Fundamental of Educational Research

 Fundamental of Educational Research

Instructions: For this assignment, you will create a document that includes a plan for your area of focus. For the criteria part of the assignment, consider what you read in “Themes in Education: Action Research” and “Current Trends in Education.” What topics did you see and read about that lead you toward clarifying a general idea and establishing an area of focus for research? Please refer to the “Research in Action Checklist Three – One” (Mills, 2014, p. 44) to establish criteria for your area of focus.

Content
The assignment needs to include the following areas of content.

  • Plan – Area of Focus (1 point): In no more than two paragraphs, describe your early idea of what the purpose of your study may be.
  • Plan – Explanation of Problem (1 point): In no more than two paragraphs, explain a statement of the problem or situation that led to this interest or why you want to pursue this topic.
  • Plan – Population (1 point): In no more than a paragraph, describe the population (age/grade, quantity of participants, students or adults).
  • Plan – Research Questions (3 points): Develop two to three research questions that align with the area of focus and address what you hope to answer in this study. The questions need to be answerable and presented in list format, and they must appropriately represent the population/participants you identified.

Written Communication
The assignment needs to adhere to the following areas for written communication.

  • Page Requirement (.5 point): The assignment must be one to two pages, not including title and references pages.
  • APA Formatting (.5 point): Use APA formatting consistently throughout.
  • Syntax and Mechanics (.5 point): Display meticulous comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Your written work should contain no errors and be very easy to understand.
  • Source Requirement (.5 point): Use no less than two scholarly sources in addition to the course textbooks, providing compelling evidence to support ideas. All sources on the reference page need to be used and cited correctly within the body of the assignment.

More Information
Activity

Due Date

Format

Grading Percent

Post Your IntroductionDay 1Discussion1.5 Early Action Research IdeasDay 3
(1st post)Discussion4 Trends in Educational Action ResearchDay 7Assignment8

Note: The online classroom is designed to time students out after 90 minutes of inactivity. Because of this, we strongly suggest that you compose your work in a word processing program and copy and paste it into the discussion post when you are ready to submit it.

Weekly Learning Outcomes

This week students will:

  1. Analyze the goals, origins, rationale, and value of action research.
  2. Differentiate between traditional educational research and action research.
  3. Identify an area of focus, the corresponding variables, and coordinating research question(s).
  4. Explore trends in educational research.
  5. Utilize various digital tools to conduct research, communicate, and demonstrate learning.

Introduction: The Basics of Action Research

In week one you will learn about goals, origins, rationale, and value of action research. More specifically, trends in educational research will be explored and analyzed, leading you through the beginning stages of the action research process.  You will identify variables of the potential area of focus and develop coordinating research questions.  Additionally, a valuable part of this course involves the use of digital tools and a range of technologies for communication, reflection, storage, and sharing the work you develop.  You will explore and use up to three of these digital tools during Week One to introduce yourself and archive the first steps of your action research proposal.  Moreover, utilization of the Ashford University Library will occur.

Action ResearchBeginning May, 2014 Students enrolled in EDU671 as a student in the Master of Arts in Education (MAED) program will plan for and propose an action research (AR) study while considering an appropriate and accessible setting for the proposed AR intervention or innovation to occur. The instructor for EDU671 will exercise professional judgment and serve as a guide for students during the planning process with strong consideration of the setting and participants.

The planned action research intervention or innovation will occur in the approved setting while the student is enrolled in EDU675. Students will submit the Informed Consent form completed in this course during Week One of EDU675, verifying approval to conduct their AR intervention/innovation.

All students, regardless of program (MAED or MATLT) will fit in one of three categories to plan and/or conduct their action research study. The only difference is that MAED students will apply their intervention in the next course: EDU675. Each category includes examples of data collection approaches but is not limited to these examples.

For students already employed in a classroom setting:

  • Observations
  • Implement one strategy in a school or classroom
  • Informal conversations
  • Change in personal practice or approach to a situation / need / problem
  • Planning with teachers using a backward design model to lesson planning
  • Communication or collaboration models implemented with other teachers and observed


For students already employed in a non-classroom setting:

  • Observations
  • Informal conversations
  • Implement one strategy with co-workers or clients
  • Change in personal practice or approach to a situation / need / problem
  • Communication or collaboration models implemented with other co-workers and observed
  • Implement a training module


For students not employed:

  • Observations
  • Implement one strategy with family members or individual’s children
  • Change in personal practice or approach to a situation / need / problem


MAED students in all three categories must provide verification of approval by submitting the Informed Consent Form. Those in the third category that choose to implement an intervention on themselves exclusively do NOT have to attain Informed Consent. However, if the intervention/innovation involves the student’s own child, then the student-researcher will sign the informed consent form as both the parent and the researcher.  If the intervention planned involves anyone other than the researcher, Informed Consent is required.  The completed form will state their intent to participate in a single intervention or innovation lasting approximately three weeks in a specified setting with a specified group of student or adult participants.

Students not currently employed in a classroom setting, may NOT select or use a classroom setting for the purpose of participating in the action research.  ONLY students already employed in a classroom setting may implement the proposed research once the proposed project has been approved by the faculty member in the course and the informed consent form has been submitted.

The Informed Consent form is required and submitted in both EDU671 and EDU675. A new consent form will only be necessary in EDU675 if changes to the proposed research have occurred. Changes might include setting of employment and participants involved.

Attention MATLT Students: To keep aligned with your program’s emphasis on technology, we strongly suggest that you choose a research area and/or problem that focuses on teaching, learning, or training with technology. Examples may include technology use in the classroom, technology teacher training, technology tools used for evaluation or assessment, or other technology related areas applicable to your place of work.

Required Resources

Texts

  1. Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher (5th ed.)
    1. Chapter 1: Understanding Action Research
    2. Chapter 3: Deciding on an Area of Focus
  2. Research Design for Educators: Real-World Connections and Applications
    1. Chapter 1: Research Planning
    2. Chapter 6: Applying Action Research Outcomes to Educational Settings

Articles

  1. Ferrance, E. (2000). Themes in education: Action research. Providence, RI: LAB at Brown University. Retrieved from http://www.brown.edu/academics/education-alliance/sites/brown.edu.academics.education-alliance/files/publications/act_research.pdf
      • Page 12 of this booklet on action research provides an at-a-glance table of various themes in education and the types of action research commonly associated with those themes.  Pages 1- 12 will be most referenced this week.
  2. Teachnology. (2012). Current trends in education. Retrieved from http://www.teach-nology.com/currenttrends/Website
    1. Ashford University Library (http://library.ashford.edu)
        • In order to access the full library website, you need to enter the Library either via the Library link within your student portal, or through the Library link within your online classroom.

    Recommended Resources

    Articles

    1. Biddix, J. P. (n.d.). Writing research questions. Research Rundowns. Retrieved from http://researchrundowns.wordpress.com/intro/writing-research-questions/
        • This site reviews a collection of views and advice on composing research questions from a problem statement.  It mostly reads as a list of tips & suggestions.
    2. Purdue Online Writing Lab. (2013). Choosing a topic. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/658/03/
        • An excellent, credible, APA source for virtually every topic covering solid writing practices.
    3. Simmons, J. (2013). Blogger quick start guide. College of Education, Ashford University, Clinton, IA.
        • Available in the online class.

    Multimedia

    1. Mcrel.  (2012, August 31). McREL – Classroom instruction that works (2nd ed) setting objectives & providing feedback [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZJGcnYAOPs#at=156
    2. Missmelissa73. (2009, November 7). Action research in the classroom part 1 [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDVH0u4tUWo
        • This first part of two videos is an excellent snapshot providing the “big picture of theory, benefits and” of methodology of using Action Research in the classroom.

    Websites

    1. Present.me (https://present.me)
    2. Teachnology (http://www.teach-nology.com)
        • Teachnology is an online teacher resource listing several current trends in educational research including but not limited to: critical thinking, differentiated instruction, inclusion, inquiry-based learning, teacher accountability, and much more.
    3. VoiceThread (http://voicethread.com)
    4. YouTube (http://www.youtube.com)

    Post Your Introduction
    To post your introduction, go to this week’s Post Your Introduction link in the left navigation.

    The use of technology is an integral part of your learning and teaching.  To begin the exploration of these technological tools, choose one of the two options below to complete your introduction.

    Your introduction should address the following:

    1. Share who you are, your professional background & experience (especially any dealing with education), and your personal interests
    2. Illustrate what your background as a K-12 student was like and discuss either a person or an experience that had a lasting influence on your life
    3. State which degree program you are enrolled in (MAED or MATLT) and describe the type of position you hope to have in the future and/or as a result of you earning your advanced degree. What impact do you believe having your Master degree will have on your future endeavors?
    4. Discuss in a paragraph your early understanding of action research compared to traditional research..

    Option One: Create a presentation using Present.me. Include slides, videos, documents, or photos as part of your introduction. Once complete, post or embed your link in your Introduction post.

    Option Two: Create a short video to introduce yourself using VoiceThread or YouTube. Post or embed your link or presentation in your Introduction post.

    Guided Response: Respond to at least two of your classmates. Be thoughtful about your responses and make connections between your introduction and your classmates’ posts.

    Required for MATLT students: Please save your work. The Capstone in the MATLT Program requires that you revisit and examples of assignments and projects.

    MATLT students should use Blogger. If this is your first time to create a blog, please look at the Blogger Quickstart Guide and examples of good and bad blog design within the recommended reading section this week. Give some thoughtful consideration to naming your blog due to the likelihood that you may want to continue using it beyond the end of this course and be certain your blog is set so it can be publically viewed. Within your blog, post or embed your introduction in a section named “About Me”. If you create a video, post the link to a “My videos” section. If you create a presentation style slide, save it as a pdf on a “Presentations” section. Take a moment to personalize your page. In the future, this website can serve to archive professional artifacts, be submitted as support for job applications, connect with colleagues, and showcase your knowledge, skills and experience. These will be part of your final assignment.

    Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.

    Discussion
    To participate in the following discussion, go to this week’s Discussion link in the left navigation.

    1. Early Action Research Ideas Familiarize yourself with the nine steps that Mills (2014) presents in Chapter 3, pp. 69-70, in order to complete the first three steps of your Final Project, Action Research Plan.  Follow the directions below as they differ from the steps on page 69. As well, review Mills (2014) Informed Consent and Protection from Harm in Chapter 2, pp. 32-36, in order to discuss the need for completion of informed consent as it relates to your action research proposal.

      At this point, you are presenting early ideas that are not concrete, as you have not conducted a review of literature yet.  Therefore, your responses should be in outline form only.  (You will make these three steps more concrete and formal in structure in Week Three). For now, you will briefly explain the problem or situation.

      1. Current Work Setting
        • Describe your current professional setting, if applicable, whether you are working in a school setting, other educational setting, or organization not related to education.
      2. Potential Population Effected
        • Keeping the focus relatively small, describe whether the potential population of interest includes a group of students and what their grade or age level includes. If you currently work with adults in a non-educational setting, include who in your workplace is impacted. If you are currently unemployed, include who may benefit from a potential change or intervention (i.e. your child, a related child, an adult in the family, etc.). Avoid the use of specific names, rather describe the group or individuals who would be influenced or involved in the action research project.
        • Based on what you learned by reading the selection in Mills, discuss the importance of and need to communicate and acquire informed consent. When contemplating where your study may occur and who it may involve, who (person’s professional role) do you anticipate will need to sign an informed consent form for your study? If no signatures are needed, clearly state why not.
      3. Area of Focus
        • Identify your early idea of what the purpose of your study may be
      4. Explanation of Problem
        • Statement of problem or situation that led to this interest or why you want to pursue this topic, including trends in education or educational research.
      5. Define Variables
        • Describe the population (age/grade, quantity of participants, students/or adults). Briefly explain why you have chosen them.
      6. Research question(s)
        • Develop two to three research questions that align with the area of focus and address what you hope to answer in this study. The questions need to be answerable and presented in list format, and they must appropriately represent the population/participants you identified


      Guided Response:       Respond to at least two of your classmates, one with a different topic idea than your own. Ask a question that will encourage them to expand their thinking, consider another point or perspective, or explain more deeply what is appealing about the topic.  Make a recommendation to help them narrow their focus or expand their scope. *It is expected you follow-up by the last day of the week to provide a secondary response to any comments or questions your instructor may have provided. This is part of the grading criteria as a demonstration of critical thinking.

      Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.

      Attention MATLT Students      : To keep aligned with your program’s emphasis on technology, we strongly suggest that you choose a research area and/or problem involving teaching, learning, or training with technology. Examples may include technology use in the classroom, technology teacher training, technology tools used for evaluation or assessment, or other technology related areas applicable to your place of work.

    Assignment
    To complete the following assignment, go to this week’s Assignment link in the left navigation.

    1. Trends in Educational Action ResearchFor this assignment, you will create a document that includes a plan for your area of focus. For the criteria part of the assignment, consider what you read in Themes in Education: Action Research and Current Trends in Education. What topics did you see and read about that lead you toward clarifying a general idea and establishing an area of focus for research? Please refer to the “Research in Action Checklist Three – One” (Mills, 2014, p. 44) to establish criteria for your area of focus.

      Content
      The assignment needs to include the following areas of content.

      • Plan – Area of Focus (1 point): In no more than two paragraphs, describe your early idea of what the purpose of your study may be.
      • Plan – Explanation of Problem (1 point): In no more than two paragraphs, explain a statement of the problem or situation that led to this interest or why you want to pursue this topic.
      • Plan – Population (1 point): In no more than a paragraph, describe the population (age/grade, quantity of participants, students or adults).
      • Plan – Research Questions (3 points): Develop two to three research questions that align with the area of focus and address what you hope to answer in this study. The questions need to be answerable and presented in list format, and they must appropriately represent the population/participants you identified.

      Written Communication
      The assignment needs to adhere to the following areas for written communication.

      • Page Requirement (0.5 point): The assignment must be one to two pages, not including title and references pages.
      • APA Formatting (0.5 point): Use APA formatting consistently throughout.
      • Syntax and Mechanics (0.5 point): Display meticulous comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Your written work should contain no errors and be very easy to understand.
      • Source Requirement (0.5 point): Use no less than two scholarly sources in addition to the course textbooks, providing compelling evidence to support ideas. All sources on the reference page need to be used and cited correctly within the body of the assignment.

      Review and Submit the Assignment
      Review your assignment with the Grading Rubric to be sure you have achieved the distinguished levels of performance for each criterion. Next, submit the assignment to the course room for evaluation no later than day 7 of the week.

      Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

4 days ago

Ashford 2: – Week 1 – Instructor Guidance

Introduction 

A warm welcome to EDU671. This is an exciting class where we will review and start the creation of an action research project. I’m looking forward to the next six weeks.

Before moving any further, please take a moment to review and reflect on our learning expectations.

Weekly Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyze the goals, origins, rationale, and value of action research.
  2. Differentiate between traditional educational research and action research.
  3. Identify an area of focus, the corresponding variables, and coordinating research question(s).
  4. Explore trends in educational research.

Week One Overview

In Week One, you will take a look at goals, origins, rationale, and value of action research and differentiate between educational action research and that of traditional research.

    • Discussion 1: Post your introduction.
    • Discussion 2: Early Action Research Ideas. Familiarize yourself with the nine steps that Mills (2014) presents and briefly explain the problem or situation you will be researching.
  • Assignment: Trends in Educational Action Research. Share your early plans for action research. Then discuss what topic(s) you read about that lead you toward clarifying a general idea and establishing an area of focus for research.

Part of the action research process when deciding on an area of focus is identifying an environment and situation familiar to you as well as accessible to you, so that a specific and direct intervention or innovation can be applied, in an attempt to instigate change.  This week, you are asked to begin thinking about such a setting in which a change is needed that YOU could be instrumental in applying through the action research (AR) process.

Begin thinking critically about a situation at your place of employment or someone close to you, even yourself, that could potentially benefit from a purposeful and direct intervention or innovation. You could focus on a particular problem that exists or something that would simply be enhanced or improved through some sort of change. Here are some examples that directly relate to one of the three categories of researchers you will fit into as a beginning action researcher in this course;


For those who are currently employed in an educational setting:

  • Identify a specific student or group of students whose learning would be enhanced by adding a specific instructional or classroom management strategy/approach you’d like to try.
  • Implement scheduled time to collaborate with a select group of colleagues for the purpose of establishing consistent lesson planning and/or student evaluation approaches.
  • Employ a more disciplined, effective approach to lesson planning such as Understanding by Design.

*Student names should not be included in the description, rather including an explanation of age, gender, number of students, and general account of the needs of the students.


For those employed in a non-educational setting:

  • Implement a communication or collaboration model with other co-workers.
  • Implement a training module to enhance performance.

*Selection of a place other than that of where you are employed such as a church or community-based location is also an option. Discuss this option with your instructor and obtain approval for this approach before beginning this project.

For those not employed or with access to colleagues:

  • Implement a single strategy with a family member or individual’s child such as a study strategy or test taking strategy.
  • Change a personal practice or approach to a situation/need/or problem such as time management.
  • Integrate research-based reading material in support of a personal goal for improvement (apply concepts from a book-study to improve an aspect of your life or practice).

Informed Consent

Part of the action research process is establishing consent for your intervention or innovation to occur, particularly when your proposed intervention directly pertains to students in the PK-12 environment.

For students enrolled in the Master of Arts in Education (MAED) program, you will implement your intervention in the next course in the Capstone series: EDU675. For students enrolled in the MATLT program, you should still use this information to plan your research, but you will not be implementing your planned intervention in your future coursework.

For those choosing to conduct research in their place of employment or other setting, you must have the person of authority such as the building principal, district-level administrator, manager, or other position of leadership verify approval of your study by signing the required Informed Consent form located under Course Materials in the course room.  Remember, you must gain informed consent to implement an action research intervention/innovation that involves anyone outside of yourself. MAED students in all three categories must provide verification of approval by submitting the Informed Consent Form. Those in the third category that choose to implement an intervention on themselves exclusively do NOT have to attain Informed Consent from a supervisors.However, if the intervention/innovation involves the student’s own child, then the student-researcher will sign the informed consent form as both the parent and the researcher.  If the intervention planned involves anyone other than the researcher, Informed Consent is required.

Please note all students must fill out the informed consent form, there are two different forms located in the course materials page. One has a place to obtain a supervisors signature, the other is for those who are in the MATLT program and/or your research is only on yourself (no signature required informed consent form). This is a required component of your coursework collected during Week 4 of the course as well as for successful completion of the course. Additionally, you will be responsible for saving and storing this completed form once your supervisor/employer and course instructor has signed it so as to resubmit to your instructor of EDU675.

Intellectual Collaboration

“Why Bother with Research?”

The textbook author poses this excellent question early in our text (Landrum, 2013, p. 3).  It would be so much easier, in our post-modern world, to self-appoint ourselves as experts based on our experiences, our intuitions, our “gut feelings.” After all, who knows better than we do about the things we have experienced, thought, and felt? And, more to the point, there are many people who would be just fine with this. The presence of the internet, as it is with many things, is in part is responsible for this. (Visit this website for a lengthy explanation of post-modernism. Go to this website for a much shorter explanation of post-modernism).  In the post-modern world, everyone can be their own “expert.”  Long held notions of expertise and scholarship have been called into question, and thus must be defended. And research is a way to do this.

Research relies on following a well-worn path, developed over several centuries by scholars, scientists, and others, to find answers to questions; your text notes this at some length in Chapter 1.  In essence, the researcher seeks, through following this path, to satisfy curiosity, to advance thinking, to devise and invent solutions, and to make the world better.  Research, then, is vital to human progress, and is equally vital in advancing professional practice in fields such as history, law, medicine, etc. This is also true of education research.

A virtual visit to the Education Research Information Clearinghouse (ERIC) reveals thousands and thousands of articles and related matter about education research, and is the first place to begin a search for education research items.

Of course, there are many aspects to research, and the bulk of the information in the first chapter of the Landrum text aims at explaining these for your knowledge and edification; for our purposes here, we will focus more on Action Research, a type of research that educators can use well for their professional purposes.


Action Research

Action Research (AR) is a key type of research aimed specifically at what I call “street level practitioners.” O’Brien (1998, paragraphs 23 and 24) notes that Kurt Lewin is generally considered the ‘father’ of action research. A German social and experimental psychologist, and one of the founders of the Gestalt school, he was concerned with social problems, and focused on participative group processes for addressing conflict, crises, and change, generally within organizations. Initially, he was associated with the Center for Group Dynamics at MIT in Boston, but soon went on to establish his own National Training Laboratories.

Lewin first coined the term ‘action research’ in his 1946 paper “Action Research and Minority Problems”, characterizing Action Research as “a comparative research on the conditions and effects of various forms of social action and research leading to social action”, using a process of “a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action, and fact-finding about the result of the action.”

AR, when considered from an education viewpoint, is tied with the work of John Dewey, whose experiential view of education was suited to both students and teachers. As such it is very versatile. Teachers, while conducting AR, seek to find solutions to practical classroom problems. Some examples of AR can be found in all curriculum subjects, student management issues, improvements of teaching technique(s), etc.  AR can also be conducted by individuals, teams of teachers, or entire schools.  In sum, AR works well for educators.

The figure to the below presents a summary of the AR research cycle based on the work of Kemmis and McTaggart (1990).

cycle


Closing Remarks

Understanding the conduct, potential value, and professional necessity of research in general, and action research in particular, arms you with the necessary tools to not only conduct your own research, but to enhance our profession. By offering a substantial alternative to post-modern modes of thinking as applied to education, you can proceed with your professional practice with renewed confidence.


References

Atul Gawande. (http://gawande.com)

Aylesworth, G. (2005, September 30). Postmodernism. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2013/entries/postmodernism/

ERIC Institute of Education Sciences. (http://eric.ed.gov)

Encyclopedia Britannica. (n.d.). John Dewey. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/160445/John-Dewey

Gawande, A. (2007). Better: A surgeon’s notes on performance. New York: Metropolitan Books

O’Brien, R. (1998). An overview of the methodological approach of action research. University of Toronto. Retrieved from http://www.web.ca/robrien/papers/arfinal.html

PBS. (n.d.). Postmodernism. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/faithandreason/gengloss/postm-body.html


Additional Resources

Baron, M. A. (2008). Guidelines for writing research proposals and dissertations. Retrieved from http://www.regent.edu/acad/schedu/pdfs/residency/su09/dissertation_guidelines.pdf

Borgman, C. (2007). Scholarship in the digital age: Information, infrastructure, and the internet. Boston: MIT Press

Boyer, E. (1997). Scholarship reconsidered: Priorities of the professorate. San Francisco: Jossey Bass

Crotty, Y. (2008, April 27). Action research made simple [Video file>. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg83f72_6Gw

Frank, M. [missmelissa73]. (2009, November 7). Action research in the classroom part 1 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDVH0u4tUWo

Gilet, C. (n.d.). Cold fusion: A case study for scientific behavior. Understanding Science. Retrieved from http://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/0_0_0/cold_fusion_01

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A school is a social place. This means that there are very many people that come there not only to learn but to also gain the knowledge that is necessary for them to progress. This is a process that calls for interaction between the students and the teachers as well as among the students themselves. This means that from time to time, it is possible for violence to come up…
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Fundamental of Educational Research

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