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Week 3

Essential Question: What will you have to know and do to begin your research?

While researching this essential question, I came across this video and I found it so helpful because it lays out each of the steps of action research.


“Action research starts with your own observations, experiences, and inquiry and continues through a process of discovery” (Spencer, 2019). To begin my action research it is important that I reflect on my teaching and observe my students’ learning to figure out exactly what it is that I want to explore. Then I must define my research question and be sure that it is something that can be tested. Rust and Clark (p. 5) stated, “The hardest part of designing an action research study is framing a good question." They offer many suggestions for writing a good question which include writing a first draft, sharing with a colleague, and reframing your question to be researchable.

Since public education as we know it has been turned upside down this spring due to COVID-19, I would like to focus my research on the applications of technology to continue learning during this unprecedented time of the global pandemic. More specifically, I will attempt to answer these three questions:
  1. Which technology tools proved most effective for digital education at secondary level?
  2. Where teachers and students obtained technology support during the transitional time to remote teaching?
  3. If and how the comfort level of using technology changed from the beginning to the end of the experience for teachers and students?
My hope is that through my research I will have a better understanding of what went well and what did not go so well during the state-wide school shutdowns (remote learning) and how to better prepare for similar future conditions.


Resources:
Rust, F. & Clark, C. (n.d.). How to do action research in your classroom: Lessons from Teachers Network Leadership Institute. Retrieved May 31, 2020 https://teachersnetwork.org/tnli/Action_Research_Booklet.pdf

Spencer, J. (2019, March 27). How Action Research Sparks Innovation and Boosts Creativity in the Classroom. Retrieved May 31, 2020, from http://www.spencerauthor.com/how-action-research-sparks-innovation-and-boosts-creativity-in-the-classroom/

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