Formalizing the Action Research Plan

• Planning
• Acting,
• Developing
• Reflecting

A few weeks ago I went down the path to create an outline for action research in relation to my fundamental question:

“Will authentic learning augmented with real world mentors and reflection improve students view of their learning?”

This involved investigating the initial step, planning, which is broken down into 4 smaller steps (the first three addressed by the outline:

• Identifying and Limiting the Topic (Establishing fundamental research question)
• Gathering Information
• Reviewing Related Literature

Then after laying out the plan, I expanded my research into this revised literature review to prepare for the final portion of the planning stage, developing a plan.

Made with http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/timeline_2/

Developing and Implementing the Plan

The plan implementation will begin in August when students join our new entrepreneurial class. On the first day students will be asked to complete this First Day Survey form to help us establish a baseline. Each week throughout the semester we will check in with the students to follow their perceptions using this Weekly Feedback form. Finally a month after the semester ends we will have students take this Followup survey to see if they are still using outside mentors and reflection as part of their toolbox even though they are no longer in the class.

Collect and Analyze the Results

We will be collecting both quantitative and qualitative data throughout the forms we will be collecting each week. We will be able to use the names to compare the data and look for changes in the students views on the effects the mentors and reflection are having on their learning. We will also perform individual interviews at the midpoint of the semester as well as the end to grab more qualitative data. Finally the students blogs will act as another place to collect qualitative data. With all this various data we will utilize triangulation mixed methods to analyze the results.

Share and Communicate the Results

We will have multiple opportunities to share our results. We will share our progress throughout with our leadership team. We will also have the opportunity to discuss our progress with other teachers in our October professional learning time. Finally we hope to share with colleagues around the region and nation by submitting proposals to such conferences as LLI Southwest, NAIS and ISTE.

Reflect on the Process

One of the most important parts of this whole process is reflection. As you can see by our design, action research is a cyclical process where we will take the feedback we receive weekly and make adjustments during the semester if needed. Also the results will not only inform our class design for the next semester of students but we will also share the results with others so it can help inform best practices in their classrooms.

I am excited about starting to implement this plan in August. Check back to hear the results.

Full Plan in Adobe Spark

References

Spencer, J. (2017, January 11). What is action research [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nyGCbxD848