Week 6 – Discussion 1
Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Reference the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.
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Action Planning for Education Change |
In Chapter 7, Mills (2014) discusses a variety of challenges action researchers face with implementing positive change.
What potential challenges or obstacles do you predict facing in your current or future role as an educator when implementing positive change (lack of resources, resistance to change, reluctance to interfere with others’ professional practices, reluctance to admit difficult truths, difficulty finding a forum to share what you have learned, lack of time for action research endeavors, unsupportive administration, other)?
Describe how you would apply what you have learned regarding the challenges of implementing educational change to overcome potential obstacles that you may encounter in taking action.
Guided Response: Respond to a minimum of two classmates. Provide suggestions for overcoming their potential obstacles. What is something they shared that you hadn’t considered in your own future endeavors? *It is expected you follow-up by the last day of the week to provide a secondary response to any comments or questions your instructor may have provided. This is part of the grading criteria as a demonstration of critical thinking.
– Week 6 – Discussion 2
Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Reference the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.
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Final Self-Reflection |
Describe some of your take-aways from this course. Consider all of the topics including use of digital tools when responding. Do not respond in list form. These are merely prompts to get you thinking:
- What concepts or principles have you learned from this course that you might use in your work setting?
- How do you feel about conducting action research now, compared to before you started this course?
- Describe how you perceive the value of qualitative and quantitative data when considering improvements.
- How do you plan to use the knowledge you gained in this course to be a positive change agent in your own work setting? In other words, what are your next steps?
- Include a new, different quote than you did in you r week one introduction. Why does this quote inspire you?
Guided Response: Respond to a minimum of two classmates. *It is expected you follow-up by the last day of the week to provide a secondary response to any comments or questions your instructor may have provided. This is part of the grading criteria as a demonstration of critical thinking.
Weekly Learning Outcomes
This week students will:
- Evaluate ways to overcome obstacles related to educational change.
- Reflect upon one’s use of digital tools in the research process.
- Reflect upon newly obtained research skills obtained during course.
- Create final Action Research Proposal Presentation
Introduction: Culminating Project & Self-Reflection
In this final week, you will get a chance to put to the test, everything you’ve learned and practiced with action research short of actual implementation of an intervention. We will first examine the challenges confronting action researchers in the action planning process and evaluate possible ways to overcome the challenges associated with facilitating positive educational changes in school environments. You will reflect holistically on your learning and skills associated with planning for action research and use of digital tools in the research process. Lastly, you will culminate all of your knowledge and skills into a formal, professional presentation as one would to a school board or managerial staff when proposing to conduct action research and seeking approval to do so.
Required Resources
Texts
- Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher (5th ed.)
- Chapter 7: Action Planning for Educational Change
Supplemental Material
- Gray, A. (2013). PowerPoint how-to guide [PowerPoint presentation]. College of Education, Ashford University, Clinton, IA.
Recommended Resources
Articles
- Brown, D., Reumann-Moore, R., Hugh, R., Christman, J., Riffer, M., & Research for, A. (2008). Links to learning and sustainability: Year three report of the Pennsylvania High School coaching initiative. Philadelphia, PA: Research For Action. Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED504284.pdf
- This report discusses lessons from a three-year evaluation study from the Pennsylvania High School Coaching Initiative (PAHSCI). It examines the influence of instructional coaching on the implementation of research-based literacy practices applicable across content areas and elements of the model that help sustain instructional change.
- This paper explores and challenges the rationale for current, mainstream approaches to teachers’ continuing professional development, arguing for an alternative paradigm based on participatory and collaborative action research.
Discussions
To participate in the following discussions, go to this week’s Discussion link in the left navigation.
- Action Planning for Educational Change
In Chapter 7, Mills (2014) discusses a variety of challenges action researchers face with implementing positive change.
What potential challenges or obstacles do you predict facing in your current or future role as an educator when implementing positive change (lack of resources, resistance to change, reluctance to interfere with others’ professional practices, reluctance to admit difficult truths, difficulty finding a forum to share what you have learned, lack of time for action research endeavors, unsupportive administration, other)?
Describe how you would apply what you have learned regarding the challenges of implementing educational change to overcome potential obstacles that you may encounter in taking action.
Guided Response: Respond to a minimum of two classmates. Provide suggestions for overcoming their potential obstacles. What is something they shared that you hadn’t considered in your own future endeavors? *It is expected you follow-up by the last day of the week to provide a secondary response to any comments or questions your instructor may have provided. This is part of the grading criteria as a demonstration of critical thinking.
- Final Self-Reflection
Describe some of your take-aways from this course. Consider all of the topics including use of digital tools when responding. Do not respond in list form. These are merely prompts to get you thinking:
- What concepts or principles have you learned from this course that you might use in your work setting?
- How do you feel about conducting action research now, compared to before you started this course?
- Describe how you perceive the value of qualitative and quantitative data when considering improvements.
- How do you plan to use the knowledge you gained in this course to be a positive change agent in your own work setting? In other words, what are your next steps?
- Include a new, different quote than you did in you r week one introduction. Why does this quote inspire you?
Guided Response: Respond to a minimum of two classmates. *It is expected you follow-up by the last day of the week to provide a secondary response to any comments or questions your instructor may have provided. This is part of the grading criteria as a demonstration of critical thinking.
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