Syllabus

Master of Science in Education

EDU 690 Action Research – Fall AB 2021

Credits - 3

Description

In this course, students will explore action research within their own work setting. Students will formulate a problem statement, conduct a literature review, design a study, identify which data to collect, conduct the study, analyze data, report the results of the analysis, and develop an action plan. The resulting product will be a professional quality action research report. Through a systematic and collaborative process, participants will utilize action research to reflect, analyze, and enhance their professional practice. Students will also develop technical writing skills which are important for professional communication, grant-writing, and administrative reporting tasks.

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

• Determine the importance and value of educators becoming action researchers
• Examine the relationship between action research and traditional educational research
• Explain the characteristics of action research useful in educational settings
• Apply collaborative inquiry skills and engage in reflective practice
• Utilize the principles of action research to define problems and identify appropriate data-driven solutions to address the problems
• Clarify ethical issues involved in conducting action research and recognize the challenges and procedures for obtaining Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval.
• Apply the process of action research to your own educational setting
• Understand the mechanics of writing a graduate-level research report
• Use appropriate technology in the data collection and analysis process

Assignments

Most school systems greatly emphasize data-driven or evidence-based teaching strategies. In this course, you will explore action research in your work setting. You will formulate a problem statement, conduct a literature review, design a study, identify which data to collect, conduct the study, analyze data, report the results of the analysis, and develop an action plan. The resulting product will be a professional quality action research report. Through a systematic and collaborative process, you will utilize action research to reflect, analyze, and enhance your professional practice. You will gain experience in developing action research studies and determine their value to teaching and school practice. You will also develop your technical writing skills, which are important for professional communication, grant-writing, and administrative reporting tasks.

In addition to weekly small group or full-class discussion boards, you have eight written assignments for this course. Specific instructions for each assignment can be found within the weekly modules.

Assignment 1: Action Research Concept Form

After discussing your concept with classmates in Discussion 2, complete and submit the Action Research Concept Form for faculty feedback and approval. Although this assignment is not graded, it is an important step in gaining preliminary approval of your Action Research Concept.

Assignment 2: Complete CITI Training and Submit CITI Training Certificate of Completion

The University of New England like many other colleges and universities uses the online Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) training to ensure those doing research are appropriately informed regarding Human Subject Research Protection.

Assignment 2 is the completion of this training and submission of the Certificate of Completion.

Assignment 3: Submit Introduction, Problem Statement, Research Questions, and Hypothesis

Present your Introduction, Problem Statement, Research Questions, and Hypothesis(es) as Assignment #3. In the final project, these four elements are included in the Introduction section of your proposal.

Assignment 4: Submit Title Page, Revised Assignment 3, and References Page(s)

This assignment is an opportunity for your faculty member to provide additional guidance about the nature and appropriateness of the sources you are working with.

The Literature Review process often refines the researcher’s thinking about the project and provides additional focus. It also provides the greatest number of source materials that need to be referenced. Now is the time to create a title page and reference list for your study.

You will be submitting one document containing your title page (with a proposed title for your study, not the assignment name), a revised version of Assignment 3, and a reference list.

Assignment 5: Literature Review

The Literature Review provides justification and a theoretical foundation for your research project. The Literature Review is more like a typical research paper synthesizing the material and should include appropriate citations in APA format.

Assignment 6: Draft Methodology

In Week 7, the Methodology assignment is an ungraded draft, but it should include your research design, what you plan to implement as a strategy to improve the situation, how you will actually implement your strategy, your data collection plan (including instruments you plan to use and how they will be administered), a description of how you plan to analyze the data, and a full description of your sample population. This assignment will be returned to you as soon as possible along with any requirements for changes to your design, intervention, or data collection plan.

Assignment 7: Methodology Section

The Methodology section of your proposal describes in detail your action research plan. A revision of your Draft Methodology with attention to any gaps that were identified in the draft in Week 7, the Methodology as a whole is a cohesive presentation of the methods used to conduct the study. This assignment should include all previous sections (Title Page, Introduction, Problem Statement, Research Questions, Hypothesis, Literature Review, Methodology, References, and Appendices) all in proper sequence as shown in the EDU 690 Action Research Report Template.

Assignment 8: Results and Discussion (Draft)

Submit a draft of key findings of your data. This need not include, at this stage, a complete analysis of the data, but should capture all of the results you consider critical for further analysis and, ultimately, to arrive at preliminary answers to your research questions. Your draft should include both the Findings section (display of your data) and your Discussion section (the interpretation of the data and conclusions you draw from that interpretation).

Final Assessment: Action Research Study Report

For your final assignment, you will submit a completed Action Research Study Report that incorporates writing from earlier assignments and some new writing organized into a comprehensive and cohesive report of the study you conducted during EDU 690. This final version should reflect careful attention to any and all feedback you received during the course and represent your best work.

Grading Policy

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Week	Assignment	Points
1	Action Research Concept Form	N/A
2	CITI Training	10
3	Problem Statement, Research Questions, and Hypothesis	3
4	Title Page & References	3
6	Literature Review	3
7	Draft Methodology	Complete/Incomplete
8	Methodology	3
14	Results & Discussion	3
16	Final Report	30
	Discussions (15 @ 3 points each)	45
	TOTAL	100

Grade Scale

Grade	Points Grade	Point Average (GPA)
A	94 – 100%	4.00
A-	90 – 93%	3.75
B+	87 – 89%	3.50
B	84 – 86%	3.00
B-	80 – 83%	2.75
C+	77 – 79%	2.50
C	74 – 76%	2.00
C-	70 – 73%	1.75
D	64 – 69%	1.00
F	00 – 63%	0.00