Fundamentals of Educational

Ashford 7: – Week 6 (Oct 18 – Oct 24)

Overview

Activity	Due Date	Format	Grading Percent
Final Self-Reflection	Day 3 (1st post)	Discussion	6
End of Course Survey	Day 7	End of Course Survey	0.5
Action Research Proposal	Day 7	Final Project	20

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. Evaluate ways to overcome obstacles related to educational change.
2. Reflect upon one’s use of digital tools in the research process.
3. Reflect upon newly obtained research skills obtained during course.
4. Create final Action Research Proposal Presentation

Introduction: Culminating Project & Self-Reflection

In this final week, you will get a chance to put to the test, everything you’ve learned and practiced with action research short of actual implementation of an intervention. We will first examine the challenges confronting action researchers in the action planning process and evaluate possible ways to overcome the challenges associated with facilitating positive educational changes in school environments. You will reflect holistically on your learning and skills associated with planning for action research and use of digital tools in the research process. Lastly, you will culminate all of your knowledge and skills into a formal, professional presentation as one would to a school board or managerial staff when proposing to conduct action research and seeking approval to do so.

Required Resources

Texts

1. Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher (5th ed.)
   1. Chapter 7: Action Planning for Educational Change

Supplemental Material

1. Gray, A. (2013). PowerPoint how-to guide [PowerPoint presentation]. College of Education, Ashford University, Clinton, IA.

Recommended Resources

Articles

1. Brown, D., Reumann-Moore, R., Hugh, R., Christman, J., Riffer, M., & Research for, A. (2008). Links to learning and sustainability: Year three report of the Pennsylvania High School coaching initiative. Philadelphia, PA: Research For Action. Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED504284.pdf
   1. • This report discusses lessons from a three-year evaluation study from the Pennsylvania High School Coaching Initiative (PAHSCI). It examines the influence of instructional coaching on the implementation of research-based literacy practices applicable across content areas and elements of the model that help sustain instructional change.
2. Hardy, I., & Ronnerman, K. (2011). The value and valuing of continuing professional development: Current dilemmas, future directions and the case for action research. Cambridge Journal of Education, 41(4), 461-472. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database
   1. • This paper explores and challenges the rationale for current, mainstream approaches to teachers’ continuing professional development, arguing for an alternative paradigm based on participatory and collaborative action research.

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

1. Final Self-ReflectionDescribe some of your take-aways from this course. Consider all of the topics including use of digital tools when responding. Reflect on Chapter 7, Mills (2014) and the discussion on a variety of challenges action researchers face when implementing positive change. Do not respond in list form. These are merely prompts to get you thinking:
   1. What concepts or principles have you learned from this course that you might use in your work setting?
   2. How do you feel about conducting action research now, compared to before you started this course?
   3. Describe how you perceive the value of qualitative and quantitative data when considering improvements.
   4. How do you plan to use the knowledge you gained in this course to be a positive change agent in your own work setting? In other words, what are your next steps?
   5. What potential challenges or obstacles do you predict facing in your current or future role as an educator when implementing positive change (lack of resources, resistance to change, reluctance to interfere with others’ professional practices, reluctance to admit difficult truths, difficulty finding a forum to share what you have learned, lack of time for action research endeavors, unsupportive administration, other)?
   6. Describe how you would apply what you have learned regarding the challenges of implementing educational change to overcome potential obstacles that you may encounter in taking action.

   Guided Response: Respond to a minimum of two classmates. *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.

End of Course Survey
To complete the following quiz, go to this week’s End of Course Survey link in the left navigation.

End of Course Survey

After you have completed the End of Course Survey, please complete the one question quiz to receive your points. If for any reason you wish not to complete the survey, you may do so and still receive the 0.5 points by completing the one question quiz.

Final Project
To complete the following final project, go to this week’s Final Project link in the left navigation.

Action Research Proposal

The final project for this course is an Action Research Proposal, which will be created and shared in the form of a formal presentation in PowerPoint, including detailed speaker notes for each content slide. The purpose of the final project is for you to culminate the learning achieved in the course by demonstrating the ability to effectively present an Action Research Proposal.

As you create the presentation, imagine that you are given approximately ten minutes to present this information to your fellow teachers in your school during a staff development day, to your school board to solicit support for their ideas, or to your managers as part of your organization’s continuous improvement program. Your goals are to gain approval to conduct this study and implement your proposed innovation or intervention in your place of work.

To create your presentation, use your current, updated action research plan outline that was originally submitted during Week Four. Additionally, you may want to use your mock presentation from Week Five as well as the feedback acquired from your classmates in the discussion forum to build an improved, more complete presentation for a wider, more important audience.

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

• Presentation – Design (6.5 points): Create a presentation that is professionally designed in 15 to 20 slides, including title and references slides, and has no more than seven bullet points per slide and no more than seven words per point. You must use images to add value to the slide content and high-contrast colors for readability and include detailed speaker notes for each content slide.
• Presentation – Content (12 points): In addition to a title and references slide, the presentation must include the following eleven areas:

1. Area of Focus (1 point): Describe the purpose of your study. Begin by writing a statement that starts with, “The purpose of this study is to…”
2. Explanation of Problem (1 point): Explain a statement of the problem or situation that led to this interest or why you want to pursue this topic.
3. Variables (1 point): Including defined factors, contexts, including recognition of diverse learners, and variables of the proposed study
4. Research Questions (3 points): 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
5. Locus of Control (1 point): Describe how your idea is within your locus of control.
6. Intervention/Innovation (1 point): A succinct description of the proposed action to address the identified issue/area of focus.
7. Negotiations (0.5 point): Potential obstacles (e.g., permissions established).,
8. Ethics (1 point): A statement of how you address the potential ethical challenges.
9. Timeline (1 point): The anticipated schedule for each phase of the intervention.
10. Statement of Resources (0.5 point): A list of what is needed to enact the proposed plan, and
11. Data Collection (1 point): Proposed data collection techniques are justified and whether you are proposing appropriate data collection techniques to answer the study’s research questions (chart from Week Three may be used here).

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

• 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 three scholarly sources in addition to the course textbook, 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.
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Ashford 7: – Week 6 – Instructor Guidance

Introduction

Welcome to Week 6! In this final week, you will get a chance to put to the test, everything you’ve learned and practiced with action research short of actual implementation of an intervention.

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

Weekly Learning Outcomes

1. Evaluate ways to overcome obstacles related to educational change.
2. Reflect upon one’s use of digital tools in the research process.
3. Reflect upon newly obtained research skills obtained during course.

Week Six Overview

In Week Six, we will first examine the challenges confronting action researchers in the action planning process and evaluate possible ways to overcome the challenges associated with facilitating positive educational changes in school environments. You will reflect holistically on your learning and skills associated with planning for action research and use of digital tools in the research process. Lastly, you will culminate all of your knowledge and skills into a formal, professional presentation as one would to a school board or managerial staff when proposing to conduct action research and seeking approval to do so.

• Discussion 1: Final Self-Reflection. Describe some of your take-aways from this course. Consider all of the topics including use of digital tools.
• Final Project: Action Research Proposal. You will need to create between 10 to 15 slides, not including the title and reference slides. Think again about effective components of professional presentations. You will be required to include most of your thought process by means of Speaker’s notes. Keep in mind when selecting the presentation program/software you wish to use that the notes page is available as a great deal of what is graded will be included there.

Intellectual Elaboration

Writing and Presenting the Research Study

Writing

There are five parts to any research report. They are:

1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
3. Methodology
4. Data Analysis
5. Conclusions

While the steps are pretty self-explanatory, there are things that go along with each. In the introduction, you are writing about the background of the problem, discussing your professional and personal interest in the problem, and identifying the research question. In the literature review, you discuss the relevant literature, dividing it into sub categories, and grouping the studies together. You would want to be sure to include your references in a list at the end of your study. In the methodology section, you would discuss the sample selection methods (i.e. how you selected your participants), the choice of quantitative/qualitative focus, and the types of data that you will collect. In the data analysis section, you would write about the steps that went into the data analysis, and describe your process for it. Finally, in the conclusions section, you would write about what you see as the outcomes and impacts of your study.

Your study should be written in APA style. The keys to APA style are in text citations, and a reference list that only lists the references actually cited in the study. APA style also calls for clear, concise expository writing. It is not a creative writing exercise, but rather a report about a research topic. Thus, a straight-ahead, clear and active voice is required, one that reports only what you found out without other speculations. The conclusion section allows the opportunity for you to say what you think about the study subject, and allows for a certain amount of latitude in writing—the key, though, is to not over-do it. All of this may take you weeks, months, and in the case of a dissertation, years.

Presenting

A good study has a presentation component. Whether the presentation is for school colleagues, the local school board, or a thesis/dissertation committee, the same good presentation ideas apply. You would need to prepare media (PowerPoint, web-based materials like Prezi, Voki, or another program, and/or exhibits to show via document camera), handouts, posters, and be mindful of both the audience and time limit.

For a school presentation, as in front of colleagues or a school board, you will likely have only 15-30 minutes; a thesis/dissertation presentation may take two hours or more, depending on the school and requirements. Preparing ahead of time (rehearsing your presentation and practicing with whatever technology you choose to use) is an excellent use of time in advance of the presentation.

You should be prepared for, but not nervous about, questions (after all, you are the expert!!!), and you may have to work (gently) to keep the discussion on track. You can give your presentation additional weight and authority if you anticipate potential questions, and have responses ready to go.

Finally, you should dress for success- you want to make a good impression. This also lends weight and authority to what you have to say.

Additional Resources

Heath, C. and Heath, D. (2007). Made to stick: Why some ideas survive and others die. New York: Random House

Mind Tools. (n.d.). Creating effective presentation visuals: Connecting people with your message. Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/creating-pr…

Radel, J. (2012). Effective presentations. University of Kansas Medical Center. Retrieved from http://www.kumc.edu/SAH/OTEd/jradel/effective.html