According to Mertler, action research is conducted by teachers over topics of their choice that will help them make sense of what is going on in their classroom and in turn improve what is going on in their classroom (2011). As I read through the first few chapters of Action research: Improving schools and empowering educators, I kept thinking to myself, "This is me! I can actually do this!" As teachers, the different stages and steps are not foreign to us, we go through them all of the time. The vast majority of teachers do not follow lesson plans from their first year of teaching exactly as they were written. Why? We are always looking for ways to improve. It happens so often that we do not always make note of it. If a lesson bombs first period, we aren't going to do it the exact same way the following periods, and we surely aren't going to do it the exact same way the following years. We gather data, analyze data, develop action plans, reflect, research what other people in our content area are doing, etc. Action research simply provides a formal and systematic way of doing what we already do. So why is it necessary? It can be helpful because teachers deal with a lot of whirlwind and this will allow us to maintain our focus. My action research will focus on the impact of student e-portfolios on student engagement and academic performance for 8th grade students in the AVID elective. As we repeat reflect on our findings, and repeat the procedures, the goal would be to include more students every time.
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This action research plan is specifically focused on students in the 8th grade elective as they will serve as the pilot group. After going through this process with this small group and reflecting on the results, we will plan together as an AVID Site Team for the upcoming year. The goal is to expand a bit more each year starting with one elective, expanding to an entire department, expanding more to campus wide, and eventually district wide. The proposed procedures and timelines could be altered to better meet the needs of our students. We will let our findings determine in which direction we go next.
Student e-portfolios have been recognized as beneficial tools toward creating more meaningful learning experiences. I am interested in learning more about the impact student e-portfolios have proven to have over the course of time at several locations in order to better prepare to implement the student e-portfolio innovation plan at my own campus. The impact will primarily focus on student engagement and academic performance. Read the literature review below to become familiar with a few projects and studies that have explored the impact of student e-portfolios.
Action research involves teachers, campus administrators, and school counselors seeking a deeper understanding of how their school works and how their students learn. According to Mertler, action research "is not the simple implementation of predetermined answers to educational questions; it explores, discovers, and works to find creative solutions to educational problems" (2017, p. 18). Action research can be very powerful because teachers are researching things that directly affect their students. Teachers can take their findings and immediately apply it to their teaching practices. Below you will find the action research plan I developed in order to pursue the implementation of student e-portfolios.
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AuthorMiss E. Garcia Archives
September 2018
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