Educational Action Research Plan
Cornelia Ross
EDU 671 Fundamentals of Educational Research
Dr. Kathleen Lunsford
April 13, 2015
Educational Action Research Plan
Introduction
The proposed action research study
aims to improve training in a small, fast casual restaurant that employs up to
15 persons. Currently, the training consists of absorb activities such as video
and reading materials. This teaching technique is passive learning, which means
students are not actively involved in the learning process. The goal of this
research is to improve education by implementing active learning with
technology and writing. Action research according to Mills (2014) differs from
traditional research in that the researcher has the locus of control because they
have the ability to influence the subject. It is through this locus of control
that the teacher-researcher examines their teaching strategies in order to
improve learning for the students.
Plan
Area of Focus
The purpose of the study is to enhance learning and increase
productivity for employees by introducing active learning through technology
games and writing. Currently, training materials are limited to two learning
styles video and reading, but not student-centered training. Introducing active
learning by having employees’ do exploratory writing after absorbing the
training materials and interacting with technology should help to improve
productivity. In their investigation into active learning, Linton, Pangle,
Wyatt, Powell, and Sherwood (2014) noted that writing to improve education
showed positive results in promoting metacognition. Writing will help students
to clarify their thoughts about the concepts, and the students will have to
justify their thinking.
Explanation of
Problem
Quarterly the company implements new
policy and menu changes. These can be very complicated with many contradictions
in previous policies. Because, the company is national the communication is
limited and local communication lacks in accuracy. For instance with one
quarterly roll-out the company instituted a test market and sent all stores the
deployment facts for the test market, rather than separating the deployments.
This caused confusion with not only management, but also of course the
employees.
Each employee learns differently and for
the training department to assume that a video and some reading materials have
to suffice is not considering the diversity in employee asset. Because,
employees are not allotted a proficient amount of time to study the reading
materials I thought it would benefit if the training could be enhanced with
self-writing a summary and an interactive technology-based training. These
practices would cover more learners, and implementation of new practices would
be more efficient and less time consuming with less frustration to customers
and managers in the long run. Čonková
(2013), in her study, relays that a
combined training of e-learning and traditional learning is preferred and
showed positive results.
Population
Employees range in age from 17 to 50
currently, but this demographic can change from year to year. The size of the
population for this study would be 12 employees.
·
2 are age 17 -19
·
6 are in the age range of 20 to 24
·
3 are in the age range of 25 to 30
·
1 is age 50
All except one
employee can be considered an adult. The
seventeen-year-old is a minor. Two employees have limited English knowledge.
Six of the employees are currently enrolled in College courses. One is still in
High School, and four are High School graduates.
Population Choice
The population is the culmination of the
stores employees and is a good representation of many stores within the
company. The study is to improve retention of new training materials, which all
employees have to do and if incorporating different teaching strategies would
improve employee performance. The implementation of different teaching strategies
is to reach diverse learners.
Research
Questions
·
How will the inclusion of interactive
technology used during training increase employee productivity?
·
How does employees’ exploratory writing help to impact the quality
of student learning?
·
How will the inclusion of technology training for review of
updated practices improve student perception of job performance?
Idea
Teaching and
Learning
Currently, trainees are presented with a
video and a written deployment guide. All employees’ receive approximately 45
minutes of training on the new policies. Training is done in between business
rather than in a classroom. The trainee has limited time to focus on the
training materials because training is rushed. Each employee reads the guide and
watches the video, of course, everyone connects over what they found
interesting afterwards during the work day. The training is passive, which not
all students have the ability to retain the material in the way it is
presented. The idea is to incorporate active learning elements to increase
retention and productivity.
Locus of Control
|
Figure 1.1 Jeopardy game
|
As for asking for
a summary of the training, I have the ability to give each trainee 15 to 30
minutes to write a summary. The idea is to initiate writing with some questions
to help trainees with thinking about the subjects. I as the research have the
ability to impact the subject, as Mills (2014) is the difference between
traditional and action research.
Passion
I am passionate when it comes to
training because I often thought that the training I received in the different
positions I have held lacked proper implementation and material. The current
position that I hold was supposed to afford me six weeks of training and I only
received one and half week. The rest I had to learn on my own as I managed my
store. I was not taught how to implement the provided training materials, since
I never was able to complete training. I often felt insecure in my position,
especially when having to answer questions posed to me by customers, superiors,
and employees.
Inspiration
Because, I do not like the feeling of being insecure, not
having the appropriate answer, and being proficient in my job I believe it is
important to give others the opportunity to learn all they can in the best way
they can. We are not all the same, I, for instance learn best with hands-on
activities rather than reading about concepts. My daughter and my son on the
other hand like to read about everything first. Some people like to view the
activity while taking notes. A training program that can reach several
different learning styles will undoubtedly improve retention and productivity.
Apart from Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence theory there are three learning
theories that influence my teaching strategies, which are behaviorism, cognitivism,
and constructivism. The theories summarized by Hung (2001) are:
·
behaviorism = stimulus and response
·
cognitivism = information transmission and
processing
·
constructivism = personal discovery of knowledge
References
Čonková,
M. (2013). Analysis of Perceptions of Conventional and E-Learning Education in Corporate Training. Journal Of
Competitiveness, 5(4), 73-97
Hung,
D. (2001). Theories of Learning and Computer-Mediated Instructional
Technologies. Educational Media
International, 38(4), 281-287. doi:10.1080/
Linton,
D. L., Pangle, W. M., Wyatt, K. H., Powell, K. N., & Sherwood, R. E.
(2014). Identifying Key Features of
Effective Active Learning: The Effects of Writing and Peer Discussion. CBE Life Sciences Education,
13(3), 469–477. doi:10.1187/cbe.13-12-0242
Mills, G. E. (2014). Action
research: A guide for the teacher researcher (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
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