CONCEPTS OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
CONCEPTS OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
CONCEPTS OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
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Assessing Digital Learning
Still, in today’s educational system, the primary way that student learning is measured is through standardized testing. While there are positives to this method of accountability, it also comes with large and potentially dangerous challenges. For years, there has been a call to innovate our educational structure and teaching practices. This progressive movement seeks to leave the traditional model behind and create learning environments that personalize instruction and mold students into self-directed learners. Many in the field of education believe that this shift is absolutely necessary as traditional
ACtion Research
"...any systematic inquiry conducted...for the purpose of gathering information about how their particular schools operate, how they teach, and how their students learn."
- Craig A. Mertler, 2013
Action Research Topic
teaching methods no longer guarantee that students are truly learning. So here is the challenge: if teachers still practice traditional teaching methods and the current system of tracking learning (standardized testing) shows desired results, there is little to no motivation or logical reason to change those teaching methods. When pondering this challenge, several questions come to mind:
Sir Ken Robinson addresses the lack of progression in education
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What other barriers prevent teachers from embracing innovative teaching methods?
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How can one be a catalyst for progressive change in the midst of these challenges?
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What is the most effective, respectful, and supportive way to introduce, promote, and help teachers implement new methods?
My innovation plan is to take a small group of voluntary teachers (2-3) and help them design and implement a Project-based Learning unit that incorporates blended learning. These teacher participants have some experience with these methods but have expressed that they would like to both learn more about them and attempt to use them during instruction. Because I will be working with such a small and controlled group, we will address both of these teaching methods at the same time. As my innovation plan progresses, I will use this first phase to adjust the approach I take promoting these innovations with the entire teaching staff. As of now, the second phase of this plan focuses on just one innovative teaching method, blended learning, due to the large number of teachers involved.
Project-based learning & Blended learning
Teachers will participate in a blended learning professional development experience
Purpose of study
If I had to condense my innovation plan into a simple phrase, it would read:
Working with teachers through professional development to incorporate innovative teaching methods.
The wonderful thing about this innovation plan is that it would be regressive, not to mention hypocritical, to equip teachers in implementing innovative teaching methods by providing professional development in a traditional format. The PD itself must be innovative in order to create an authentic learning experience and to model the very strategies teachers will be expected to perform.
This is the area where my action research plan will prove useful. By exposing adult learners to blended learning, I plan to track the impact of their learning experience, primarily to see if they choose to implement this practice into their daily instruction. My hope is that they find that this experience enhances their learning and therefore they will give their students the same opportunity.
This literature review synthesizes some existing research and case studies that investigate how blended learning impacts students, the necessary components for productive professional development (which includes clarifying what “productive” means), and the effects of participating in a blended learning experience in the workplace as an adult.
rESEARCH DESIGN & METHODS
For this research action plan, I will use a triangulation mixed-method design, where both qualitative and quantitative data are collected at the same time. The qualitative data will be collected in the form of surveys, observations and one-on-one interviews. I will also need to collect quantitative data, tracking the number of teachers who implement blended learning after having received targeted professional development. The combination of these two types of data will provide more comprehensive results.
Type of data collected
Before enrolling teachers in a professional development experience that models blended learning, I will collect some baseline data. An introductory survey will be given to all teaching staff. The questions are subject to change, but the following information will be collected:
I will also need to assess if true blended learning is occurring in these classrooms. Some teachers could mistakenly label instruction as blended learning simply because students are using iPads during class.
After teachers participate in my designed professional development (that models blended learning), I will need to gather the following information:
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How many (and which) teachers currently use some form of blended learning in their classroom?
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How often?
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What model of blended learning (stations, flipped classroom)?
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Overall description of each teacher’s PD experience
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Positive ways this method enhanced your learning, comprehension and overall feeling towards the content
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Ways this method negatively affected your learning experience (suggestions for improvement)
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At this point, what would prevent you from using blended learning in your classroom?
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How many (and which) teachers attempted blended learning in the classroom post-PD experience?
Instruments of measurement
The progress and results of this research will be shared with my campus leadership team during our weekly administration meetings. When the research has been complete, we will then present our results at one of the monthly staff meetings. In doing so, the interest and motivation of the staff towards blended learning should increase. Drawing from Influencer and the social motivation source of influence, when teachers see their colleagues engaged in innovative teaching practices, they will be more likely to change their views. By using the sources of change and modeling, my hope is that our campus begins to consistently implement blended learning (and eventually Project-Based Learning) which are both research-based strategies to promote authentic learning.
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Surveys (digital form)
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Rating scales (digital form)
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Observations (in person, could also involve helping to facilitate blended learning rotations as a co-teacher)
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Interviews
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Qualitative data will be coded and organized via spreadsheet
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Tracking
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A spreadsheet that displays teachers’ interview results and how many times blended learning was used pre & post PD
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References:
Mertler, C. A. (2013). Action research (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
TED. (2015, September 15). Bring on the Learning Revolution! Ken Robinson [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFMZrEABdw4
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Click to download "Action Research Plan: Timeline"
Reflection
In general, reflection is such an underused (and sometimes undervalued) process for educators. It is one of the most important steps in many of the practices that we participate in, including instructional coaching, professional development, and of course, action research. For the teacher participants, the data collection process involving interviews and surveys will serve as a form of reflection for their professional development experience as well as their implementation of blended learning. I will involve the campus administration team as a part of the “researcher” reflection piece so that, together, we can make the best plan to move forward with the staff. This may involve identifying a new fundamental research question, possibly beginning to look at how blended and Project-based learning is impacting student achievement and/or engagement.
Click to access an early outline of my action research design.
Fundamental Research Question
How will a blended professional development experience affect a teacher's willingness to implement a blended learning experience for students in their classroom?