Edu 671 fundamentals of educational research

Weekly Learning Outcomes This week students will:

1. Create a nine-step action research plan proposal in digital presentation format.

2. Critique your own writing rituals.

3. Evaluate a sample action research plan.

4. Draw conclusions on the evaluation process and your own action research plan proposal.

Introduction: Practice and Reflect

This week will be full of eye-opening opportunities, making the steps of the action research process come together cohesively. You will have the unique opportunity to create a visual representation of your final action research plan proposal and share it with your classmates. You will stretch outside of the traditional way of sharing work by creating a mock presentation via video for us to view and respond to with constructive feedback; feedback you can then apply to your summative assignment. Next, you will learn about writing rituals and determine the current state of your own writing practices, finding additional ways to improve your practice. Additionally, you will review and evaluate an actual action research report from a study involving use of technology in the classroom. This process of seeing an actual finished study and applying evaluative criteria will equip you with more information and skills to better evaluate the effectiveness of your own action research plan. Last, you will complete the required Informed Consent form including the researcher section, the verification of approval from your employer or immediate supervisor with whom you’ve been communicating with all along, and the adult participants or parent/guardians of the minor participants your intervention involves. For students enrolled in the MAED program, this form is required in order to pass the course and move on to EDU675 and will be resubmitted during your first week of EDU675 for accountability purposes.

Required Resources Texts

1. Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher (5th ed.)

1. Chapter 8: Writing Up Action Research

2. Chapter 9: Evaluating Action Research

2. Research Design for Educators: Real-World Connections and Applications

1. Chapter 6: Applying Action Research Outcomes to Educational Settings

Article

1. Hollis, J. L. (1995). Sample action research report 1: Effect of technology in enthusiasm for learning science . Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.com/mertler3study/resources/reports/88896_sr1.pdf

· This sample action research report is required for this week’s assignment.

Multimedia

1. Wienot Films. (2011, May 9). How to give an awesome (PowerPoint) presentation [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i68a6M5FFBc

· Wienot Films creates fun, simple, yet effective animated whiteboard explainer videos turning complex ideas into concise, easy to understand stories. The essential “rules” for creating effective presentations is here.

Recommended Resources Multimedia

1. Brooks, K. (2010, January 5). Tutorial for Voki [Slideshare]. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/kbrooks/tutorial-for-voki-2834271

· Provides a how-to-guide for setting up this alternative, fun presentation format.

2. Kostanecki, M. (2013, January 26). 4 scientific reasons why your PowerPoint presentation sucks (and the 2 tips you need to fix it) [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLGLtnRopJM

· This video uses PowToon to show you how to make an effective PowerPoint presentation and provides scientific evidence of how our brains process bullet points and other factors commonly associated with PowerPoint presentations.

3. Ritter-Guth, B. (2008, May 26). Voice thread tutorial [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1--CdU4pljg

· How to create and share your presentation through video and audio formats.

Websites

1. Jing (http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html)

2. Present.me (https://present.me)

3. Voki (http://www.voki.com)

4. VoiceThread (http://voicethread.com)

Discussions To participate in the following discussions, go to this week's Discussion link in the left navigation.

1. Mock Action Research Proposal Presentation As you prepare for your Final Project, take this opportunity to create a mock presentation using PowerPoint, or other professional presentation software and present your action research proposal to your peers through Jing , Present.me , or PowerPoint to create your presentation with both a visual and audio component. Your visual presentation must include all nine components of the action research plan and follow the guidelines for creating effective presentations as discussed in the required and recommended video tutorials located in the recommended and required readings section. In order to ensure your viewers experience the full effect of your mock proposal, it is imperative that your voice and a visual presentation complement each other as you explain all nine of its components. Therefore, it is a requirement you include the video component with audio as you share your action research proposal. You must keep your presentation under five minutes. Keep in mind, the emphasis is more on you and your ability to share your knowledge, heart, and passion about your topic, while leading your viewers through the nine components of your mock action research proposal. Your visual presentation will provide the main points of each of the nine components, as you follow the seven by seven rule. But your oral complement will elaborate to fill in the blanks between those main points. Thus, you will have the opportunity to provide all the details, important information, and passion behind it to your audience verbally. This will not only appeal to both visual and auditory learners, simultaneously, it will make your presentation more enjoyable and enriching for both you and your viewers. Include a link to your presentation or attach it to your discussion post. Guided Response: View and respond to at least two peers. As you move through the forum, if you see that some classmates’ posts do not have any posted responses, please view their video and respond so everyone receives feedback. Provide each other with the following constructive feedback:

· Areas of strength regarding their action research plan itself

· Areas of strength regarding their presentation (think of the tutorial tips)

· Pose a question regarding what you saw and heard in their presentation. Were there any components that were not entirely clear?

· Make a recommendation for improving or enhancing an element of their work so as to be better prepared for their final action research proposal project.

*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.

2. Writing Rituals and the Value of Writing About Action Research Consider the image/quote below. Interpret what this quote means to you in light of this week’s readings on personal writing rituals. What conclusions can you make from this simple statement? Considering Chapter 8 of Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, develop a list of up to five of your current personal writing rituals and how they help or hinder your writing. What ideas did you gain from chapter 8 that could help improve your writing practice as you progress through your Master program? Guided Response: Select at least two of your peers’ to respond to. What differences or similarities are there between your interpretations of the quote? Consider their list of writing rituals. What new or different ideas did you gain from their list? Provide them with another helpful suggestion to add to their list or to replace a point they may have included that is more of a hindrance than a help. *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.

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

1. Sample Action Research Report Evaluation Instructions: The purpose of this assignment is for you to review a FINISHED action research report showing the entire planning process and allowing you to put together visibly, what a finished action research proposal consists of including the planning stage you are responsible for in this course as well as the results portion of the report for which you will be responsible for in EDU675 (MAED students). Having this exposure to a finished report should help you make connections with what you’ve been planning as well as what you will be actually implementing through your proposed intervention/innovation once you begin EDU675. According to Mills (2014), “To evaluate a research study competently, you must have knowledge of each component of the research process” (p. 215). For this assignment, you will consider all that you have learned and practiced up to this point in our course and apply criteria for evaluating action research to the following: Sample Action Research Report 1: Effect of Technology in Enthusiasm for Learning Science . Finally, you will include a self-reflection. Note that it is acceptable to write in the first-person voice in the reflection. Content The assignment needs to include the following areas of content.

· Area of Focus (1 point): Describe the area of focus and whether it involves teaching and learning. Include support from the literature where appropriate.

· Research Questions (0.5 points): List the research questions and discuss whether the researcher states questions that were answerable given the researcher’s expertise, time, and resources.

· Locus of Control (1 point): Discuss the locus of control and whether the area of focus was within the researcher’s locus of control.

· Data Collection (1 point): Describe the data collection techniques and whether the researcher used appropriate data collection techniques to answer the study’s research questions (e.g., qualitative and/or quantitative). Include support from the literature in your description.

· Ethics (1 point): Describe the ethical challenges the researcher faced and how they were resolved.

· Reflective Stance (1.5 point): Explain the ways the action research effort contributed to the researcher’s reflective stance on the ways teaching and learning are viewed.

· Action (0.5 points): Describe the actions that resulted from the study.

· Action-Data Connection (1.5 points): Describe how the proposed action connects to the study’s data analysis and interpretation.

· Reflection - Learning (0.5 points): Describe what you learned from this study and the process of evaluating it, considering what insight this researcher gave you indirectly regarding the process of action research.

· Reflection – Application (0.5 points): Describe what you have taken away from this experience for use in your Final Project in this course.

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

· Page Requirement (0.25 points): The assignment must be three to five pages, not including title and references pages.

· APA Formatting (0.25 points): Use APA formatting consistently throughout.

· Syntax and Mechanics (0.25 points): 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 (0.25 points): Use no less than two scholarly sources in addition to the sample action research report, which may be your course textbooks. 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.