A Reprieve

Just as the pulse of my project seemed weakest, a reprieve in the form of an extension. The difficult part of the process of crafting an action plan is the meeting of deadlines. Any number of twists and turns can cause your plan to spiral out of control and before you know it your down the rabbit hole chasing some literature that you have discovered, and must now add, or mired down in the statistical vortex that is your data.  For sure, you want to get it right. You want to make sure your plan doesn't become the ramblings of a babbling fool but instead the musings of a beautiful mind. You want the conveyance to be as crystalline as the day you first dreamt of it. This however, would never happen without the occasional extension to regroup and rethink. So for this week I would like to thank our professor who took pity on our poor souls and new that the product is as important as the process.  

Methodology and Analyzing the Data

Once I changed my topic I feel much better as I approach analyzing the data.  There are studies done throughout the country examining online learning.  I will use comparison of control group and non control groups to analyze my data.

Backwards Planning and Analyzing the Data

Completing the Analyzing the Data section in my Action Research Project made me realizing how much backwards planning is actually involved. When I began to hone in on how I want to analyze the data, the big picture began to appear. It helped me to refocus the methodology and what literature would be good to analyze.

Moving forward with this research, I can see how much data that i will be collecting. And thats a good thing. This will allow me to analyze students grades but bring the students into the fold by asking their own opinions. A Likert Scale using survey monkey is an easy way to do this. In addition, I have begun to think about what my final presentation for the project will look like.  Here is an example of one, Poster of a Flipped Classroom.

Revising Methodology

During the last week, I took some time to revise my methodology to include more specificity about the variables that will be included in my research plan. Originally, I had not provided enough detail so that those reading my plan would clearly understand the intervention being used. I also revised the survey I intend to use to include more options used in the intervention so that responses are more targeted and so that my research question can be answered. Now I feel more confident in developing a plan to collect, organize, analyze, and interpret data.

Technology and the 21st Century

I found something relevant and we can all agree something said by our Secretary of Education.


      "The factory model of  education is the wrong model for the 21st century.  Today our schools must prepare all students for college and careers and do far more to personalize instruction and employ the smart use of technology. "




                                            - Arne Duncan , U.S. Secretary of Education

Online School

Will online schooling eventually replace the traditional classroom?   As an educator if I don't keep up with technology will I be replaced.  Advanced Path programs are being used for credit recovery.   Do these programs give students the  incentive to pass classes the first time if they have the opportunity to complete classes online?

Sign Test

A well-known example of a sign test is the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. I was reading about it on Wikipedia and it's used for repeated measures, which is what my ARPP uses as the design.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilcoxon_signed-rank_test

The Virtual Classroom

The virtual classroom seems to be the wave of the 21st century.  Florida and Michigan are using the Virtual and online classroom.   I found some links on you tube on the virtual classroom I will check the url link on another blog. .

First Formative Assessment Results

Usually I post my blog on Wednesdays, but this week I held off till today, due to my first formative assessment with my flipped classes. Over the course of the past few weeks, my classes have been split into two different groups, traditional classroom and a flipped classroom. I gave my students a quiz today and wanted to to post my results. 54 students took the quiz today. It was 35 selected responses and 5 short answer constructed response questions. The same quiz was given to the same classes, as they were taught in a traditional classroom.  The stats are as follows:

Last year: Events from end of WWI though the start of WWII

Last year:

• Traditional Classroom: 67% average score

This year:

• Traditional Classroom: 69% average score
• Flipped Classroom: 74% average score

The average scores went up 5%. That is a big jump. My students were very happy with this increase and so far are pleased with this new type of classroom. They have begun to ask are the U.S. History classes next year going to be flipped. Seems like the student buy-in is very high at this point. The video also shows why student buy-in is high.

Methodology - Using Observation

As  I do my Action Research I will be using observations and surveys when working on my methodology design.  My data will be more qualitative.

Displaying Results

While working on the data collection component of my action research plan, I decided to download the app Statistics Visualizer, on my iPad to explore its functionalities and to gain a sense of how user-friendly it is. I created sample data of the heights and weights of basketball players on a team, and then used the app to conduct a correlational analysis. Screenshots are shown below. I found that the app is easy to use and a useful tool.

Sample Data

Stat Report

 

Regression Plot 

Finalizing Draft of Methodology

For my methodology design, I decided to stick with the quasi-experimental research with one group pretest and posttest. This design is limiting in terms of reliability, but it allows for some flexibility within my research plan. I made both my pretest and posttest performance assessment tasks which will allow me to answer research question regarding improved student math proficiency. I’m sure this part of my plan will require edits as the others. I look forward to the feedback as I begin to learn how to analyze the data. 

 

SNOW DAYS!!! SNOW DAYS!!!! SNOW DAYS????

SNOW DAYS!!! SNOW DAYS!!!! SNOW DAYS????

Technology is ruining the traditional snow days for the students and myself. This is the first year I have taken advantage of Edmodo and had my students do work during the snow days. While other teachers are saying they lost those days with their students and are behind, mine kept on going. I posted videos and assignments in a true Flipped Classroom fashion. The student came in with their work and were ready to go.  Surprisingly, I only had a small number of complaints that they had to do work on the snow day. Most just did it as an expectation of the class. I think this may become a norm.  A flipped classroom can be done at any time and any place. Snow days didn't interfere with the learning, because the learning takes place at home.

Thinking Outside The Box

I had to refocus on my Action Research.  I have made my research more relevant.  I am examining the impact of online and blended learning on at-risk students.  More and more schools are using online learning and blended learning to deal with the at-risk population.  I am seeing the relevance of this research.   Virtual learning is a great tool and vital in keeping with the 21st century.  As I research more I am becoming more confident in my research.  Will online learning and blended learning contribute to the decline in the dropout rate among certain groups of students?   I see the relevance of this topic even more.

Letting the Research Guide You

Research is like drilling for oil, the deeper you go the more you tend to find. This has been my experience in writing an action research plan.  After not feeling satisfied with the quantity of literature I reviewed in my first go around, I decided to cast a wider net and delve deeper to find literature that spoke more specifically to my topic.  I was successful in gaining greater insight and
potentially a professional contact.  I reached out to an author whose article, according to the abstract, would be perfect to add to my literature review. The article itself, not available and hence the need to contact the author. This particular author was a professor at a college I attended years ago and whose classes I never took. But, having great faith in mankind and the hope he will take pity on a former alumnus, I look forward to hearing back from him soon. I view this encounter in the most positive light possible, with either the contact providing the article needed or perhaps with guidance to suggest other articles for my research.  Whatever the outcome, approaching expert authors in the field is never a bad thing and could lead to great professional contacts. I will keep you posted. 

As my professor has pointed out, action research planning can be a very heuristic process. I am understanding that better every day.