignment in interdisciplinary terms. There is nothing more intellectually stimulating and rewarding than collaborating and exchanging knowledge with educators from various disciplines that share the same constructivist philosophy and are willing to take risks in order to revolutionize student learning.

Eleftheria Maratos - Middle School, Literacy Going through the Action Research process, I kept up with current educational trends and best practices to best support my students and organize my online lessons effectively and optimally to be productive. It was important to me that my learners be engaged and that learning be meaningful during this challenging time. As teachers, we collect various data, and during the Action Research process, this data was streamlined to enhance my pedagogical focus. The Action Research process drives me to focus on targeted goals and includes new practices in my teaching field. As a reflective practitioner, I consistently review and revise my lessons to see what works effectively and how students respond to activities and assignments presented to them. The journey of learning is interconnected for the educator and the learner. Through my growth, my students will grow to become reflective critical thinkers.

The meetings of our Action Research groups proved critical in building professional relationships to share ideas and concerns during our discussions. The collaboration with our colleagues was invaluable. We were grateful for the opportunity to share our experiences with the graduate students of Chapman University. It is our hope that our insights on the Action Research process contributed positively to benefit those starting out in the educational field.

Jay Whalen - First Grade, Literacy This year’s Action Research project created many opportunities for me to interface and collaborate with colleagues, as well as students and families. I was able to reflect on the data that I collected in multiple ways, which allowed me to adjust my teaching practices as necessary, in order to meet the various and unique needs of my students, as we alternated between virtual and face-to-face learning.

Working with fellow teachers from across grade levels and disciplines as we prepared for our presentations to the Chapman students was a wonderful way for me to further reflect on my Action Research data collection and analysis. Coming together as a collaborative group, we

were able to create a streamlined, coherent, and comprehensive presentation for the students, while also taking the opportunity to think once again about where we were in our own Action Research processes, as we neared the end of the school year.

Konstandinos Koudounis - Middle School, Science Action Research provided me with an opportunity to explore something that I wanted to try in my classroom in a well-structured and effective way. Generating the idea was the easy part, putting it into practice and collecting data presented a challenge. This led to collaboration with colleagues that created discussions that enabled me to fine-tune my question and discover a way to collect qualitative and quantitative data. My goal as an educator is to send my students out into the world as risk takers and problem solvers. Putting into practice the message that I want to convey to them in my pursuits is empowering. Taking risks, failing, and persevering are the qualities that my Action Research enabled me to experience.

Presenting our experiences to future educators of Chapman provided the opportunity to further collaborate with ACS faculty and to realize the wealth of knowledge that is on the campus. Furthermore, getting valuable feedback from my colleagues when practicing my presentation led to an authentic and dynamic presentation of my Action Research. The entire process, although daunting at times, reignited my passion to fine-tune my instrument as an effective educator and has sparked a new idea that I am excited to research.

Amalia Zavacopoulou - Academy Social Studies, Conscious Citizenship I view Action Research as an extension of my practice… of what I do every day. I am fortunate enough to teach Humanities, an interdisciplinary, team taught course, with Ms. Kathy Jasonides. Our joint Action Research project grew out of our desire to make the course, and our students’ learning, engaging and significant so they can make personal connections to the content and see its relevance in the world around them. Ultimately, I believe that every educator wants to engage their students and nurture a passion for lifelong learning.

Action Research offers educators an opportunity to take risks and be creative, and sharing my experience with future educators just starting their professional journeys at Chapman provided me with yet another opportunity and context to reflect on the process. I was happy to learn more about the projects of my colleagues and felt honored to be part of such a group of thoughtful and dedicated educators.

Steven Baldino - Elementary Art, Conscious Citizenship This presentation was a great way for me to reflect on the progress of my first Action Research project: my successes, my challenges, and why my Action Research question is important to me. The experience showed me the value of being a reflective educator and the power it has in creating positive experiences for both my students and myself. It was inspiring to hear the different ways my colleagues formulated their Action Research question, and gathered their data. All of us walked away with new ideas and methodologies. This is the benefit of collaborating across grade levels and disciplines!

CONCLUSION When we began collaborating on this presentation, we were focused on telling our Action Research stories and answering the following questions: How can a teacher use action research as part of their practice? How does this process enable educators to be good teachers, and why is this methodology considered good teaching practice? Ultimately, through collaborating as a group and sharing our experiences with the Chapman University students, we not only individually refined our personal answers to these questions, but also feel motivated and inspired to continue creating positive teaching and learning experiences in the future.