# Action Research in LAC Sessions: A School Head's Guide

How a school head can run action research through LAC sessions: the toolkit's 21 scripted sessions, a yearly plan that meets the BERF call, and NASH items.

This is the Markdown copy of [Action Research in LAC Sessions: A School Head's Guide](https://nash.com.ph/blog/action-research-lac-sessions), an article on the NASH Reviewer Blog by Mark Anthony Llego, published Oct 28, 2026. Topics: Action research, School leadership, Aspiring school heads. NASH Reviewer is an independent practice platform not affiliated with DepEd, BHROD, or NEAP.

Most teachers do not learn action research in a seminar; they learn it by doing one, with colleagues, over a school year. DepEd's policy on learning action cells (LACs), [DO 35, s. 2016](https://www.deped.gov.ph/2016/06/07/do-35-s-2016-the-learning-action-cell-as-a-k-to-12-basic-education-program-school-based-continuing-professional-development-strategy-for-the-improvement-of-teaching-and-learning/), describes exactly that: colleagues who "study content and pedagogies together, plan lessons collaboratively, and conduct action research as a group". The Action Research Toolkit's Facilitator's Guide provides the sessions to do it, 21 scripted two-hour LAC sessions from defining action research to writing the report.

This guide is for school heads, master teachers and research coordinators who lead LACs. It explains what the Facilitator's Guide contains, how to schedule its sessions across a school year so that teachers' proposals are ready for the division's call for the Basic Education Research Fund (BERF), what the school head does at each stage, and how the National Assessment for School Heads (NASH) may test it.

## Key points

- **The toolkit is built for LACs.** Its Facilitator's Guide scripts 21 sessions of 120 minutes each, with materials, timings, worksheets and the facilitator's words, in the 4A's format: Activity, Analysis, Abstraction and Application.
- **Twenty-one sessions are 42 hours.** At two sessions a month, the full set fills a school year. Schedule backward from your division's BERF deadline, and choose sessions to fit your teachers' studies.
- **The school head is the LAC leader.** Under DO 35, the school head forms the LACs, links the LAC plan to the School Improvement Plan (SIP) and Annual Implementation Plan (AIP), and finds resources; a master teacher or research coordinator usually facilitates.
- **Every session should end with a product:** a list of priority problems, a research question, an instrument, a proposal, an analysis.
- **Ground topics in data.** Start the topic sessions with the school's own reading, attendance or enrollment data, not a blank sheet.
- **It is PPSSH strand 1.4 in practice.** Leading research through LACs is how a school head collaborates in research (indicator 1.4.3) and promotes "a culture of research" (indicator 1.4.4).

## What the Facilitator's Guide contains

The Action Research Toolkit, published in 2019 by DepEd with the Basic Education Sector Transformation (BEST) Program and support from the Australian Government, has two parts: a Teacher's Guide, which teachers read, and a Facilitator's Guide, which turns each section into a LAC session. Every session lists objectives, key understandings, materials (metacards, marking pens, a laptop and projector, worksheets) and a time allotment of "120 minutes/2 hours". It is scripted: the facilitator's words are written out, from the greeting to the closing quotation.

Each session follows the 4A's. Session 1.0, *Action Research Defined*, for example:

| Part | Minutes | What happens |
|:--|--:|:--|
| Introduction | | The facilitator states the session's goals |
| Activity | 15 | "Problem Hunting": groups write classroom or school problems on metacards and rank them |
| Analysis | 10 | Groups explain how they set priorities |
| Abstraction | 30 | Input on what action research is, how it differs from basic and applied research, and why the review of literature matters |
| Application | 35 | Groups fill in a table of problems, possible solutions and why each matters; teachers start an action research journal |
| Closing | 5 | A summary and a quotation |

## The 21 sessions

The sessions follow the toolkit's framework of five A's: *Assess the situation, Ask a question, Act to seek answers, Acquire information,* and *Analyze and reflect*.

| Session | Topic | What teachers should leave with | Our guide |
|:--|:--|:--|:--|
| 2.1 | The action research framework | The five stages and how they connect | [Action research vs basic research](https://nash.com.ph/blog/action-research-vs-basic-research-thesis) |
| 1.0 | Action research defined | A ranked list of classroom problems and possible solutions | [Action research vs basic research](https://nash.com.ph/blog/action-research-vs-basic-research-thesis), [literature review](https://nash.com.ph/blog/review-of-related-literature-action-research) |
| 2.2 | Generating topics | A topic for each team | [Titles by subject](https://nash.com.ph/blog/action-research-titles-by-subject), [topics on reading](https://nash.com.ph/blog/action-research-topics-reading-crla) |
| 2.3 | Research questions and hypotheses | Each team's questions and hypotheses | [Questions and hypotheses](https://nash.com.ph/blog/action-research-questions-hypotheses) |
| 3.1 | Experimental design | A design for testing the intervention | [Pretest-posttest design](https://nash.com.ph/blog/pretest-posttest-design-regression-to-the-mean) |
| 3.2 | Qualitative design | A plan for qualitative evidence | [Interview and FGD guide](https://nash.com.ph/blog/interview-fgd-guide-action-research) |
| 3.3 | Causal-comparative design | A comparison of existing groups | [Chi-square test](https://nash.com.ph/blog/chi-square-test-excel-action-research) |
| 3.4 | Correlational design | A study of relationships | [Pearson correlation](https://nash.com.ph/blog/pearson-correlation-excel-action-research) |
| 3.5 | Survey research | A survey plan | [Surveys with Google Forms](https://nash.com.ph/blog/survey-research-google-forms-action-research) |
| 4.1 | Sampling | The participants and how they are chosen | [Sample size and sampling](https://nash.com.ph/blog/action-research-sample-size-sampling) |
| 4.2 | Paper-and-pencil instruments | A test or questionnaire, checked for validity and reliability | [Cronbach's alpha](https://nash.com.ph/blog/cronbach-alpha-excel-questionnaire-reliability) |
| 4.3 | Interviews | An interview or FGD guide | [Interview and FGD guide](https://nash.com.ph/blog/interview-fgd-guide-action-research) |
| 4.4 | Observation | An observation checklist | [Observation guide](https://nash.com.ph/blog/observation-data-collection-action-research) |
| 4.5 | Documents and materials | A list of documents to collect | [Document analysis with DepEd records](https://nash.com.ph/blog/document-analysis-deped-records-action-research) |
| 5.1 | Preparing data for analysis | A coded data file | [Coding guide and data cleaning](https://nash.com.ph/blog/coding-guide-data-cleaning-excel-action-research) |
| 5.2 | Descriptive statistics | Means, standard deviations and frequency tables | [Weighted mean and Likert scales](https://nash.com.ph/blog/weighted-mean-likert-scale-interpretation) |
| 5.3 | Inferential statistics | The t-test or other test that answers the question | [t-test](https://nash.com.ph/blog/t-test-excel-action-research), [ANOVA](https://nash.com.ph/blog/anova-excel-action-research) |
| 5.4 | Qualitative analysis | Themes with a summary table | [Thematic analysis](https://nash.com.ph/blog/thematic-analysis-action-research) |
| 6.1 | Preparing the proposal | A complete proposal draft | [Proposal format](https://nash.com.ph/blog/action-research-proposal-format) |
| 6.2 | Writing the report | A complete report draft | [Report format](https://nash.com.ph/blog/action-research-report-format), [sample](https://nash.com.ph/blog/sample-action-research-deped) |
| 6.3 | Tips in writing | A revised draft with consistent citations | [Citing DepEd orders in APA 7](https://nash.com.ph/blog/cite-deped-order-apa-7) |

**Run 2.1 before 1.0.** The scripts greet teachers at session 2.1 to their "first LAC session on Action Research" and at 1.0 to their "second", and 1.0 reviews the five steps "which we discussed during our first LAC session". Session 3.1 then calls itself the "fourth". Adjust the greetings to your own schedule.

**Ethics needs its own time.** The toolkit treats research ethics within its sections; many schools add a session on consent, assent and data privacy before data collection. [DepEd Action Research Ethics: Consent, Assent and Privacy](https://nash.com.ph/blog/action-research-ethics-deped) has the material.

## Fitting the sessions into a school year

DO 35 asks for LAC sessions at least once a month and strongly recommends one to two hours a week. [DO 009, s. 2026](https://www.deped.gov.ph/2026/04/16/april-16-2026-do-009-s-2026-guidelines-on-the-implementation-of-the-three-term-school-calendar-in-basic-education/) keeps LAC sessions "within the Instructional Block" of each term. Twenty-one two-hour sessions are 42 hours: about five months of weekly sessions, or a whole school year at two a month. Once a month is too slow for one research cycle.

**Work backward from the BERF call.** Divisions call for BERF proposals early in the calendar year. In NCR's 2026 call, for example, division research coordinators uploaded pre-evaluated proposals from 10 February to 3 March 2026, and funded action research ran from May to October 2026. [BERF: How to Get DepEd Action Research Funded](https://nash.com.ph/blog/basic-education-research-fund-berf) has the details. Not every study needs a grant, but the same calendar keeps unfunded studies moving too.

A plan in three phases:

| Phase | When | Sessions | Products |
|:--|:--|:--|:--|
| 1. Assess and ask | From the start of the school year | 2.1, 1.0, 2.2, 2.3 | Priority problems from school data; teams; research questions |
| 2. Design and plan | Until the division's proposal deadline | The designs the teams need (3.1 to 3.5), sampling and instruments (4.1 to 4.5), ethics, then 6.1 | Instruments; proposals reviewed by the school, then submitted |
| 3. Act, analyze and report | While the intervention runs and after | Progress sessions, then 5.1 to 5.4, 6.2, 6.3 | Data, analysis, report; a results forum |

**Choose sessions to fit the studies.** If every team is testing an intervention, sessions 3.3 to 3.5 can wait for next year. If no team uses interviews, 4.3 can be short. The products matter more than covering every session.

**Add progress sessions** while the intervention runs: fifteen minutes per team on what happened, what went wrong and what they changed. The toolkit's sessions stop at design and resume at analysis; teams need support in between.

## What the school head does

DO 35 makes the school head the LAC leader. In action research LACs, that means:

- **Bring the data.** Open the topic sessions with the school's own evidence: Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment (CRLA) results, attendance and dropout records, class sizes. Topics grounded in data become better questions.
- **Form teams.** BERF allows teams of at most three; pair a novice with a teacher who has done research.
- **Protect the time.** Keep LAC sessions for LAC work; do not let meetings on memos and reports take their place.
- **Link the work to the SIP and AIP.** Action research on the school's priority problems belongs in the SIP, and DO 35 allows LAC expenses "for meetings and handouts" to be charged to the school's Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE), subject to its utilization guidelines.
- **Review ethics before data collection.** Consent letters, assent scripts and data privacy, under the Research Management Guidelines ([DO 16, s. 2017](https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DO_s2017_016.pdf)) and the Child Protection Policy.
- **Endorse proposals honestly.** The BERF application needs the immediate supervisor's endorsement; read the proposal before signing it.
- **Observe and support** the intervention in class. DO 35 asks school heads to "support the LACs by doing class observations".
- **Close the loop.** Hold a results session where every team presents, including interventions that did not work, and decide what the school will continue, change or drop.

**Keep the evidence:** the LAC plan, attendance, each session's products, the proposals and the reports. They show the LAC's work in the revised School-Based Management assessment ([DO 007, s. 2024](https://www.deped.gov.ph/2024/05/20/may-16-2024-do-007-s-2024-policy-guidelines-on-the-implementation-of-the-revised-school-based-management-sbm-system/)), whose indicator 31 reads "The school conducts needs-based Learning Action Cells and Learning & Development activities". [DepEd Learning Action Cell (LAC) Guidelines: DO 35, s. 2016](https://nash.com.ph/blog/deped-learning-action-cell) covers the LAC plan, roles and monitoring in full.

## Common mistakes

- **Turning sessions into lectures.** The guide gives Abstraction 30 of 120 minutes in session 1.0; the rest is activity, discussion and application.
- **Sessions without products.** If teachers leave with nothing written, the next session starts from zero.
- **Topics from a list instead of from the school.** A topic copied from elsewhere seldom becomes a study the teacher cares to finish.
- **Requiring every teacher to apply for BERF.** Funding is limited, and a classroom study without a grant is still action research.
- **Signing proposals unread.** The supervisor's endorsement is part of the application.
- **Stopping at the proposal.** Plan the analysis and reporting sessions from the start.

## Practice: how the NASH may test this

Expect situational items in which a school head leads teachers' research through LACs: choosing topics, running sessions, and using the results. For more items in this format, see the [NASH practice questions with answers](https://nash.com.ph/blog/nash-practice-questions-with-answers) and the timed sets in the [NASH Reviewer app](https://nash.com.ph/assessment).

### Question 1

*Indicator 1.4.3, Research and innovation. Career Stage 3, Situational, Moderate.*

An elementary school's Key Stage 1 LAC of nine teachers has started action research. Each teacher has picked a different topic from a list found online. The school's latest CRLA results show that nearly a third of Grade 2 learners are at the Low Emerging or High Emerging level. As the school head, what is the most appropriate action?

- **A.** Assign each teacher a topic from the division's research agenda so that the school submits nine BERF proposals by the deadline.
- **B.** Hold a LAC session where the teachers review the school's CRLA results, agree on the priority reading problems, and form small teams to design interventions for them.
- **C.** Let each teacher continue with the chosen topic, since action research should come from the teacher's own interest.
- **D.** Ask the master teacher to write the proposals for the group so that the school meets the division's target.

**Answer and explanation**

**Best answer: B.** Points: A = 1, B = 3, C = 2, D = 0.

- **A (1 point, Unistructural).** It aligns the topics with an agenda but treats research as compliance and ignores the school's own data.
- **B (3 points, Relational).** It grounds the research in the school's evidence, builds shared ownership, and organizes teams around a priority problem the LAC can work on together.
- **C (2 points, Multistructural).** Teacher interest matters, but topics copied from a list and unrelated to the school's data miss the purpose of collaborative action research.
- **D (0 points, Prestructural).** Proposals written for teachers defeat the purpose of research and misrepresent who did the work.

**Why.** This aligns with Career Stage 3 expectations because indicator 1.4.3 asks the school head to collaborate with school personnel in the conduct of research. DO 35, s. 2016 describes LACs in which colleagues "conduct action research as a group" to "solve shared challenges encountered in the school", and the Action Research Toolkit begins with "Assess the situation" and with generating topics from classroom and school problems.

*Indicator 1.4.3: Collaborate with school personnel in the conduct of research and utilization of findings in facilitating data-driven and evidence-based innovations to improve school performance.*

*Sources: DepEd Order No. 35, s. 2016; DepEd Order No. 16, s. 2017; DepEd Action Research Toolkit (2019); DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2020.*

### Question 2

*Indicator 4.5.2, Professional development of school personnel. Career Stage 2, Situational, Moderate.*

A school's LACs are working through the Action Research Toolkit's sessions. Three months in, the school head observes that the facilitator presents slides for most of the two hours, teachers leave without written outputs, and attendance is falling. What is the most appropriate action?

- **A.** Issue a memorandum requiring attendance at every LAC session and noting absences in the teachers' performance reviews.
- **B.** Replace the remaining sessions with a two-day training during the End-of-Term Block so that all topics are covered at once.
- **C.** Meet the facilitator to plan sessions in the guide's activity-based format, set a product for each session, and ask the teachers which parts of their research they need help with.
- **D.** Stop the action research sessions for the year, since the teachers do not seem interested.

**Answer and explanation**

**Best answer: C.** Points: A = 1, B = 2, C = 3, D = 0.

- **A (1 point, Unistructural).** It raises attendance but not the quality of the sessions, which is the cause of the problem.
- **B (2 points, Multistructural).** A training can cover content, but it separates learning from the teachers' ongoing studies, which LAC sessions are meant to support step by step.
- **C (3 points, Relational).** It addresses the cause: it restores the activity-based design, ties each session to the teachers' own research, and uses their feedback to plan.
- **D (0 points, Prestructural).** It abandons the teachers' professional development instead of fixing it.

**Why.** This aligns with Career Stage 2 expectations because indicator 4.5.2 asks the school head to implement professional development initiatives that address performance gaps. DO 35, s. 2016 describes LACs as collaborative, self-directed and reflective, unlike top-down lectures, and the Facilitator's Guide builds each session on the 4A's, with most of the time on activity, analysis and application.

*Indicator 4.5.2: Implement professional development initiatives to enhance strengths and address performance gaps among school personnel.*

*Sources: DepEd Order No. 35, s. 2016; DepEd Action Research Toolkit (2019); DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2020.*

### Question 3

*Indicator 1.4.4, Research and innovation. Career Stage 4, Situational, Difficult.*

Five teams in a large school have finished their action research. Two found clear gains; two found no difference; one had to stop when classes were merged. The division will hold a research congress next month. What is the most appropriate action?

- **A.** Send only the two successful studies to the congress, and ask the other teams to set their reports aside.
- **B.** File all five reports as evidence for the school's School-Based Management assessment.
- **C.** Hold a LAC session in which every team presents its results and reflections, use the findings to decide what the school will continue or revise in its AIP, and identify the next questions to study.
- **D.** Require all teachers to adopt the intervention with the largest gain at the start of the next school year.

**Answer and explanation**

**Best answer: C.** Points: A = 0, B = 1, C = 3, D = 2.

- **A (0 points, Prestructural).** Hiding studies that found no difference distorts the evidence and teaches teachers that only "successful" research counts.
- **B (1 point, Unistructural).** Keeping records is useful, but filing the reports does not use what they found.
- **C (3 points, Relational).** It treats every result as evidence, links the findings to school planning, and starts the next research cycle: a culture of research and continuous improvement.
- **D (2 points, Multistructural).** It uses evidence, but one small study in one class is a weak basis for a school-wide mandate, and it skips the teachers' reflection on why results differed.

**Why.** This aligns with Career Stage 4 expectations because indicator 1.4.4 asks the school head to promote a culture of research that fosters continuous improvement. The Basic Education Research Agenda requires honesty and accuracy in reporting, and DO 16, s. 2017 expects research results to be used and disseminated.

*Indicator 1.4.4: Promote a culture of research to facilitate data-driven and evidence-based innovations to improve school performance and foster continuous improvement.*

*Sources: DepEd Order No. 39, s. 2016; DepEd Order No. 16, s. 2017; DepEd Order No. 007, s. 2024; DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2020.*

## Frequently asked questions

### Can action research be done in LAC sessions?

Yes. DO 35, s. 2016 describes LACs in which teachers "conduct action research as a group", and DepEd's Action Research Toolkit includes a Facilitator's Guide with 21 two-hour LAC sessions on action research, from defining it to writing the report.

### How many LAC sessions does the Action Research Toolkit have?

Twenty-one, numbered 1.0, 2.1 to 2.3, 3.1 to 3.5, 4.1 to 4.5, 5.1 to 5.4 and 6.1 to 6.3, each planned for 120 minutes in the 4A's format.

### How often should LAC sessions be held?

At least once a month under DO 35, s. 2016, which strongly recommends one to two hours a week. DO 009, s. 2026 keeps LAC sessions within the Instructional Block. For a full research cycle, two or more sessions a month work better than one.

### Who facilitates action research LAC sessions?

The school head leads the LAC; a master teacher, the school research coordinator or an experienced teacher-researcher usually facilitates. The Facilitator's Guide is scripted, so a facilitator new to it can follow it closely.

## More on DepEd research

- Start here: [DepEd Action Research Guide: From Topic to Report](https://nash.com.ph/blog/deped-action-research-guide)
- [DepEd Learning Action Cell (LAC) Guidelines: DO 35, s. 2016](https://nash.com.ph/blog/deped-learning-action-cell)
- [BERF: How to Get DepEd Action Research Funded](https://nash.com.ph/blog/basic-education-research-fund-berf)
- [DepEd Research Management Guidelines: DO 16, s. 2017](https://nash.com.ph/blog/deped-research-management-guidelines)
- [Basic Education Research Agenda (BERA): DO 39, s. 2016](https://nash.com.ph/blog/basic-education-research-agenda)
- [How to Cite DepEd Orders in APA 7 and Write the Abstract](https://nash.com.ph/blog/cite-deped-order-apa-7)

## Sources

- Department of Education and the Basic Education Sector Transformation (BEST) Program. (2019). *Action Research Toolkit: Facilitator's Guide*, sessions 1.0 to 6.3, and *Teacher's Guide*, with support from the Australian Government.
- [DepEd Order No. 35, s. 2016, The Learning Action Cell as a K to 12 Basic Education Program School-Based Continuing Professional Development Strategy for the Improvement of Teaching and Learning](https://www.deped.gov.ph/2016/06/07/do-35-s-2016-the-learning-action-cell-as-a-k-to-12-basic-education-program-school-based-continuing-professional-development-strategy-for-the-improvement-of-teaching-and-learning/)
- [DepEd Order No. 009, s. 2026, Guidelines on the Implementation of the Three-Term School Calendar in Basic Education](https://www.deped.gov.ph/2026/04/16/april-16-2026-do-009-s-2026-guidelines-on-the-implementation-of-the-three-term-school-calendar-in-basic-education/)
- [DepEd Order No. 16, s. 2017, Research Management Guidelines](https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DO_s2017_016.pdf)
- [DepEd Order No. 007, s. 2024, Policy Guidelines on the Implementation of the Revised School-Based Management (SBM) System](https://www.deped.gov.ph/2024/05/20/may-16-2024-do-007-s-2024-policy-guidelines-on-the-implementation-of-the-revised-school-based-management-sbm-system/)
- [DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2020, National Adoption and Implementation of the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads](https://www.deped.gov.ph/2020/09/07/september-7-2020-do-024-s-2020-national-adoption-and-implementation-of-the-philippine-professional-standards-for-school-heads/)

*Written by Mark Anthony Llego for NASH Reviewer. The yearly plan and practice items are ours. NASH Reviewer is not affiliated with DepEd.*

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