Capturing the Educational Journey of a Lifelong Learner

Student Choice in Learning: An Action Research Plan

The Applied Digital Learning program at Lamar University has taught me how to develop an innovative idea into a plan that is ready to implement in the classroom.  This study has helped to give a bit of foresight into the actual launch.  The need for this foresight is to minimize failures that could be avoided.  Blended learning is such a broad topic.  Narrowing in on the flex model and student choice and ownership has helped immensely.  Chance favors the prepared mind.  This study has helped to prepare this innovation for implementation.

 

Fundamental Research Question

How does a CTC classroom with a student-centered model in place have higher comprehension of concepts, what are our options, and what are the students’ perceptions while navigating this classroom model?  The student is the primary stakeholder in the educational system.  Working to enhance the educational journey of our students is worth the work.  This study is important because this innovation plan has the potential to drastically change our classroom for the better.  Deploying a blended model in the classroom will maximize educational time as well as provide the students a choice in their educational journey. The student’s perception and voice are the central focus.

 

Summary of the Literature Review

Blended Learning can be disruptive or sustaining.  There are many different forms of blended learning that can have a positive impact on student learning & comprehension.  When students miss school for any reason, they will be able to gather what they have missed real time.  In the COVID era, where we see students missing many days in a row if infected, we can now keep them up to speed with their class because of this virtual option.  Students can also use this model to enhance their learning.  Working with the students through surveys and soft launches will help the implementation find success.  Analyzing what has successfully been implemented in other classrooms along with the perceptions and thoughts of the students has led me to conclude that this model is the right fit for my own class.  It will be an evolving model and the students as stakeholders that will benefit the most. 

 

Study Information

As I stated, I wanted to discover how I could help keep the students up to speed by implementing blended learning in my classroom. I have read several articles on the topic throughout the process of developing my innovation plan. The information was synthesized in a literature review. The literature review gave me reasons blended learning will help students reach their full learning potential.

Since part of the action research planning process is to narrow the topic, I decided to focus on the impact a blended learning model would have for students with attendance issues. Through my review of the literature, I discovered that many students are open to the learning management system that I intend to use.  I also am beginning to see the big advantages that having an online presence would have on all learners.  This process will be ongoing and will surely need modifications along the way, but a good foundation has been laid.  Incredible structures can be built on solid foundations.

 

Research Design

I plan on using a mixed method of qualitative and quantitative data for this research action plan. The qualitative data will take the form of surveys, interviews, and observations. The quantitative data will be simple occurrence tracking such as: Did student attendance impact the learning environment? This is the triangulation mixed method because both qualitative and quantitative methods will be used at about the same time to gain more comprehensive results.

 

Data Collection and Analysis

I will be using Google classroom as students in our area are familiar with using Google Forms. I would like to administer measures every six weeks. Some students check their work daily, others, not so much. It will be interesting to discover if any of these frequencies change.

1. Measurements and Data Collection

2. Surveys - Delivered via Google forms quarterly

3. Rating Scales - Delivered via Google forms quarterly

4. Observations - Conducted by me

5. Self-reflection by student – analyzed by me

6. Interviews - Conducted in person quarterly

 

Sharing and Communicating Results

This Action Research plan will take an entire school year to complete. I think for the first year, adaptation of my class should be the focus. The data collected will be shared with my administrators during our bi-weekly meetings and by email. The data will be analyzed to see if there is a correlation between blended learning use and pace of absent students. Once all data has been collected and analyzed, hopefully, the data will show that a blended learning model in my classroom is the key to more successful and independent students.

 

Final Reflection

Reflection regarding the entire process is the most important step in action research. Not only reflection by the researcher but reflection by all stakeholders. After reflecting on the process, the action research cycle will start over with a new fundamental research question. The data often leads to new areas that need to be researched. In fact, after completing this plan, I have already decided to devise a plan to see for myself if student achievement levels are higher in blended learning classrooms.

 

 

References

 

Christensen, C.  (2013). Is K-12 blended learning disruptive. San Fransisco: Clayton Christensen Institute.

 

Stoker, H. (2012). Classifying K-12 blended learning. San Fransisco: Innosight Institute.

 

Krismadinata. (2020, October 19). Blended learning as instructional model in vocational education: literature review. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(11B), 5801-5815. doi:10.13189/ujer.2020.082214

 

Walne, B. (2012). Emerging blended-learning models and school profiles. Houston: Greater Houston Community Foundation.

 

Horn, M. (2011). The rise of K-12 blended learning. San Fransisco: Innosight Institute.

 

Nakayama, M. (2016). Student's reflections on their learning and note-taking activities in a blended learning course. The Electronic Journal of e-learning, 14(1), 43-53.

 

Ayob, N. (2020). Overview of blended learning: the effect of station rotation model on students' achievement. Journal of Critical Reviews, 7(6), 320-326.

 

Kavitha, R. (2018, November). A study on the student experiences in blended learning environments. International Jornal of Recent Technology and Engineering, 7(4S), 2021

 

Capone, R. (2017). Blended learning, flipped classroom and virtual environment: challenges and opportunities for the 21st century students. EDULEARN17 (pp. 10478-10482). Barcelona: Research Gate. doi:10.21125/edulearn.2017.0985

 

Shivam, R.  (2015, November). Implementation of blended learning in classroom: a review paper. Internation Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 5(11), 369-372.