SLO 3: RESEARCH SKILLS by designing and conducting research ethically and
effectively and presenting their findings at a professional level in oral and written formsAction Research Paper
Andrew Stephens
My action research examined the effects of fieldwork on achievement and
motivation in secondary education. I examined two treatment groups, my general
population of students and our environmental science club, as participants in the study.
The study examined the two groups over the course of two years. I collected data from
varied sources, including interviews, assignment scores, tests, and surveys. Much of
the findings proved statistically significant and I concluded that fieldwork and motivation
can have a positive effect on both achievement and motivation. Following the
completion of the action research paper, I presented my findings to the cohort and their
families.
This action research project helped me exercise and hone my research skills. To
successfully complete the paper I had conduct research very efficiently given the time
available. I did this by producing a study that spanned one and a half years of data over
the course of a two year masters program. The research was also conducted very
ethically. Most participants of the study were under the age of 18 and they were never
forced to participate nor were they given the impression that their participation was a
class requirement. All parents were notified of the study in writing well advance of any
data collection specific to the study. As previously mentioned, the findings were
professionally presented in both in written and oral form. The paper closely followed
professional formatting guidelines put forth by the American Psychological Association
and the oral presentation included a comprehensive PowerPoint along with meticulous
preparation. The final presentation of both the paper and verbal versions of the project
was a result of revisions thanks to constructive feedback from professors and
colleagues in the cohort.
The process of planning, researching, data collecting, analyzing, concluding, and
reflecting involved in this project were tremendous. Through the process I learned how
to become a better researcher; I became a more efficient searcher for articles, a better
synthesizer of information, a better executor of long term plans, a better a data collector,
a better data analyzer, and a better concluder. Before engaging in this extremely
rigorous process I thought that educational research involved simply summarizing some
articles on the topic at hand. I had no idea that a true teacher researcher went to such
lengths to further their own knowledge and become a better practitioner. The process
of data collection, synthesis, and analysis put me low on the learning curve. I had only
recently learned how to use excel and this process made find and use more features
than I knew existed. I moved beyond the averages, modes, and means to learn that
true statistical analysis involved the strenuous and considerable process of statistical
significance. Serendipitously, I had sample sizes big enough and a study long enough
that I found most findings statistically significant. This process has helped me
understand and be more critical of so many of the findings that I have read before.
Ultimately, I would have never understood research to level of understanding that I have
now unless I had undergone the whole thing myself.
The most valuable thing that came out of this paper, besides a confirmation of
the axiom ‘don’t procrastinate’ were the furthered connections with my students. I never
could have understood their progress, struggles, and academic histories had I not
collected such extensive data. Ultimately the process helped me become a better
teacher of my students.