ED512: Action Research I

1. ED512: Action Research I Unit 2 Seminar: Literature Review Dr. Tracey Tyree TTyree@Kaplan.edu

2. Welcome! • Welcome to ED512: Action Research I! • Instructor: Dr. Tracey Tyree • Contact Information: • Email: TTyree@kaplan.edu • Home: 770-461-6363

3. A Little About Me……………… • In addition to working as an adjunct professor for Kaplan University, I am also an assistant principal at an elementary school in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. • I have taught ED500, ED552, ED512, LT504 and ED572 for Kaplan University. • I am a single mother of two beautiful daughters, Jordan and Sidney, who are 11 years old and 8 years old. • I am also a proud owner of 3 precious dogs who are a big part of our family (three yorkies).  • I aim to be thorough, organized, and methodical in how I teach courses for Kaplan.

4. Major Assignments • CITI Certification Assignment (due unit 1) • Problem Statement Assignment (due unit 2) • Literature Review Assignment (due unit 4) • Action Research Assignment (due unit 7) • There are 2 mandatory seminars which are in unit 2 & unit 6. • **There are no discussion board assignments in this course.**

5. IMPORTANT INFORMATION • It is critical that you make time for your assignments in this course. Late assignments are not accepted unless prior arrangements have been made with me. I will only grant an extension for emergency situations. Being busy at work is not a good excuse because all of these assignments require dedicated time over a period of sessions. Plan your time wisely. Do not wait until the last minute to complete any of these assignments.

6. What should I have completed so far? • ANSWER: CITICourse Certification • This was due at the end of Unit 1. It is not accepted beyond that date as stated in the course.

7. What assignment should I complete next? • ANSWER: Problem Statement Assignment (use the worksheet I gave you instead of following the course instructions) • This is due by tomorrow night!!!!!!!!!

8. Problem Statement Assignment • Instead of following the directions under “Major Assignments”, please just use the worksheet I sent you to complete this assignment. • Just fill out the portions in red and submit the worksheet to fulfill the requirements of the assignment.

9. Four Parts of the Worksheet • There are 4 sections of the worksheet that you will need to fill out. Each section is explained and includes examples. The four parts are: • Research Topic • My Problem Statement is………. • Five Search Terms within my research topic are………….. • Five Possible Sub-Questions (supporting detail questions) are………………………….

10. Research Topic • Be sure to choose a research topic that is of interest to you. This will be your research topic throughout all your assignments throughout ED512 and ED572. It cannot be changed later. Some examples are: • Math and the Use of Manipulatives • The Effects of Retaining Students • High School Drop-Outs • Attendance Programs • Character Education • Inclusion of Special Education Students • Bus Programs

11. My problem statement is………….. • This is the main question of your entire research that you are trying to answer about your research topic. It’s your main focus. An example based on a research topic include: • Research Topic: New Teachers & Classroom Management • Problem Statement: Are new teachers prepared to handle the classroom management challenges during their first year of teaching?

12. Five search terms within my research topic are…………… • When you start your next assignment, Literature Review, you will begin looking for research articles on your research topic. You will use search terms, words relevant to this topic. I want to see here what are some words you would use to search for articles within this topic. An example based on the new teacher and classroom management topic would include: • Classroom management theories • Rules and procedures • New teachers • New teacher satisfaction • New teachers and classroom management • Classroom organization • New teacher retention

13. Five possible sub-questions are….. • These are sub-questions that go under my problem statement (main question). They are like supporting detail questions. They are other questions I want to answer in my research that branch off of that main problem statement question. An example based on my new teacher problem statement would be: • Problem Statement (Main Question)-Are new teachers prepared to handle the classroom management challenges during their first year of teaching? • Sub-Question: Can new teachers be successful when they lack research-based classroom management strategies? • Sub-Question: Do new teachers have more success with one particular classroom management theory? • Sub-Question: Why do new teachers fail? • Sub-Question: Can new teachers learn classroom management skills from a textbook? • Sub-Question: How can veteran teachers mentor new teachers help them succeed with classroom management?

14. Before going into the next assignment………………….. • I need to first explain how ED512 & ED572 fit together and what your overall project is about.

15. Entire Project • Your entire project in ED512 and ED572 is called the Action Research Project. • This will include all assignments from ED512 & ED572 because all the pieces will be put together into one paper.

16. Understanding the Overall Action Research Project • There are two basic parts within an Action Research Project: • A literature review • A research study

17. Part 1 of the Project (Literature Review) • Before any researcher can conduct a study (s)he must first review previous literature (journals, books, government documents, etc.) on the topic. • The literature review will only be fact-based. There are no opinions of the researcher expressed in the literature review. • There are many purposes for doing a literature review…………….

18. Part 1 of the Project (Literature Review) • Provides you with a handy guide on a topic • Gives you an overview on a topic • Acts as a stepping stone to your study that you want to conduct • Keeps the public and researcher up to date on current information on that topic in the field • Puts all important information on a topic in one place • Emphasizes importance of doing the study researcher wants to do (because that study has not been done before, for example) • Provides a solid background for researcher’s investigation

19. Part 2 of the Project (Research Study) • Part 2 of the project is where the researcher designs and completes his or her own study.

20. Part 2 of the Project (Research Study) • Part 2 includes: • Methodology (like a recipe where the researcher design his/her study) • Data Analysis (where the results of the data are described – no opinion is given on the data yet) • Conclusions (conclusions are drawn from the results of the data – this is where the researchers opinion is given)

21. In Summary: • Part 1 is the Literature Review • What others have done on this topic • Part 2 is the Researcher’s Personally Designed Study • What the researcher has designed to do

22. Where does the Problem Statement Assignment fit in? • It would be impossible to know what to review literature on without narrowing down the topic so that’s why it’s important to develop the problem statement (main question) and sub-questions first. We need to know the specific focus.

23. Now, let’s get down to the literature review…

24. Basic Requirements of Your Literature Review • Minimum of 7 Scholarly Sources • Minimum of 7 Pages • Intro Paragraph, Body, Conclusion Paragraph • Reference Page with Sources in APA Format

25. First………. • Begin by searching for professional journal articles. If you are unsure of what is considered a professional journal, go through the Kaplan Library to get your journal articles. Instructions are on the next slide. Four of your journal articles must be on other studies conducted in this field of knowledge.

26. Getting professional journal articles from Kaplan Library • Go to Kaplan Home Page • On right side under “Quick Links”, click “Library” • Click “Electronic Articles” • On right side, use databases “Academic Search Premier” or “Professional Development Collection” (click on one) • Type in a search term

27. Search Terms • Search terms can be a frustrating part of research. You have to keep playing with them. Look within other good articles you find for possible search terms. Also look at their bibliographies for other articles you can use.

28. Organization • Once you have a good number of articles, you should be able to arrange them in some sort of organizational pattern. If you can’t then you probably need to search for more articles until you can.

29. Organizational Designs • Some possible organizational designs include: • Chronological • By publication • By trend • Thematic • Methodological After you have a framework, create an outline such as………………

30. Beginning of an Outline TOPIC: CHOCOLATE CHIP/OATMEAL COOKIES • Introduction • History of Cookies • Study of Different Production Methods (Burns, 1980) • Study of Different Ingredients (Crowley, 1985) • Study of Chewy-vs-Crunchy (Wright, 1992) • Study of Snack Bites (Thomas, 2002) • Nutritious Values of Cookies • Various Types of Cookies • Conclusion

31. Then plug in some details……..

32. Outline with Details • Introduction A. Poem About Cookie B. Definition of Cookie • History of Cookies • Amma Johnson-Atlanta, GA (first cookie) • Keebler (bought recipe) • Study of Different Production Methods (Burns, 1980) • Problem Statement • Design • Findings

33. Outline to Paragraphs • Keep adding to the outline until all you need to do is write it in paragraphs. • If you want to email me your outline, please do! That’s why I’m here. I’ll be glad to review it for you.

34. Reference Page • Add a reference page with each source in APA format.

35. Best Advice • The best advice I can give you is to start early and to dedicate an hour or so to it each night. Long hours on it will stress you out and waiting to the last minute will stress you out.

36. Continued Advice • And…….use me, abuse me, I’m at your service! Send me those outlines! This class is not about “Ready, set, hope you lose some points!” I really want you to succeed and learn about research without stress.

37. Last Note • Please email if you have any questions or concerns at TTyree@kaplan.edu