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For Dissertation Blog Post 4 please post your potential research design on your blog; please make sure your purpose and research questions are visible from your previous post (or please repost them). Please discuss briefly why you feel this design is most appropriate. Don't forget to include a link to your Dissertation Blog on the discussion board and let us know that you have posted your research design. Please also include whether this is a quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods design.
A quasi-experimental explanatory sequential mixed methods design will be used, and it will involve collecting quantitative data first and then explaining the quantitative results with in-depth qualitative data. In the first, quantitative phase of the study, the School Engagement Scale will be collected from the third-graders at a Title I elementary school in metropolitan Atlanta to test the engagement theory to assess the effects of participation in BreakoutEDU activities on student engagement. Students will be given a post-test assessment for the 4 Cs of learning as well. The second, qualitative phase will be conducted as a follow-up to the quantitative collection to help explain the quantitative results. In this explanatory follow-up, the tentative plan is to explain the engagement triggers that lead to the acquisition of the 4 Cs of learning with third-grade students at a Title I elementary school in metropolitan Atlanta. A purposive selected focus group of students that participated in the breakout activities and showed high engagement on the School Engagement Scale will be used for the qualitative follow up. I think this method gives depth to the quantitative results of engagement. Engagement can have a confounding variable of motivation but possibly through the focus group interview the triggers for engagement will give a greater understanding of how students stay engaged to acquire the 4Cs. Purpose Statement and Research Questions The purpose of this mixed methods study is threefold: to (a) determine what effect participation in Breakout EDU activities has on student engagement and the acquisition of the 4Cs of learning, (i.e., creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking), (b) understand the engagement triggers students experience during the Breakout EDU activities, and (c) to determine how the engagement triggers help explain their acquisition of the 4Cs for third-grade students in a Title I elementary school in metro Atlanta. Research Questions 1. What is the effect of participation in Breakout EDU activities on student engagement, as measured on the School Engagement Scale, for third-grade students in a Title I elementary school in metro Atlanta ? 2. What is the effect of participation in Breakout EDU activities on the acquisition of the 4Cs of learning for third-grade students in a Title I elementary school in metro Atlanta? 3. What are the engagement triggers from Breakout EDU activities for third-grade students at a Title I elementary school in metro Atlanta? 4. How do third-grade engagement triggers from Breakout EDU activities help explain the acquisition of the 4Cs?
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My plan is to conduct a mixed methods research study so the questions hopefully reflect both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Purpose Statement: The purpose of this study is to measure the effects of participation in BreakoutEDU activities on student motivation and the acquisition of the 4Cs of learning, (creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking) and to understand what about the activities motivates the students. The 4Cs of learning are considered a part of the twenty-first century learning skills that are needed for students to be successful for the workforce of the 21st century. Research Questions: 1. How does participation in BreakoutEDU activities relate to student motivation for first and third grade students in a Title I elementary school in metro Atlanta? 2. How does participation in BreakoutEDU activities relate to student engagement for first and third grade students in a Title I elementary school in metro Atlanta? 3. How does participation in BreakoutEDU activities relate to the acquisition of the 4Cs of learning for first and third grade students in a Title I elementary school in metro Atlanta? 4. What is the motivational trigger from BreakoutEDU activities for first and third grade students at a Title I elementary school in metro Atlanta? The problem of decreased student engagement and motivation in school the more years students attend school is grounded in the self determination theory. This theory was originally developed by Swereff in 1893 with extensive research in contemporary years by Deci & Ryan (1981 to present). This theory was primarily used to in the field of psychology to study individuals' motivation in a multitude of settings from general interactions (Swereff, 1893) to education (Deci, Vallerand, Pelletier, & Ryan, 1991). The theory of self determination indicates that an individual has choice in participating in an act and the locus of control can be either internal or external. Obviously when the locus of control is internal, the motivation is self determined and the motivation is intrinsic. There are times even when the locus of control is external that it can be perceived as voluntary participation and the motivation is still self determined instead of caused or mandated. The basis of the theory is that if an individual feels there is choice in participating in the activity, they are intrinsically motivated to participate and therefore more likely to be engaged and interested in the activity at hand. Three main focuses have been established within the self determination theory to be competence, relatedness, and autonomy. The competence aspect refers to the individuals ability to complete an action needed. The relatedness refers to the connection the individual has with the content or activity. Finally the autonomy refers to the individuals sense of choice in the subject or activity (Deci, Vallerand, Pelleteir, & Ryan, 1991).
I feel this is an appropriate framework for my dissertation because the students need the intrinsic motivation to stay engaged in school. If the engagement of students decreases every year from 3rd grade on, then there needs to be something that allows the students to be intrinsically motivated to participate in the learning. The use of gamification and game-based learning through the BreakoutEDU activities gives the students varying opportunities for engagement and draws upon an individuals interest in fun and competition. Problem Statement: Studies show that student engagement in learning decreases the longer students are in school.
There must be some reasons why students decline in their interest and engagement in school as they get older and a way to change the instructional strategies in the classroom to increase student engagement. Evidence of the Problem: The Georgia Department of Education conducts a student health survey each year for students from third grade through high school. The first 11 questions on the Student Health Survey are under the heading of School Connectedness and the first three questions are the perceptions of the student and his or her engagement to school. When asked if the students like school, the greatest percentage of students that answered “always” were third graders, and they declined each year from 52% in third grade to 41% in fourth grade, and 32% in fifth grade. When asked if they do well in school, a similar decline is shown with 46% in third grade, 41% in fourth grade and 38% in fifth grade (Georgia Department of Education, 2016). Students need to be actively engaged in learning if they are going to succeed in school and learn the skills needed to become productive members of society once they graduate. The Partnership for 21st Century Learning that was formed in 2002 has the goal of creating a model for teaching and learning that prepares students for the 21st century. The skills specifically mentioned are creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking (Partnership for 21st Century Learning, 2002). Teachers must find instructional strategies and designs that will engage learners, improve their motivation, and allow for the acquisition of these skills. 1. When you are assigned a research paper in a course, do you welcome it as an opportunity to learn, or do you see it as a burden or unwelcome task?
I haven't really changed in my view of an assigned research paper. I still like doing the research itself, but the stress of a grade is still there but maybe a little less. APA is still a bit intimidating but I have definitely improved in that area this semester. 2. How confident are you in your ability to use supporting material (quotations, examples, research) effectively to strengthen your ideas in a paper? There is always room for improvement, and since I haven't really gotten feedback on my final literature reviews I am not really sure about my perspective versus my professors prospective on this point. I'm sure I would answer it differently in a couple of weeks once I have my big papers grades. Still overall I feel moderately confident. I have improved in the summarizing instead of quoting this semester. 3. How confident are you in your ability to paraphrase an idea for use in a research paper? Moderately confident This area is one I can honestly say I have really improved this semester. The activity of doing the annotated bibliography with no quotations and getting positive feedback on the assignment has increased my confidence in this area. As stated above though, there is always room for improvement in my book. 4. How much formal training have you had regarding plagiarism and how to avoid it? some Before this class my training was all at school/work from our media services department. Through this class we have had numerous videos and reading about plagiarism and a little in some of my other classes. I do feel more confident in this area but the self-plagiarism still is a bit cloudy to me. I understand that a single paper can't be used in another class, but do I quote myself if I use part of one of my previous class papers? Some have told me yes and others have told me no. 5. In writing a research paper, how easy have you found it to incorporate sources that conflict with your central argument or idea? somewhat challenging This is still a challenge for me, mainly because of finding the actual articles. I just haven't found them very frequently and therefore it looks like I don't want to tell both sides of the story, which is not the case. I need to work on the research side of this more than just stating it in the papers. 6. How confident are you that you know the rules for using sources well enough to avoid unintentional plagiarism? Neutral to moderately confident I have improved in this area as well. If I think I read the thought in an article, I go back and look for it and then cite it, even if I was putting it in my words and thought it was my own conclusion. Some of the information in my research seems a bit common sense about motivation and gamification so this has been a challenge at times to make sure I cite conclusions that were found in other studies even if they seem common sense. I have gone back to the readings in Harris (2014) as I have been writing my literature reviews. There are some great points about using a variety of sources, something I definitely need to work on. When I was reviewing a friends paper for another class, she had all sorts of citations from symposiums etc, but I was very overwhelmed with the APA format of some of it, as was she. I feel pretty confident in correct format for journal articles and chapters in edited books but am a little scared to venture to areas where I can't find the format in the manual. I know symposiums are there, but there were lots she had I couldn't even tell what kind of source it was to know how to look it up. I'm sure over the summer as I really dive deeper into my actual literature review for my dissertation I will expand my scope of sources and hopefully can systematically approach the APA style for each. Harris, R. A. (2014). Using sources effectively: Strengthening your writing and avoiding plagiarism (4th ed.). Glendale, CA: Pyrczak. Adherence to the writing process for editing and redrafting
I have definitely written, edited and revised numerous times on this paper. I have rearranged paragraphs, and even added a study or two from the original version. Stepping away from it for a few days really helped see it with fresh eyes. Importance or significance of the topic Gamification is a popular topic in education, particularly its role in student motivation and engagement. Although there is a good bit of literature on gamifcation and even student motivation in gamification, much of it has to do with digital-based gamification. I am interested in a hybrid form as well as how gamification contributes to the acquisition of the 4Cs of learning, (a) collaboration, (b) communication, (c) creativity and (d) critical thinking. Organization and other global considerations The length of the paper is definitely within the parameters of the assignment and has all of the required sections, including a reference list. The number of references has been met as well. Effectiveness of the introduction For this paper, I feel pretty good about the introduction. I can't say the same for one of my others though, even though the topic is very similar. Sometimes the words just flow and the hook is there or the quote etc. that just brings the reader in and states what is going to be covered in the paper. Sometimes getting those thoughts and words on the paper to begin the review is like pulling teeth! Currency and relevance of the literature cited I didn't review any "classic" studies in the literature review. I read a lot about early gamification, but honestly didn't find anything at the time of writing that I found foundational. Most of the studies were very recent studies or were studies that examined a particular niche. I'm not so sure how well I did on explaining the strengths and weaknesses. I may have to review that yet again in the next day. Thoroughness and accuracy of the literature reviewed I reviewed numerous articles, many that were not even included in the literature review. As I reviewed, some author's names kept reappearing or were quoted in other studies, These triggered to me the importance of those authors as they are active in the field. I also tried to examine the study well to make sure the researchers took precautions for mitigating possible issues in their study. Coherence and flow of the path of the argument I struggled with this at first. This was a big part of my revision, making sure that the topics flowed well from one to the other. I don't know that it is perfect, but it is definitely better than the first draft. Effectiveness of the Conclusion This is one area I have gone over multiple times and don't know that I am ever fully satisfied with it. I met with someone recently to get help on my prospectus for my dissertation and she said, "Tell them what you are going to tell them, then tell the the information, then remind them of what you told them." I'm now trying to make sure I have done that well. Accuracy of citations and the reference list I have spent a good amount of time checking APA back and forth in the manual for the smallest details about the reference list. I really hope it is right, but I just never feel 100% sure about APA. Mechanics and overall accuracy of the manuscript I have checked and rechecked for typos, grammatical errors, spacing and format. I run spell check as I am writing and also use the grammarly plugin to review my work as well. For the formatting, I set up a template for all assignments according to the FCE guidelines and use that same template each time so I don't have to worry about whether or not the margins are correct each time etc. Hopefully nothing has been changed accidentally. Appropriateness of style and language usage I got some good feedback for this from my reviewers. Not my class reviewer actually, but I had multiple other people review my paper and one really commented about some parts that were confusing due to the way I had it worded. I concentrated on those area a little extra during the revisions. Grammatical accuracy This is one of the areas that I find to be hard, yet there is no excuse for not getting it right. I can read my paper many times, and it seems each time I will find one silly little grammatical mistake. It may be a subject verb agreement, or then instead of than etc. Grammarly plugin is wonderful for the main grammatical issues. I love that it even wants to correct the titles in the reference list. Additional editing steps for non-native English speakers and students with serious writing difficulties Fortunately this doesn't really apply to me, but I have had the opportunity to help some colleagues that have English as their second language. I try to help point out some of these issues that are easy traps for them. 1. Ask two friends to read the draft of your literature review and comment on the content. Compare their comments. • On which points did your friends agree? • On which points did they disagree? Which of the two opinions will you follow? Why? • Consider the places in your review that your friends found hard to follow. Rewrite these passages, keeping in mind that you want your friends to understand your points.
Both reviewers found a couple of grammatical mistakes and the one main comment they both made was that my transitions between my sections were weak. One of the reviewers also said I needed to explain more information about the Health Survey. Of course for the grammatical mistakes I will make those changes. I should not have missed them on my own to begin with. I felt the transitions were weak as well so I will try to work on those. Maybe having been away from it for a few days I can see the sections with new eyes and make better transitions to keep the flow. The other suggestion was about the Health survey, although I understand it, Galvan suggests that the reader is always right so I will follow that sentiment. I understand it, but if the reader doesn't that is what matters. I will add a little explanation about who takes the survey. 2. Write five questions designed to guide your instructor or your friends in giving you feedback on the content of your review. • Reread your review draft, and respond to your own questions by pretending you are your instructor. • Revise your draft according to your own feedback. • Reconsider the five questions you wrote for your instructor or your friends. Which questions would you leave on your list? What questions would you add? The questions I would write are as follows:
Through this process of reviewing peers' papers as well as reviewing my own in light of the suggestions received by others, I have gained a much greater understanding of the importance of good writing for communication. The content may tell of the various articles in the literature, but if they can't flow from one to the other in the main topic areas and tie them together for the main idea, then they are basically useless in the paper. Transitions are super important to keep the reader engaged and at a good level of understanding. Now consider the first draft of your own literature reviews.
For chapter 5 I chose an article on gamification and student motivation by Patrick Buckley and Elaine Doyle (2014). Although at first thought many would think that examining intrinsic and extrinsic motivation would be qualitative research, this is actually a quantitative study.
As I went through the exercises of finding the characteristics of quantitative vs qualitative , I looked for key words as I read. There were times when it was super easy to identify the characteristics when things like hypotheses were stated and the t-sample group etc. When looking at experimental vs non-experimental, I had to look deeper into the sample that was selected and whether or not there were more than one group that would get different treatments. This group study was non-experimental. As I continued to examine the article and the different questions I found that I had to read some parts of the study multiple times to really understand what happened in the study, especially when it came to the types of instruments that were used. My lack of knowledge in the instruments probably plays into that difficulty. The sample was for students that were already participating in a particular game, but there were pre and post surveys that then were correlated. If both weren't completed then the data wasn't used. Overall, I found the article was a well done quantitative research study that allowed me to see the major parts of a quantitative study vs a qualitative study. The researcher used quality instruments and then reflected on their work by examining their process and even concluding that another study in a qualitative format would provide beneficial information about the topic. Buckley, P. & Doyle, E. (2016) Gamification and student motivation, Interactive Learning Environments, 24(6), 1162-1175, DOI: 10.1080/10494820.2014.964263 Activities from Chapters 3 & 4
Chapter 3
Student engagement; Internet in education; Student participation You Can Lead Students to Water, but You Can't Make Them Think: An Assessment of Student Engagement and Learning through Student-Centered Teaching.Student-centered learning; Student engagement; Learning; Team learning approach in education; Flipped classrooms; Teaching methods; Criminology students Compare the list and note the areas of commonality as well as differences.
Now use the descriptors you just located to modify the search.
Student engagement AND student participation AND student motivation = 87
Student engagement Student participation Student motivation Students’ attitudes At-Risk students Student-centered learning
Axelson, R. D., & Flick, A. (2011). Defining student engagement. Change, 43(1), pp. 38-43. doi:10.1080/00091383.2011.533096 Bradford, J.,Mowder, D., and Bohte, J. (2016). You can lead students to water but you can’t make them think: An assessment of student engagement and learning through student-centered teaching. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 16(4) pp. 33-43. doi:10.14434/josotl.v16i4.20106. Dykstra Steinbrenner, J. R., and Watson, L. R. (2015). Student engagement in the classroom: The impact of classroom, teacher and student factors. Journal for Autism Development Disorders. 45 pp 2392-2410. Doi: 10.1007/s10803-015-2406-9 Greenwood, C. R., Horton, B. T., Utley, C. A. (2002). Academic engagement: Current perspectives on research and practice. School Psychology Review. 31(3) pp. 328-349. Nicholson, L. J. and Putwain, D. W. (2015). Facilitating re-engagement in learning: A disengaged student perspective. Psychology of Education Review 39(2) pp. 37-41. O’Connor, K. J. (2013). Class participation: Promoting in-class student engagement. Education 133(3) pp. 340-344. Reeve, J. (2013). How students create motivationally supportive learning environments for themselves: the concept of agentic engagement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105, pp. 579–595. Reyes, M. R., Brackett, M. A., Rivers, S. E., White, M., & Salovey, P. (2012). Classroom emotional climate, student engagement, and academic achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104, pp. 700–712. Sinatra, G. M., Heddy, B. C., & Lombardi, D. (2015). The challenges of defining and measuring student engagement in science. Educational Psychology, 50, pp. 1–13. Wolf, S. J., & Fraser, B. J. (2008). Learning environment, attitudes and achievement among middle-school science students using inquiry-based laboratory activities. Chapter 4 Refer to the printed list of sources you developed in Activity 5 at the end of Chapter 3.
In the second article “You can lead students to water but you can’t make them think” is about college level students that were in a criminal justice class. The researcher reviewed different pedagogical methods to see which lead the the best student engagement.
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Author: Keri DuncanThis is a blog created as a requirement for my dissertation. In different classes, there have been different requirements but hopefully it will provide good thought and discussion as I progress through the dissertation process. Archives
July 2017
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