Trends in Educational Action Research

Trends in Educational Action Research

Shanna Queenie

EDU 671

Dr. Debbie Naughton

December 16, 2013

Trends in Educational Action Research

Area of focus

The area of focus for this educational action research is to find out which teaching methodologies can be utilized to better prepare high school students for their transition into post-secondary curriculums.

Explanation of problem

Most high school students know that college curriculums are nothing like high school and it can be assumed that most teachers do not format their lessons to help prepare them for the type of work they will encounter while matriculating in higher education. In some school districts, teachers will tell students that college work is much harder but yet the assigned work will not reflect what students can expect in college. It has been said that high school teachers focus on making sure their students are prepared for what they need to learn now but what about later? The purpose of education is to prepare students for the future and if how and what they are learning now is not reflective of preparing them for college, how can we expect them to be 100% successful?

Define variables

This research plan will focus on students in grades 9-12. Within each grade level, one class per subject will be assessed in how teachers’ lesson plans are structured. Instead of this being an individualized research action plan, this can be thought of as a district wide plan to help teachers help students become more aware of what to expect once they move on to higher education.

Research question(s)

There are many things to think about when conducting a research plan as specific as this. Such questions to ask are: (1) Are teachers aware of the basic curriculum of the core classes students will take on the college level? (2) Are there assignments challenging enough to give students the concept of how professors assign work?; (3) Are teachers collaborating with university/college professors to gain insight on what is expected of their students?; (4) Does the school participate in any collaborations with allowing high school students to gain college credit? If so, how effective is the program? Are teachers encouraging their students to participate?

When considering this particular action plan, Teachnology (2012) listed a couple of trends that current in education and four of these trends helped me to consider this topic: teacher accountability, global education, collaboration, and differentiated instruction. Although these topics did not include college preparation, these terms resonated with the idea of recognizing the need to have students better prepared for their future. As teachers, they are held to a certain regard and they must do more than the bare minimum. Knowing if secondary teachers are preparing their students for college work is an important issue in teaching and learning because there is an issue in retention once a student goes to college. College professors are not going to spend time going over prior knowledge and if a student is not fully trained in what they will need to know then this can cause the student to be less successful.

If teachers are not ensuring that their students are fully equipped with the tools and knowledge they need to sustain them for college life, then this should implement a change in a how lesson plans need to be structured, school and district wide. In today’s world, having a college education is unavoidable; even if a student does not go to college right way, at some point in their life they will need to further their education to get a better paying job and to have a more fulfilled life. Having this action plan in place will help teachers to better their own methodologies and will allow them to collaborate not only with one another but also with professors. It allows them to utilize an array of methods to help narrow down what works and what can be improved. Ferrance (2000) states that one of the purposes of action research plans was the “potential to impact school change (p. 15)”. Again, this type of plan will not only allow for change within individual classrooms but classrooms across a school’s district. Teachers have to be on one accord and when conducting such research, it does not just affect one person but everyone.

References

Ferrance, E. (2000). Themes in education: Action research. Providence, RI: LAB at Brown University. Retrieved from http://www.brown.edu/academics/education-alliance/sites/brown.edu.acadmeics.education-alliance/files/publications/act_research.pdf.

Teachnology. (2012). Current trends in education. Retrieved from http://www.teach-nology.com/currenttrends/.