RESEARCH
ETEC 543: Technology and Learning I, Action Research
What I Learned
Action research is the disciplined process of inquiry that is conducted by and for those taking the action. The intent of action research for an educator is that the research will inform and refine their practices in the future. This type of research always takes place within the educator's environment. As a high school math teacher, action research can be conducted by myself, a group of teachers, administration, counselors...really anyone who has a vested interest in improving their practice as an educator.
Action research generally begins when there is a particular problem to solve. The broad idea of action research is that educators will start a cycle of posing questions, collecting data, reflecting on the information, and then deciding on a course of action. When this course of action creates change in the school it may lead to the betterment of the environment, but also may pose a different set of problems due to the changes...which leads us into another cycle of action research. Thus, action research is the systematic and constant pursuit for the improvement and refinement of an educator's actions.
Application
My partner on this action research paper is a good friend and colleague of mine. We both work at Palmdale High School where he is the lead to our campus' Positive Behaviors and Support Intervention (PBIS) program. PBIS is a three-tiered framework of ideas and tools that schools use to improve the behavior of students. Tier One supports are those that are provided to the entire school population. Tier Three supports are the most intensive and individualized which are given to roughly 5% of the student population. Our action research focus was on seeking out the characteristics of properly implemented and effective Tier 2 supports and interventions.
ETEC 643: Technology and Learning II, Educational Research
What I Learned
Educational research, as opposed to action research...whose purpose is to inform decisions and improvement in one's practice, is meant to draw conclusions and focus on advancing knowledge in the field. Educational research seeks to prove or disprove a hypothesis but does not necessarily promote immediate change or improvement. It is a systematic/scientific procedure which is usually performed by researchers outside of the environment to prevent bias.
Research method and data collection is a major component of educational research and it can take the form of three methods; quantitative, qualitative, or a mixed method approach that involves both quantitative and qualitative. To be put simply, quantitative data involves analyzing numerical data whereas qualitative data is descriptive and can be observed but not measured. The collection and analyzation of this research and data informs the hypothesis of the educational research.
Application
My friend/colleague and I partnered up again to continue our research from ETEC 543. The focus of our educational research continued in the PBIS forum, specifically within those Tier 2 interventions referred to above. One of the strategies within Tier 2 interventions that we found through our research to be successful is called Check-In Check-Out (CICO). Core elements of CICO include students’ checking in with a school staff member at the start of the day to review behavior expectations and goals, the adult providing feedback to the student throughout the day, and finally, the students’ check out with the adult at the end of the day to review their progress toward their goals. Our question for research was if a CICO with a mentor teacher could reduce the rates of students truancy and thus increase academic achievement in core classes increasing the graduation rate.