Final Action Research Proposal
Final Action Research Proposal
[WLO: 1, 2][CLO: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
The summative assignment for ECE 660, the Final Action Research Proposal, will consist of five major sections that you have constructed throughout the course. Based on the feedback you have received each week from classmates, colleagues, and your instructor, you are expected to continuously refine, revise, and “polish” each section to include in the final proposal.
The required sections for your Final Action Research Proposal are as follows:
- Heading 1: Introduction
- Heading 2: Literature Review
- Heading 3: Intervention Planning and Ethical Considerations
- Heading 4: Data Collection, Instruments, and Procedures
- Heading 5: Author’s Reflection
- References
- Appendix A: Instrument
When putting together your
Final Action Research proposal
, be sure to use the appropriate APA format for your headings for each section. You may want to review the anchor paper in the course or the to ensure you are organizing and formatting your paper correctly.
*Reminder to Students: Remember to save all copies of your work throughout the course as you will use each assignment as part of the Final Action Research Proposal. For many of the discussions and assignments, you are building on your work each week, so it is appropriate to use content from your discussions in your weekly assignments, generally expanding and extending concepts and sections as you progress from week to week. You will have the opportunity to make revisions to each section of your proposal based on instructor and peer feedback prior to your final version in the Final Action Research Proposal, so be sure to revisit the feedback you have received from your instructor and classmates each week to continuously refine your proposal throughout the course.
- Content Expectations
- Introduction (revised and refined from the Week Three assignment)
Context for the Proposed Study: In one paragraph, describe your current professional role and setting. If you are not working in early childhood education at this time, you can use a previous or future role that aligns with your career goals and interests.
Purpose and Educational Significance: In one to two paragraphs, explain the purpose of your study and the student outcomes you want to influence. Further, discuss the literature or research that indicates why this is an important area to address in education.
Explanation of Problem: In two paragraphs, explain a statement of the problem or situation that led to this interest or why you want to pursue this topic.
Population: In one paragraph, describe the target population (age/grade, quantity of participants, students or adults). Explain why you have chosen this target population for the study, including details about why this population is appropriate for the study.
One Research Question: Develop one research question that aligns with your area of focus and clearly addresses what you hope to answer and influence in this proposed study. The question needs to be answerable and it must appropriately represent the population/participants you identified. Be sure to review the readings related to developing good research questions to inform the development of your question.
Locus of Control: In one paragraph, evaluate whether your idea is within your locus of control. If you are using a past experience or contrived topic because you are not currently working in ECE, please explain locus of control as related to your previous position or anticipated future position. - Literature Review
Research Summary 1: Choose one of the articles from your Literature Evaluation to explain the intervention, strategies, procedures, and instruments used in the chosen study that have been found to be productive in investigating your topic and area of focus.
Research Summary 2: Choose one of the articles from your Literature Evaluation to explain the intervention, strategies, procedures, and instruments used in the chosen study that have been found to be productive in investigating your topic and area of focus.
Application of Findings and Author’s Position: Based on your review of the literature, determine the intervention that you will use to address your area of focus to influence the situation you want to improve. Discuss why you feel this is the best approach for your particular action research study and why you believe it meets the needs you have outlined in your introduction. Explain any changes you will make to the intervention you identify from the literature, based on your own classroom, school, center, or organizational needs. - Intervention Planning and Ethical Considerations (revised and refined from the Week 4 assignment)
Intervention Description: In one to two pages, explain your proposed intervention for influencing your area of focus. Explain why you think your population will benefit from the intervention and how it could result in improvements in the area or variable you want to influence. Ensure your explanation draws on the literature you are using to support this choice of intervention.
Intervention Plan: In one to two pages, describe in chronological order how you will implement your intervention and provide a hypothetical yet practical timeframe for these steps. You may include a chart that organizes how you would implement your intervention from week to week.
Ethical Considerations – Informed Consent and IRB Approval: In one to two paragraphs, discuss how you would approach informed consent and IRB Approval if you were to implement your action research study. Explain how you would ensure that participants enter the research of their free will and with an understanding of the study and any potential dangers.
Ethical Considerations – Freedom from Harm: In one to two paragraphs, explain how the literature you reviewed and your plan for implementation leads you to believe what you are doing is an appropriate intervention and not exposing your participants to risk.
Ethical Considerations – Anonymity and Confidentiality: In one paragraph, explain your planned measures to use anonymity and confidentiality to avoid privacy invasion and potential harm. - Data Collection, Instruments, and Procedures (revised and refined from the Week 5 assignment)
Data Collection – Qualitative: In one to two paragraphs, justify one qualitative (experience-based) instrument that would be used in your proposed study to collect data on the effectiveness of your intervention in answering your research question(s). Provide support from the research, literature, and textbook to explain why this would be an effective method for collecting data.
Data Collection – Quantitative: In one to two paragraphs, justify one quantitative (number-based) instrument that would be used in your proposed study to collect data on the effectiveness of your intervention in answering your research question(s). Provide support from the research, literature, and textbook to explain why this would be an effective method for collecting data.
Data Collection Considerations: Credibility, Transferability, Dependability, and Confirmability: Using Guba’s Criteria of Validity of Qualitative Research, determine how you will establish trustworthiness of your action research study.
Data Collection Procedures: In conjunction with your intervention plan, formulate your procedures for collecting data in your proposed action research study. You may use the chart you created for your intervention plan to add in the data collection procedures, or provide a narrative description of your procedures. Be sure to also address how your data collection will reflect trustworthiness and the ethical considerations related to anonymity and confidentiality. - Author’s Reflection (additional section added in Week 6)
Author’s Reflection: In this section, critique your own understanding of action research as a result of constructing your action research proposal. Discuss how action research can strengthen your practices in your current or future role as an early childhood professional. Forecast how you could use action research in being a change agent and leader in early childhood education.
- Appendix A (revised and refined from the Week 5 assignment)
Instrument: Design one instrument, either quantitative or qualitative, that you could use to collect data to answer your research question(s) and to determine the effectiveness of your intervention.
- Research and Resource Expectations:
A minimum of six scholarly, peer-reviewed sources, in addition to the course textbook (include all sources referenced in the Week One, Two, Three, Four, and Five assignments), are required.
- Writing and Formatting Expectations:
Title Page: Must include a separate title page with the following:
Title of paper
Student’s name
Course name and number
Instructor’s name
Date submittedAcademic Voice: Academic Voice is used (avoids casual language, limited use of “I” or first person, it is declarative).
Purpose and Organization: Demonstrates logical progression of ideas.
Syntax and Mechanics: Writing displays meticulous comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
APA Formatting: Papers are formatted properly and all sources are cited and referenced in APA style as outlined - Suggested Assignment Length
This assignment should be about 20 double-spaced pages in length (not including title and reference pages).
I will upload all the research assignments
Running Head:
Action Research Area of Focus
1
Action Research Area of Focus 4
Action Research Area of Focus
Annette Williams
ECE660: Action Research and Inquiry in Education
Instructor Krummick
January 13, 2020
Action Research Area of Focus
My future professional role would be an early childhood educator in both Science and English. This would educate students through lectures and hand-on learning with adherence to the curriculum. My setting would be the classroom whereby it would ensure that there is a happy environment for all students. Also, act as a role model and a mentor by encouraging students to learn and ensuring that they do not face challenges such as depression or discrimination which would inhibit their learning.This would ensure that interacting with students more often and learn about their families. Maintaining good relationships with their families and having frequent communication would be a good way to understand any challenges the students could be facing. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Williams… we need to write in third person. Comment by Juliet Krummick: To teach in both… Comment by Juliet Krummick: This section should also include current and previous experiences. This entire paper should be in third person.
The purpose of the study is to find various ways in which students could more engage during the learning of science. The student outcomes that need influence are their knowledge and skills in science and their attitude towards learning the subject. Students are expected to obtain a positive attitude toward science learning. The performance of students in science is also an area of interest to be influenced. They should achieve good grades. The behavior of students in learning is also to be influenced since students would be expected to be disciplined and adhere to the classroom conduct rules. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Could be… Comment by Juliet Krummick: How do you know this? Through assessments, observations? I would state how you know. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Why? Comment by Juliet Krummick: Good grades to show mastery and understanding of the topic at hand? Comment by Juliet Krummick: This is off topic.
An example of a scholarly article that shows the importance of motivating students to learn is “Motivation in the classroom: Reciprocal effects of teacher behavior and student engagement across the school year”. This article discusses the importance of teacher involvement in motivating students to learn. It argues that the provision of autonomy support to students enhances their motivation in learning. “These findings suggest that students who are behaviorally disengaged receive teacher responses that should further undermine their motivation” (Skinner et al, 2013).The behavior of teachers has a significant effect on the motivation of students in learning various subjects. Comment by Juliet Krummick: This first paper is not a literature review (that’s week 3). I understand your want and need to add in a resource. I would write your information and then go in and add resources to support your ideas, not the other way around. I’ll point as some areas as I read where a resource would be appropriate.
Most of the first-grade students do not seem to be engaged enough during learning science. Even though some perform well, others fail to perform very well because of a lack of adequate engagement during learning. Teachers do not put much emphasis on the teaching of science, and this leads to a loss of interest among their students. Science forms the basis of subjects such as Biology, Physics, and Chemistry. Many students are not interested in learning these subjects because they were not motivated to learn science during early childhood education. Comment by Juliet Krummick: We need to be right on with our conclusions, how do you know this? Comment by Juliet Krummick: Well on tests? Comment by Juliet Krummick: How were you able to determine this? Comment by Juliet Krummick: How do you know this? In research writing, we need to stick to the facts and stay away from opinions. You can explain this idea without opinions…Teachers dedicate most of their time to reading within the researcher’s school. There is a big push for reading skills and science is put on the back burner. There is limited time for planning and for conducting lessons during the school day due to the classroom schedule. (see how I am showing how my idea is supported?) feel free to use anything that I suggest in the comments. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Which students will learn in the future. Comment by Juliet Krummick: See if you can change this sentence into facts, while avoiding the opinion or made up information (the stuff that doesn’t have support written in).
However, to pursue this topic to determine the role of student motivation in the performance of students. Specifically, wanting to determine whether there is a connection between the poor performance of students in science and inadequate engagement. It would also be good to determine various ways in which early childhood educators could motivate them to learn science.The target population is students in the first grade who are 6-7 years old. The reason for choosing this population is that the students begin to be taught science at this grade. First-grade students are encouraged to learn about their world by making observations and asking questions about nature. First grade forms the basis of learning science and contributes majorly to the interest of students in learning specific subjects such as science as they advance to higher grades of learning. Comment by Juliet Krummick: This is an incomplete sentence. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Are you trying to explain your research questions here? Comment by Juliet Krummick: These numbers should be written out. How many students are there? Comment by Juliet Krummick: You need more information here. How many classrooms, how many students, what is the student population? Comment by Juliet Krummick: This is a good place for a reference, maybe your state guidelines that shows that science benchmarks start in first grade? Comment by Juliet Krummick: This information is fine but it is not tied to your target population. Are you only focusing in on students? What about parents, teachers, administrators?
What are some of the ways to increase the motivation of first graders towards learning in early elementary in the area of science? Comment by Juliet Krummick: Your question gets to stand all by itself, it’s important!!
The idea is within the locus of control since we can fully engage the first-grade students to learn science. As an early childhood educator, spending most of my time with the students and would also be held accountable for their poor performance. Achieving to control the behavior of children in the class by guaranteeing to reward those who exhibit positive behaviors. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Here you can add an indirect quote about locus of control from our textbook. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Your first sentence here is right on!! You are in control of selecting the population. You don’t have control over the behavior; however, you can provide good strategies, that you will select and decide when to use them, during science lessons. You can help students achieve happiness when learning about science. You also have control over how you monitor students and collected data. Does that help?
This can ensure that all students adhere to the code of conduct while in the classroom. Having to keep more focus on teaching science and ensuring that all students stay happy while learning the unit. “Praising positive behaviors in the classroom is a simple, yet powerful, way to motivate students to be on their best behavior” (Urdan et al, 2015). Early childhood educators can change the negative attitude of students by teaching more understandably to ensure that students do not live with the mentality that science is a difficult subject. Comment by Juliet Krummick: I’m not sure why you keep going back to this idea, how are code of conduct and increasing motivation tied together? Comment by Juliet Krummick: This is an incomplete sentence. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Do you really want to increase motivation in science or is your problem really in classroom management? These are two different things. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Have you conducted research to determine this solution? If not, it is not needed. If so, you already have solutions to your problem and need to change your topic. Comment by Juliet Krummick: We do want to stay positive throughout the paper.
REFERENCES
Mills, G. E. (2014). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Retrieved from
https://content.ashford.edu
Skinner, E. A., & Belmont, M. J. (2013). Motivation in the classroom: Reciprocal effects of teacher behavior and student engagement across the school year. Journal of educational psychology, 85(4), 571.
Urdan, T., & Turner, J. C. (2015). Competence motivation in the classroom. Handbook of competence and motivation, 297317.
RunningHead:
Action Research Area of Focus
1
Action Research Area of Focus 4
Action Research Area of Focus
Annette Williams
ECE660: Action Research and Inquiry in Education
Instructor Krummick
January 19, 2020
Action Research Area of Focus
The future professional role would be an early childhood educator to teach both Science and English. This would educate students through lectures and hand-on learning with adherence to the curriculum. The setting would be the classroom whereby it would ensure that there is a happy environment for all students. It would be good to act as a role model and a mentor by encouraging students to learn and ensuring that they do not face challenges such as depression or discrimination which would inhibit their learning.This would ensure that interacting with students more often and learn about their families. Maintaining good relationships with their families and having frequent communication would be a good way to understand any challenges the students could be facing. The current experience is helping kindergarten students learn social studies while the previous experience in helping students complete their homework. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Not sure what happened to the entire first paragraph you had on your first version but you do need something about you being the researcher. The first paragraph on the first version was fine, just needed to be in third person. You can add part of that (maybe the first 2 sentences) to this paragraph. You can refer to yourself as “the researcher” or your last name.
The purpose of the study is to find various ways in which students could be motivated during the learning of science. The student outcomes that need influence are their knowledge and skills in science and their attitude towards learning the subject. This is because assessments have shown that some students lack sufficient knowledge in science. Students are expected to obtain a positive attitude toward science learning. The performance of students in science is also an area of interest to be influenced because it also determines whether or not the students are engaged in learning. They should achieve good grades to show that they understand the topics at hand. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Engaged in their learning?
This would be a good spot to add a resource about student’s engagement.
Teacher involvement is very important in motivating students to learn. The provision of autonomy support to students enhances their motivation in learning. Student-teacher relationships are important in optimizing student motivation. “Educators and parents value motivation in school for its own sake as well as for its long-term contribution to child’s learnings and esteem” (Skinner et al, 2013). Motivated students show interest in learning, are enthusiastic, curios, involved and are likely to cope with setbacks and challenges. These students can stay in school for longer and learn more, therefore, they are more likely to perform well than the unmotivated students. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Great place for a direct quote. You will also need to add a page number or paragraph number following the year within the citation.
The fact that not all first-grade students perform well in science means that they may not be engaged enough during learning science. Most of the first-grade students are not engaged enough during learning science due to the fact that they lose interest in the subject as they progress to higher levels of learning. Even though some perform well on tests, othersfail to perform very well. The teachers do not put much emphasis on the teaching of science because they dedicate most of their time to reading within the researcher’s school. There is a big push for reading skills and science is put on the back burner. There is limited time for planning and for conducting lessons during the school day due to the classroom schedule.This leads to a loss of interest among their students. Science forms the basis of subjects such as Biology, Physics, and Chemistry which students will learn in the future, therefore, lack of interest in science later leads to disinterest in these subjects. Comment by Juliet Krummick: The fact that not all first graders, within the researcher’s school are not scoring well on science assessments means… Comment by Juliet Krummick: This was discovered through observation… Comment by Juliet Krummick: Why is this? Comment by Juliet Krummick: For teacher planning? Comment by Juliet Krummick: If there is not a direct correlation between the two and you have no evidence to support this idea, I would delete it. Comment by Juliet Krummick: You are jumping to conclusions without having evidence. This is not the place to assume and suggest ideas that have not been proven, instead, just tell what is happening in your classroom.
The aim of pursuing this topic is to determine the different ways in which students could be motivated in science learning to improve their performance. The topic also aimsto determine whether there is a connection between the poor performance of students in science and inadequate engagement. It would also be good to determine various ways in which early childhood educators could motivate them to learn science.The target population is students in the first grade. The reason for choosing this population is that the students begin to be taught science at this grade. “Children spend their time exploring and experimenting in first grade. Science lessons often overlap with math and literacy as teachers use books, graphs, and measurement to help students learn” (Urdan et al, 2015).First-grade students are encouraged to learn about their world by making observations and asking questions about nature. First grade forms the basis of learning science and contributes majorly to the interest of students in learning specific subjects such as science as they advance to higher grades of learning. Parents and teachers learn about various ways they can motivate students to learn. Comment by Juliet Krummick: New paragraph, new idea. Comment by Juliet Krummick: This entire section should be about your population only. Tell use about how many students, age range, how many in each age range, the teacher would also be a participant, tell me about your background and education. You can share boy/girl ratio, demographic information if you know it. Any information that would help the reader better understand your population.
Research Question: What are some of the ways to increase the motivation of first graders towards learning in early elementary in the area of science?
The idea is within the locus of control since early childhood educatorscan fully engage the first-grade students to learn science.According to Mills the locus of control is the degree to which teachers feel that they have control over their students and the classroom (2014). Comment by Juliet Krummick: You need more information about what you are in control of.
Write these ideas in third person: You have control over the size of the population. You have control over the amount of information that you provide to families. You have the right to not use information that you find. You have control over how many strategies are used at once, you have control over how the information is documented
REFERENCES
Mills, G. E. (2014). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Retrieved from
https://content.ashford.edu
Skinner, E. A., & Belmont, M. J. (2013). Motivation in the classroom: Reciprocal effects of teacher behavior and student engagement across the school year. Journal of educational psychology, 85(4), 571.
Urdan, T., & Turner, J. C. (2015). Competence motivation in the classroom. Handbook of competence and motivation, 297317.
Running head: Data Collections 1
Data Collections 9
Data collection, instruments, and procedures
Annette Williams
ECE660: Action Research and Inquiry in Education
Instructor Dr. Krummick
February 10, 2020
Data collection- Qualitative
One of the qualitative instruments that would be used is the interview. Five teachers would be invited to take the interview. The interview questions would be developed based on the level of motivation towards science learning. The teachers would, however, be asked whether they find it difficult to motivate students and whether can increase the motivation level of students towards science learning. They would also be asked to give the attributes of motivated students, suggest several ways in which the motivation level of students towards science learning could be improved and whether or not making a connection between science learning and real-world issues would make students more interested in science learning.
The teachers to be interviewed should have taught first graders in the science subject. This is because the first-graders teachers have interacted with the students before, and they could be knowing the strategies that are most effective in ensuring that students are motivated to learn science. The interviews would be useful in collecting the views of teachers about student motivation in science learning. “Interviews are useful to explore experiences, views, opinions, or beliefs on specific matters” (Gerstner, 2017, p.12). The intervention suggested is to connect science learning to real-world issues to increase the level of motivation among students. It would, therefore, be good to ask teachers about its effectiveness when used as a teaching strategy in science teaching. Comment by Juliet Krummick: This is a great section. However, it needs more support. “fully supported with research, literature, and the textbook.”
Data collection- Quantitative
The quantitative instrument to be used is the survey. The Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) would be used to determine the most effective way of motivating students in science learning. Some of the dimensions of the survey would include uncertainty and personal relevance. “Uncertainty dimension aims to assess student perception about the tentative nature of science and their experience in the uncertainty of scientific knowledge” (Cetin-Dindar, 2016, p.243). The effectiveness of connecting science learning to real-world issues would be evaluated. Some of the items in the constructivist learning environment survey would include: “Williams would enjoy watching educational videos during science learning”, ‘In this science class, she learn about the world outside school”, “Williams motivation level in learning science would be increased if there were more science laboratory experiments”, “Williams would be more motivated to learn science if there were more activities”.
A five-point scale would be used to give responses to the items in the survey. The elementary school students would be required to give their thoughts genuinely. “The responses were in five-point scale: Rarely, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, and Almost Always; and they were scored from one to five respectively.” The responses given in the survey would determine the effectiveness of strategies that teachers use to connect science learning to real-world issues. Students would be given instructions before they take the survey. This is because they would need to know that it was just a survey and not a test, and they were allowed to give different answers. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Same thing here. “fully supported with research, literature, and the textbook.”
Constructivist learning environment survey: Comment by Juliet Krummick: Your instrument should be in the appendix section. I added a heading following the reference page. Here I would quickly describe what your instrument includes and say to see appendix A for the example tool.
Item
Almost never
Seldom
Sometimes
Often
Almost always
In this science class, learning about the world outside school
Their motivation for science learning is increased when they conduct science experiments.
They often enjoy it when we are learning science activities.
Enjoying watching educational videos on science.
The motivation for science learning would increase if there was a connection with real-world issues
The teaching strategy affects their attitude towards science learning
Data collection considerations:
To establish credibility, techniques such as prolonged engagement, persistent observation, and member checks. Before the survey is given out to the respondents, adequate time would be spent with them. This would help determine whether or not they could be having any other reasons for not being motivated in science learning. Spending time with the students would also determine whether they could be having health issues that could prevent them from taking the survey. It would also be good to ensure that they get used to the person who would give out the survey. When adequate time is spent, a researcher builds trust with the respondents. He/she is also able to learn about the culture of both students and teachers. Comment by Juliet Krummick: This sentence would be clearer if you flip it.
Adequate time would be spent with respondents before the survey is given. Comment by Juliet Krummick: ? This is random information. Everyone should be able to take the survey unless absent. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Won’t the teacher be handing out the survey? Comment by Juliet Krummick: Are you going to spend time with the respondents? If so, you need a reference here to support this idea.
Persistent observation would also be used to establish credibility. Persistent observation would be useful to provide depth. “… the purpose of persistent observation is to identify those characteristics and elements in the situation that are most relevant to the problem or issue being pursued and focusing on them in detail” (Lincoln & Guba, 1985, p.304). Another strategy used to establish credibility was member checking. To member check, the interpretations and data would be taken to the participants. Only the teachers would member check due to their vast knowledge and experience in the field. The teachers would first be asked to give consent to participate in the member check. Thereafter, they would be given the analysis and all data findings to member check. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Would be… you haven’t completed the study yet. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Here you should be discussing how the tools, listed above, will cover all of these different elements. How will interview and surveys provide credibility to your study?
External audits would be used to establish dependability. An external researcher would be asked to research study. She would evaluate the accuracy of the findings and interpretations of the data. Triangulation would also be used to establish confirmability of which two evaluators would be asked to review both quantitative and qualitative data. Comment by Juliet Krummick: This is another new thing. Unless it is listed above and explained, it should not be used.
Data collection procedures:
Students who will participate in the study will be given consent forms to be signed by their parents three weeks before the study begins. Selecting twenty first graders to take part in the study. The consent form will describe the study’s purpose and benefits to the students and the school. The identity of students will only be known by the researcher for confidentiality purposes. The research document will not include the names of students. The student responses to the research will also be destroyed after they are analyzed. Comment by Juliet Krummick: This is a sentence fragment. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Are you referring to the interview or the survey? If so, state that.
During the first week, students will be trained on how to answer the survey. Before giving out the survey to the students, the researcher will explain its purpose. The researcher will, however, implement the intervention first and check whether it has a positive effect on the motivation level of students later. The first week will also involve the identification of relevant topics, activities, and questions that enable students to connect science learning and real-world issues. The timeline of topics to be covered will be developed in the first week. The learning objectives and outcomes will also be identified in the first week. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Semi-colon
Students will conduct science lab experiments during the second week. They will also go for a field trip to the museum on the last day of the week. Teachers will present videos to their students to demonstrate various concepts. They will also prepare a rubric to assess the efforts of studentsin the third week, students will be given the survey to answer. The researcher will have two weeks to administer the survey and provide results. Students will be required to give responses to the effectiveness of different strategies used to connect science learning with real-world issues. Students will be given forty minutes to complete the survey. After students complete the survey, the teachers will collect it and thank them for participating. Comment by Juliet Krummick: The extra space is not needed. There will be plenty of writing on the final.
Comment by Juliet Krummick: I added a page break so that your reference page will always be on the next clean page.
REFERENCES Comment by Juliet Krummick: Be sure to use our textbook.
Cetin-Dindar, A. (2016). Student Motivation in Constructivist Learning Environment. Eurasia Comment by Juliet Krummick: This is in APA formatting.
Journal of
Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 12(2).
Gerstner, G. M. (2017). Motivation: The Value of Developing Intrinsic Motivation in Elementary School Students in Grades Four Through Six (Doctoral dissertation, Concordia University Irvine).
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Qualitative research guidelines project. Retrieved from. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Where is this from?
Appendix A
Please place your survey here.
2
Intervention Planning and Ethical Considerations
2
Intervention Planning and Ethical Considerations 1
Intervention Planning and Ethical Considerations
Annette Williams
ECE660: Action Research and Inquiry in Education
InstructorKrummick
February 3, 2020
Intervention Description
The proposed intervention is emphasizing the connectedness of science and real-life issues to increase the motivation of students. The real world will be brought to the classroom to ensure that students can understand the theory learned in a better way. For example, teachers teaching about insects will be required to demonstrate a life or dead insect to the students. This intervention may increase the motivation of students in learning science and lead to improved performances amongst the young children., and families may be willing to offer more support to their children when they show a positive attitude towards learning and perform well.
Students think that science learning is unrelated to everyday life and this makes them develop a negative attitude towards science learning. “When learning is related to real-world issues, student motivation may increase to learn science they own these issues and dilemmas. In other words, motivation is stained through real-world issues” (Cetin-Dindar, 2016 p. 235). Students also learn how to analyze various real-world issues and are encouraged to thoughtfully reflect on their experiences. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Beautiful APA!!
Teachers will be required to ask students about their family beliefs and values. They will also be given the option to talk about current events to the students as this will ensure that they make a connection with science learning. There will also be field trips to various places such as the museum whereby students can observe various insects and learn about them. Other places to be visited include the agricultural farms to enable students to observe and learn about various plants such as maize and beans.
There will be the use of media to enable teachers to bring the real world into science learning. Teachers will play videos to explain various concepts or the working of a machine in class. Students will also be given real-world problems to solve. For example, students will be asked about their opinions on different ways in which pollution could be reduced. Teachers will also be required to use science text cards for teaching and word games. Science kits will be used for conducting small experiments and science movies and games will also be played. Students will have more autonomy to conduct experiments and solve the real-world issues they are given in class. “Giving control to the students helps to maintain students’ interest and motivate them to take responsibility for their learning” (Cetin-Dindar, 2016 p. 235). Students get more confidence in performing various activities in science learning independently. Comment by Juliet Krummick: No extra spaces needed, this project will be long enough.
The population will benefit from the intervention because they will have their enthusiasm and imagination enlightened. When students participate in science games, their level of engagement in learning is increased. This results in improved performances in science tests. Students will also have their critical thinking skills enhanced because they will be handling real-world issues. “When students apprehend that science, they have learned at school quite relevant to their everyday experiences, their negative feelings on learning science could decrease and be more confident in learning science” (Cetin-Dindar, 2016 p. 243). The level of understanding of science concepts will be improved. Students who get an opportunity to go for field trips are likely to have improved health because they do not just sit in a classroom studying. The families and the community will be more strengthened due to the connection established when students go for field trips to the communities. Teachers will gain more environmental knowledge and have their teaching skills enhanced because they can teach help kids to connect science learning to real-world issues. They will also be able to meet the twenty-first century needs of learners.
Intervention plan
: Comment by Juliet Krummick: You have good information; however, you have large amounts of information in your chart. What I would recommend is taking out your sentences to form a paragraph. Then in its place write a few words to describe what will happen that week. Think of the chart as a quick reference for readers.
Week
Activity
Week One
The first week will involve the identification of relevant topics, activities, and questions that enable students to connect science learning and real-world issues. The timeline of topics to be covered will be developed in the first week.
The learning objectives and outcomes will also be identified in the first week.
Week Two
Students will be arranged into groups. Every group will be required to conduct a science lab experiment and make observations.
Students will go for a field trip to the museum on the last day of the week.
Week Three
Teachers will present videos to their students to demonstrate various concepts.
They will also prepare a rubric to assess the efforts of students.
Week Four
This week will involve evaluation and assessment.
Students will be given assignments that look “Real World” to assess their progress.
Ethical considerations:
Informed consent
She would ensure that she inform the parents that their children would be taking part in research aimed at analyzing the effectiveness of teaching strategies on science learning. She would also obtain verbal consent from the first graders. Participants have to be informed that they are taking part in a study. They should also be informed of the purpose, expected duration and procedures to ensure that they adhere to all instructions of the study and that the parents do not withdraw some of them from the study as it continues. Comment by Juliet Krummick: I would use your name here. It’s been a while since you discussed yourself, this will ensure your information doesn’t get mixed up with your last referenced idea. Comment by Juliet Krummick: informs Comment by Juliet Krummick: A consent form will be signed by parents prior to the start of the study. Comment by Juliet Krummick: First grade students/ Comment by Juliet Krummick: This will ensure the participantes…combine these sentences.
The parents would receive an online consent form to accept the participation of their children in the study. The forms would be sent via emails to parents and they would also be notified via text that a research study would be carried out in the school. Since the research study involves an examination of teaching strategies that help students connect science learning to real-world issues, they would not be many dangers of participating in the study. Some students may, however, be feeling unwell or they may be unable to take part in field trips (Gerstner, 2017). This necessitates the need for consent from their parents. Some of the dangers of taking part in this study include contracting diseases during field trips to farms because some students may be allergic to pollen grains from maize plants. Other risks also include falling ill during the research and failure to access fast medication. Comment by Juliet Krummick: This information should in order. You need to ask the parents prior to ask students. They have the right to allow their child to participate or not, this information should be first. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Does the field trip make a different in your study? Students should still be able to learn about real world ideas in the classroom. It should not be pertinent to attend. Comment by Juliet Krummick: ?!? This does not have to do with collecting data. Comment by Juliet Krummick: This is off topic.
Freedom from Harm:
The plan for implementation is an appropriate intervention because it would involve teachers who would be taking care of the children during the research study. It would also increase the level of motivation of students towards science learning. “When students are actively engaged in the learning environment and they are able to form better connections between the science they encounter in their textbooks and the science that is required to solve real-world issues” (Cetin-Dindar, 2016 p. 243). Students would, therefore, not be harmed because the study would concentrate on increasing their motivation level and provide adequate teachers for children’s safety.
Anonymity and Confidentiality:
To enhance anonymity and confidentiality, the names of students who take part in the study will not be included in the results. The results will only show age, gender and learning level of students. The views of students regarding various teaching strategies will be confidential. The students will not be asked to write their names when they take part in the study. Comment by Juliet Krummick: How will you keep the data safe? How will you train the teachers? Will they be in harm or be anonymous?
REFERENCES
Cetin-Dindar, A. (2016). Student Motivation in Constructivist Learning Environment. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 12(2).
Gerstner, G. M. (2017). Motivation: The Value of Developing Intrinsic Motivation in Elementary School Students in Grades Four Through Six (Doctoral dissertation, Concordia University Irvine).
Hacieminoglu, E. (2016). Elementary School Students’ Attitude toward Science and Related Variables. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 11(2), 35-52.
Uhm, J., & Bae, J. (2018). The Effects of Utilizing Discussions and Debates in Science Laboratory Classes on Science Learning Motivation, Science Process Skills, and Science Academic Achievement. Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education, 37(2), 110-125.
Running Head: Action Research Literature Evaluation 1
Action Research Literature Evaluation
Annette Williams
ECE660: Action Research and Inquiry in Education
Instructor Krummick
January 20, 2020
Article Summary Table #1
CRAAP Test
The article is recent enough to be relevant in the thesis. The
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Action Research Literature Evaluation 2
(Using the CRAAP test, evaluate
this source for timeliness,
relevancy, authority, accuracy,
and purpose. Provide the overall
score and provide a narrative
with a summary of your
evaluation.)
information in the article relates to the topic being studied because it
investigates the relation between constructivist learning environment
and students’ motivation to learn science. The topic being studied was
on the level of motivation and engagement of first-grade students in
learning science. It is also on an appropriate level because the
population studied is elementary students and my research also focuses
on elementary students. It would be comfortable using it since it is
peer-reviewed. The author of the article is a lecturer at Bartin
University’s Department of Education; therefore, he has skills and
qualifications in the field of education.
The purpose of the article is clear, and the point of view appears
impartial. There are no opinions used since the conclusion has been
made based on the results of the study. There are no biases in the
article.
The score for timeliness, relevancy, authority, accuracy and purpose
would be 10 out of 10 for each. The overall score for the article would
be 5 out of 5.
Title Student Motivation in Constructivist Learning Environment
Author Ayla Cetin-Dindar
Year 2016
Purpose of this Research/Study
(Why did the researcher conduct
this study?)
The purpose of the study was to investigate the relation between
constructivist learning environment and students’ motivation to learn
science.
Subjects/ Participants
(Explain the participants of the
study.)
The participants were 243 elementary school students. Three different
grade level students participated into the study (Table 1); the number of
sixth graders was 115 (47.3%), seventh graders were 57 (23.5%), and
eighth graders were 71 (29.2%) (Cetin-Dindar, 2016).
Variables
(What are the independent and
dependent variables in this
study?)
The dependent variables were students’ motivation to learn science and
their self-efficacy in learning science while the independent variables
were the constructivist learning environment and student negotiation
and personal relevance opportunities.
Instruments
(Examine the instruments used to
collect data, include any pertinent
information on the validity and
reliability of the instruments).
The instruments for data collection were science motivation
questionnaire and the constructivist learning environment survey.
• Quantitative
(i.e. test scores, rating scales,
rubrics, statistics, teacher-made
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Action Research Literature Evaluation 3
tests, report cards, attendance
statistics, attitude scales, etc.). If
quantitative instruments are not
used in this study, please state
this in your summary of this
section.
• Qualitative
(i.e. surveys, questionnaires,
portfolios, exhibits, interviews,
observation, visual recordings,
photography, oral histories or
stories, journals, anecdotal notes,
researcher journal, etc.) If
qualitative instruments are not
used in this study, please state
this in your summary of this
section.
A survey was developed to assess the constructivist classroom learning
environment. The items in the survey included critical voice, student
negotiation, uncertainty, shared control and personal relevance.
Intervention(s) Used in this
Study
(Summarize what was done to
improve a situation or existing
challenge that the research
addressed.)
The learning environment was improved to help increase the
motivation of students in science learning.
Outcomes/Results
(Explain what kind of evidence
used to support his/her claims –
i.e. statistics, charts, stories,
historical documents, etc.)
Descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, skewness and
kurtosis about the dimensions of the CLES and science achievement
were used to support the claims made.
Implications
(Based on the results of the study,
what conclusions can be drawn?)
Students’ perceptions of learning environment and motivation to learn
science affects their science scores.
Relevance to your Proposed
Intervention and Area of Focus
(How does this source relate to
your area of focus? How does it
relate to other articles on this
topic?)
This source relates to my area of focus since it evaluates the effect of
motivation on science learning. According to this study, the motivation
of students to learn science affects their science scores. My area of
focus was the different ways in which students can be motivated to
learn science.
How does this article inform
your action research study?
The study suggests some strategies that teachers can use to increase the
motivation of students in science learning. It also suggests that science
teachers in schools should reveal how science at school is related to
real life by conducting more activities based on everyday experiences
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Action Research Literature Evaluation 4
or metacognitive strategies to increase students’ efficacy.
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Action Research Literature Evaluation 5
Article Summary Table #2
CRAAP Test
(Using the CRAAP test, evaluate
this source for timeliness,
relevancy, authority, accuracy,
and purpose. Provide the overall
score and provide a narrative
with a summary of your
evaluation.)
The article is recent enough to be relevant to my thesis because it was
published in 2016. The information in the article relates to my topic
since it also talks about the attitude of elementary students towards
science learning. The information is also at an appropriate level since it
is about elementary students. The author is qualified to write on the
topic since she teaches at the Akdeniz University Department of
Education. The information in the article is supported by evidence
because there is a bibliography at the end of the article and citations are
sufficiently used. The author does not make use of biases and the point
of view is objective. The overall score would be 5/5.
Title Elementary School Students’ Attitude toward Science and Related
Variables
Author Esme Hacieminoglu
Year 2015
Purpose of this Research/Study
(Why did the researcher conduct
this study?)
The purpose of the study was to determine the relationships among the
seventh-grade elementary students’ attitude towards science, their
learning approaches, motivational goals, science achievement and
students’ nature of science views (Hacieminoglu, 2015).
Subjects/ Participants
(Explain the participants of the
study.)
The participants were 3598 seventh-grade students in different regions
and cities of Turkey.
Variables
(What are the independent and
dependent variables in this
study?)
The dependent variables were the students’ learning approaches,
motivational goals, science achievement and students’ nature of science
views while the independent variable was the attitude of the elementary
students towards science.
Instruments
(Explain the instruments used to
collect data, include any pertinent
information on the validity and
reliability of the instruments).
The data collection instruments were the Test of science related attitude
(TOSRA), The Learning Approach Questionnaire (LAQ), The
Achievement Motivation Questionnaire (AMQ), Science Achievement
Test (SAT) and the Nature of science instrument (NOSI)
(Hacieminoglu, 2015).
• Quantitative
(i.e. test scores, rating scales,
rubrics, statistics, teacher-made
tests, report cards, attendance
statistics, attitude scales, etc.)
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Action Research Literature Evaluation 6
• Qualitative
(i.e. surveys, questionnaires,
portfolios, exhibits, interviews,
observation, visual recordings,
photography, oral histories or
stories, journals, anecdotal notes,
researcher journal, etc.)
Questionnaires were used in the study.
Intervention(s) Used in this
Study
(Describe what was done to
improve a situation or existing
challenge that the research
addressed.)
The study suggested that the school counselling service should offer
guidance to the parents of the children about the ways in which they
can encourage children to develop a more positive attitude towards
science.
Outcomes/Results
(Explain what kind of evidence
used to support his/her claims –
i.e. statistics, charts, stories,
historical documents, etc.)
Multiple regression analysis was used to support the claims, and there
was a positive correlation between the students’ attitude towards
science learning and learning goal orientation, self-efficacy, meaningful
learning, performance goal orientation, students’ NOS views and rote
learning.
Implications
(Based on the results of the study,
what conclusions can be drawn?)
Students’ meaningful learning, NOS views and self-efficacy positively
contribute to their science achievement. The application of different
science and technology curriculums by the teachers and varying
classroom environments lead to negative feelings about science to
students.
Relevance to your Proposed
Intervention and Area of Focus
(How does this source relate to
your area of focus? How does it
relate to other articles on this
topic?)
This article relates to the area of focus since it covers the attitude of
elementary students towards science learning.
How does this article inform
your action research study?
This article provides information on things that can help maintain a
positive attitude towards science learning by students such as the
motivational goals and learning approaches. It also explains the
importance of school counselling services in motivating students.
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Action Research Literature Evaluation 7
Article Summary Table #3
CRAAP Test
(Using the CRAAP test, evaluate
this source for timeliness,
relevancy, authority, accuracy,
and purpose. Provide the overall
score and provide a narrative
with a summary of your
evaluation.)
The article is current enough to be relevant in the thesis since it is a
2018 article. The information in the article relates to the topic being
studied since it talks about ways in which students’ motivation in
learning science could be increased. It is at an appropriate level since it
is about elementary students. The author Janghee Umh is qualified
since he is a teacher at the Seoul National University and Jinho Bae is
also a lecturer at Busan National University. The article provides in-
text citations and references. Its purpose is also impartial. The overall
score of the article would be 5/5.
Title The Effects of Utilizing Discussions and Debates in Science Laboratory Classes on Science Learning Motivation, Science
Process Skills, and Science Academic Achievement
Author Janghee Uhm and Jinho Bae
Year 2018.
Purpose of this Research/Study
(Why did the researcher conduct
this study?)
The purpose of the study was to explore the effect of using discussions
and debates in science laboratory classes on science learning
motivation, science process skills, and science academic achievement
(Jinho et al, 2018).
Subjects/ Participants
(Explain the participants of the
study.)
6th grade students at an elementary school.
Variables
(What are the independent and
dependent variables in this
study?)
The dependent variables were use of discussions and debates while the
independent variables were science process skills, science learning
motivation and science academic achievement.
Instruments
(Explain the instruments used to
collect data, include any pertinent
information on the validity and
reliability of the instruments).
Observations were used for data collection. They were reliable because
students would be gauged on their level of concentration during science
lessons.
• Quantitative
(i.e. test scores, rating scales,
rubrics, statistics, teacher-made
tests, report cards, attendance
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Action Research Literature Evaluation 8
statistics, attitude scales, etc.)
• Qualitative
(i.e. surveys, questionnaires,
portfolios, exhibits, interviews,
observation, visual recordings,
photography, oral histories or
stories, journals, anecdotal notes,
researcher journal, etc.)
Observations were made on the level of motivation of students during
discussions and debates and also during classes with a teacher-directed
approach.
Intervention(s) Used in this
Study
(Describe what was done to
improve a situation or existing
challenge that the research
addressed.)
Discussions and debates would be used in science learning.
Outcomes/Results
(Explain what kind of evidence
used to support his/her claims –
i.e. statistics, charts, stories,
historical documents, etc.)
Stories were used to support the claims.
Implications
(Based on the results of the study,
what conclusions can be drawn?)
The motivation of students in science learning can be increased by
letting them participate in discussions and debates during science
learning.
Relevance to your Proposed
Intervention and Area of Focus
(How does this source relate to
your area of focus? How does it
relate to other articles on this
topic?)
This article relates to my area of focus because it evaluates ways of
increasing motivation of students during science learning.
How does this article inform
your action research study?
It suggests that discussions and debates can be used to increase the
motivation of students during science learning.
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Action Research Literature Evaluation 9
Article Summary Table #4
CRAAP Test
(Using the CRAAP test, evaluate
this source for timeliness,
relevancy, authority, accuracy,
and purpose. Provide the overall
score and provide a narrative
with a summary of your
evaluation.)
The source was recent enough since it was published in 2017. The
information also relates to my research topic because the article
mentions ways in which students could be motivated to learn science. It
has information at an appropriate level and it is peer-reviewed. The
research was conducted by Gerstner, as a dissertation for the degree of
Doctor of Education in the School of Education, Concordia University
Irvine. The information is supported by evidence due to the fact that
there are citations and references. The purpose is objective. Overall
score, 5/5.
Title Motivation: The value of developing intrinsic motivation in elementary
school students in grades four through six
Author Gary M. Gerstner
Year 2017.
Purpose of this Research/Study
(Why did the researcher conduct
this study?)
The purpose of the study was to find out whether there is a difference
in student intrinsic motivation levels based on grade levels, whether
elementary school males and females differ in intrinsic motivation in
Grades 4-6 and whether there is a correlation between a child’s
intrinsic motivation level and his/her academic performance (Gerstner,
2016).
Subjects/ Participants
(Explain the participants of the
study.)
The participants were 155 elementary school students in Grades 4-6.
Variables
(What are the independent and
dependent variables in this
study?)
The dependent variables were grade levels, gender and academic
performance while the independent variable was intrinsic motivation.
Instruments
(Explain the instruments used to
collect data, include any pertinent
information on the validity and
reliability of the instruments).
Student report cards were used to measure student achievement data.
Other instruments were the CAIMI and face-to-face individual teacher
interviews.
• Quantitative
(i.e. test scores, rating scales,
rubrics, statistics, teacher-made
tests, report cards, attendance
Student report cards used to measure student achievement data
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Action Research Literature Evaluation 10
statistics, attitude scales, etc.)
• Qualitative
(i.e. surveys, questionnaires,
portfolios, exhibits, interviews,
observation, visual recordings,
photography, oral histories or
stories, journals, anecdotal notes,
researcher journal, etc.)
The self-report survey, interviews.
Intervention(s) Used in this
Study
(Describe what was done to
improve a situation or existing
challenge that the research
addressed.)
Teachers, administration and paraprofessionals created a conducive
environment for learning.
Outcomes/Results
(Explain what kind of evidence
used to support his/her claims –
i.e. statistics, charts, stories,
historical documents, etc.)
Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to support the claims.
Implications
(Based on the results of the study,
what conclusions can be drawn?)
There is a correlation between a student’s intrinsic motivation level and
his/her academic performance in science. There is also not a significant
difference with the intrinsic motivation between the grade levels or
between the genders.
Relevance to your Proposed
Intervention and Area of Focus
(How does this source relate to
your area of focus? How does it
relate to other articles on this
topic?)
This source relates to the area of focus since it evaluates the motivation
of students and how it varies as students move from one grade to
another.
How does this article inform
your action research study?
It recommends four strategies that educators can use to motivate
students in the classroom. These are creating a classroom environment
that is conducive to learning, having a variety of reward systems in
place, giving students a choice and having a growth mindset.
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Action Research Literature Evaluation 11
Literature Evaluation Table
Title/Author Year How will these articles inform your action research proposal?
Describe the intervention(s) and/or instruments that are relevant
to the problem you are addressing with your action research.
1 Gary M. Gerstner 2017 The strategies recommended by the article for motivation of students
will be analyzed in my research proposal. These are creating a
classroom environment that is conducive to learning, having a variety
of reward systems in place, giving students a choice and having a
growth mindset. The relevant interventions are creation of conducive
environments for learning while the instruments are report cards and
observations.
2 Janghee Uhm and Jinho
Bae
2018 The suggestions made of using discussions and debates to increase
motivation of students will be utilized in my research proposal. The
relevant interventions are discussions and debates while the
instrument is observations.
3 Ayla Cetin-Dindar 2016 The conclusion that science teachers in schools should reveal how
science at school is related to real life by conducting more activities
based on everyday experiences or metacognitive strategies to increase
students’ efficacy will be used. The relevant interventions are
improving the learning environment to motivate students while the
instrument is science motivation questionnaire.
4 Esme Hacieminoglu 2016 The intervention is the school counselling service to offer guidance to
the parents of the children about the ways in which they can
encourage children to develop a more positive attitude towards
science. while the instrument to be used is the Learning Approach
Questionnaire (LAQ).
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Action Research Literature Evaluation 12
REFERENCES
Cetin-Dindar, A. (2016). Student Motivation in Constructivist Learning Environment. Eurasia Journal of
Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 12(2).
Gerstner, G. M. (2017). Motivation: The Value of Developing Intrinsic Motivation in Elementary School
Students in Grades Four Through Six (Doctoral dissertation, Concordia University Irvine).
Hacieminoglu, E. (2016). Elementary School Students’ Attitude toward Science and Related
Variables. International Journal Of Environmental And Science Education, 11(2), 35-52. Retrieved from
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1086987
Uhm, J., & Bae, J. (2018). The Effects of Utilizing Discussions and Debates in Science Laboratory Classes on
Science Learning Motivation, Science Process Skills, and Science Academic Achievement. Journal of Korean
Elementary Science Education, 37(2), 110-125.
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Running head: Introduction and Literature Review 1
Introduction and Literature Review 8
The Motivation of Students Towards Science Learning
Annette Williams
ECE660: Action Research and Inquiry in Education
Instructor Dr. Krummick
January 27, 2020
INTRODUCTION
The future professional role would be an early childhood educator to teach both Science and English. This would educate students through lectures and hand-on learning with adherence to the curriculum. The setting would be the classroom whereby it would ensure that there is a happy environment for all students. It would be good to act as a role model and a mentor by encouraging students to learn and ensuring that they do not face challenges such as depression or discrimination which would inhibit their learning. This would ensure that interacting with students more often and learn about their families. Maintaining good relationships with their families and having frequent communication would be a good way to understand any challenges the students could be facing. The current experience is helping kindergarten students learn social studies while the previous experience in helping students complete their homework. The future goal is to help improve the performance of students in science. Comment by Juliet Krummick: perfect
The purpose of the study is to find various ways in which students could be motivated during the learning of science. The student outcomes that need influence are their knowledge and skills in science and their attitude towards learning the subject. Assessments have shown that some students lack sufficient knowledge in science. The performance of students in science is also an area of interest to be influenced because it also determines whether or not the students are engaged in learning. Students are expected to obtain a positive attitude toward science learning. They should achieve good grades to show that they understand the topics at hand.
The fact that many students lose interest in learning science as they progress to higher levels shows that they are not engaged enough during the initial years of science learning specifically in first grade. Decreased motivation leads to lower grades in science (Uhm et al, 2018). Teachers do not put much emphasis on the teaching of science because they dedicate most of their time to reading within the researcher’s school. Students, therefore, lose interest in learning science because they are not fully engaged in learning by their teachers.
Teachers should ensure that they motivate students to learn. The provision of autonomy support to students enhances their motivation in learning. Student-teacher relationships are important in optimizing student motivation. “Educators and parents value motivation in school for its own sake as well as for its long-term contribution to child’s learnings and esteem” (Skinner et al, 2013, 6). Motivated students show interest in learning, are enthusiastic, curious, involved and are likely to cope with setbacks and challenges. These students can stay in school for longer and learn more, therefore, they are more likely to perform well than the unmotivated students.
The target population is first-grade students. There are 20 students consisting of eight boys and twelve girls. The age range of students is 5-6 years old. The students come from diverse cultural backgrounds. Comment by Juliet Krummick: All numbers up to two words needs to be written out in APA formatting. Comment by Juliet Krummick: We need to be very specific here. How many of those students are 5 and how many are 6. What is the ratio of boy/girl? What type of cultural backgrounds are represented? What about you the researcher? Will you be part of the study? Then you need to state that there is one teacher, list your education and numbers of years in the field.
Research Question
What are some of the ways to increase the motivation of first graders towards learning in early elementary in the area of science?
The idea is within the locus of control because early childhood educators can use the strategies, they find to be most appropriate in engaging students. They can also control the size of the population, amount of information they provide to families and the way the information is documented. Comment by Juliet Krummick: The researcher… Comment by Juliet Krummick: All of these ideas should be there own sentence. You, the researcher, have control over these items.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Intervention
According to Gerstner (2017), there is a correlation between the intrinsic motivation of students and their academic performance in science. This conclusion was made after elementary students in grades 4-6 were involved in the study. The strategies used were conducting self-report surveys and interviews. Comment by Juliet Krummick: These numbers need to be written out please.
Instruments
Instruments such as student report cards, face-to-face teacher interviews, and the self-report survey would be productive in investigating the area of focus. The student report cards would be used to examine the performance of students in science (Gerstner, 2017). The self-report survey would be useful in measuring the students’ level of motivation. The specific instrument to be used would be the Children’s Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (CAIMI). Students would be given consent forms to be answered by their parents. These would be used to obtain permission for participation in the study.
Face-to-face teacher interviews would have several interview questions to be answered by the teachers about motivation. The questions would be open-ended to allow interviewees to answer them freely and give more explanation. Teachers would be asked to explain what motivation means to them, the challenges in motivating students and the attributes of motivated students.
Procedures
The CAIMI would be given out to first-grade students to understand their motivation level towards studies. Before giving out the CAIMI to the students, it would be necessary to inform them that it is not a test, but a way of determining the connection between motivation and performance. The students would have to be informed that they can give various answers since there would not be a specific correct answer to the study questions. However, they would be required to answer them honestly.
Strategies
The strategies used were rewarding students who performed well in science, creating a classroom environment that is conducive to learning, giving students a choice in the type of project they would want to do and adoption of a growth mindset by the teachers. Comment by Juliet Krummick: What else can you say here? You need to add in an indirect quote as well since these ideas came from the study itself.
Article information
The study influences the area of focus in this research since it suggests several ways of increasing the level of motivation to learn science such as creating a classroom environment that is conducive to learning, having a variety of reward systems in place, giving students a choice and having a growth mindset. The teachers interviewed acknowledge setting goals as a great way of ensuring that students are motivated to study. “When a student sets a goal, it is something they want to do. The student has bought into the goal at their level” (Gerstner, 2017). Elementary students would also benefit from setting goals. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Page number or paragraph number needs following the year for all direct quotes.
Research Summary 2
Intervention
According to Cetin-Dindar (2016), science educators should emphasize more on the connectedness of science at school to real-life for motivating students to learn science. The study was conducted to examine the relationship between students’ motivation towards science learning and the constructivist learning environment. The study also investigated the effect of students’ self-efficacy on their motivation level (244). Comment by Juliet Krummick: So… is this a direct quote or not?
The intervention that will be used in the area of focus is emphasizing the connectedness of science and real-life issues to increase the motivation of students. When students connect science to real-life issues, they find it easy to learn the subject. Students will feel more engaged if their real-life issues are connected to science learning. The change that will be made is allowing students to have discussions and debates to ensure that they can connect their real-life issues to science learning.
Instruments
The instruments used in the research we’re conducting a constructivist learning environment survey and administering a science motivation questionnaire. Three science teachers were teaching the same curriculum to a group of students. The dimensions of the survey included shared control, student negotiation, critical voice, and personal relevance.
Instruments such as science motivation questionnaires and a constructivist learning environment survey would be productive in the investigation of the area of focus. The science motivation questionnaire would be useful in determining the level of motivation of students towards science learning while the constructivist learning environment survey would be used to determine whether students would be motivated to learn science in a constructivist learning environment (Cetin-Dindar, 2016).
Procedure
The procedure was to administer the questionnaire and the survey. 243 elementary school students in Turkey in grades 4-6 in a were to give answers based on a scale in the survey. “Three different grade level students participated in the study (Table 1); the number of sixth graders was 115 (47.3%), seventh graders were 57 (23.5%), and eighth graders were 71 (29.2%)” (Cetin-Dindar, 2016, p. 236). Students would answer questions such as whether or not they learn about the world outside their schools during science lessons.
Strategies
The strategies used were providing more opportunities for personal relevance in classroom environment to the students and teaching students about the world outside during science classes. Another strategy was ensuring that the children learn in a more constructivist environment.
Article information
This research informs the area of focus in that it recommends a method of improving motivation of students towards science learning which would be emphasizing the connectedness of science to real-life issues. The science motivation questionnaire can be used to determine whether students find science learning interesting and getting good grades important. The constructivist learning environment survey can be used to determine the effect of various environments on students’ science learning.
Findings
Both articles presented various ways in which motivation of students towards science learning could be increased. One of the ways in which motivation of students could be increased is by having a growth mindset. “Having a growth mindset enables a teacher to see every student as a potential learner. They will see every student as an individual who can learn new concepts as well as old concepts” (Gerstner, 2017, p. 83). Whereas Cetin-Dindar’s article proposed teaching students on real world issues to increase their level of motivation towards science learning, Gerstner’s article proposed more strategies such as rewarding the high performers and having a conducive learning environment. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Add a year here. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Study?!?
Application
She learned about some of the ways in which motivation of students towards science learning could be improved such as having a reward system whereby those who perform well are given various presents, ensuring that there is a conducive environment for science learning, adoption of a growth mindset by the teachers and teaching about real world issues. She also learned that teachers could engage in discussions to identify more ways of motivating students in science learning. Comment by Juliet Krummick: I would use either researcher or your last name when you start mentioning yourself. Especially, since you were discussing other authors, it might not be clear that you are referring to yourself again.
REFERENCES
Cetin-Dindar, A. (2016). Student Motivation in Constructivist Learning Environment. Eurasia
Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 12(2).
Gerstner, G. M. (2017). Motivation: The Value of Developing Intrinsic Motivation in Elementary School Students in Grades Four Through Six (Doctoral dissertation, Concordia University Irvine).
Skinner, E. A., & Belmont, M. J. (2013). Motivation in the classroom: Reciprocal effects of teacher behavior and student engagement across the school year. Journal of educational psychology, 85(4), 571.
Uhm, J., & Bae, J. (2018). The Effects of Utilizing Discussions and Debates in Science
Laboratory Classes on Science Learning Motivation, Science Process Skills, and Science Academic Achievement. Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education, 37(2), 110-125.