Discussion 1

Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses.

Final Self-Reflection

Describe some of your take-aways from this course. Consider all of the topics including use of digital tools when responding. Reflect on Chapter 7, Mills (2014) and the discussion on a variety of challenges action researchers face when implementing positive change. Do not respond in list form. These are merely prompts to get you thinking:

1. What concepts or principles have you learned from this course that you might use in your work setting?

2. How do you feel about conducting action research now, compared to before you started this course?

3. Describe how you perceive the value of qualitative and quantitative data when considering improvements.

4. How do you plan to use the knowledge you gained in this course to be a positive change agent in your own work setting? In other words, what are your next steps?

5. What potential challenges or obstacles do you predict facing in your current or future role as an educator when implementing positive change (lack of resources, resistance to change, reluctance to interfere with others' professional practices, reluctance to admit difficult truths, difficulty finding a forum to share what you have learned, lack of time for action research endeavors, unsupportive administration, other)?

6. Describe how you would apply what you have learned regarding the challenges of implementing educational change to overcome potential obstacles that you may encounter in taking action.

Final Project

Action Research Proposal

The final project for this course is an Action Research Proposal, which will be created and shared in the form of a formal presentation in PowerPoint, including detailed speaker notes for each content slide. The purpose of the final project is for you to culminate the learning achieved in the course by demonstrating the ability to effectively present an Action Research Proposal.

As you create the presentation, imagine that you are given approximately ten minutes to present this information to your fellow teachers in your school during a staff development day, to your school board to solicit support for their ideas, or to your managers as part of your organization's continuous improvement program. Your goals are to gain approval to conduct this study and implement your proposed innovation or intervention in your place of work.

To create your presentation, use your current, updated action research plan outline that was originally submitted during Week Four.

Additionally, you may want to use your mock presentation from Week Five as well as the feedback acquired from your classmates in the discussion forum to build an improved, more complete presentation for a wider, more important audience.

Content

The assignment needs to include the following areas of content.

• Presentation - Design (6.5 points): Create a presentation that is professionally designed in 15 to 20 slides, including title and references slides, and has no more than seven bullet points per slide and no more than seven words per point. You must use images to add value to the slide content and high-contrast colors for readability and include detailed speaker notes for each content slide.

• Presentation - Content (12 points): In addition to a title and references slide, the presentation must include the following eleven areas:

1. Area of Focus (1 point): Describe the purpose of your study. Begin by writing a statement that starts with, "The purpose of this study is to..."

2. Explanation of Problem (1 point): Explain a statement of the problem or situation that led to this interest or why you want to pursue this topic.

3. Variables (1 point): Including defined factors, contexts, including recognition of diverse learners, and variables of the proposed study

4. Research Questions (3 points): Two to three research questions that align with the area of focus and address what you hope to answer in this study. The questions need to be answerable and presented in list format, and they must appropriately represent the population/participants you identified

5. Locus of Control (1 point): Describe how your idea is within your locus of control.

6. Intervention/Innovation (1 point): A succinct description of the proposed action to address the identified issue/area of focus.

7. Negotiations (0.5 point): Potential obstacles (e.g., permissions established).,

8. Ethics (1 point): A statement of how you address the potential ethical challenges.

9. Timeline (1 point): The anticipated schedule for each phase of the intervention.

10. Statement of Resources (0.5 point): A list of what is needed to enact the proposed plan, and

11. Data Collection (1 point): Proposed data collection techniques are justified and whether you are proposing appropriate data collection techniques to answer the study's research questions (chart from Week Three may be used here).

Written Communication

The assignment needs to adhere to the following areas for written communication.

• APA Formatting (0.5 point): Use APA formatting consistently throughout.

• Syntax and Mechanics (0.5 point): Display meticulous comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Your written work should contain no errors and be very easy to understand.

• Source Requirement (0.5 point): Use no less than three scholarly sources in addition to the course textbook, providing compelling evidence to support ideas. All sources on the reference page need to be used and cited correctly within the body of the assignment.