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DTLLS ASSIGNMENT AR/1

NEIL HATELEY V1 Page 1

OCNW Level 5Diploma in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector Pt 2

NAME:

OPTION UNIT: Action Research TASK : AR/1

LECTURER: LINDA HARRADINE

DATE DUE: 6th November 2008 SUBMITTED:

THE CANDIDATE MUST COMPLETE THE SECTION BELOW

(Ensure that the assessment criteria are listed)I certify that this is my own work and not plagiarised and understand that copied work from anysource will be treated as a FAIL. In this work

I am claiming the following assessment criteria 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4.Signed (student):

LECTURER FEEDBACK and OVERALL DEVELOPMENTAL ADVICE: (please

continue on a separate sheet if necessary)

PASS or REFERRAL for work on the following criteria:

Signed: .............................................. (Lecturer) Date:

date for RESUBMISSION: After Resubmission PASS FAILSigned: ............................................. (Lecturer) Date:

Internal Verification

(See V10 for comments) Signed : Date:

External Moderation Signed: .. Date:

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Unit title: Action Research - Level 5

Learning

Outcomes

The learner will:

Assessment Criteria

The learner can:

COURSE-WORK

TASK

1.1 Analyse the key features and purpose of actionresearch.

AR/1

1.2 Analyse key features of the action research cycle. AR/1

1 Understand thekey features andpurpose of action

research.1.3 Identify and evaluate the implications of a model for

action research.

AR/1&

AR/5

2.1 Select and justify choice of an appropriate area of

own practice for action research.AR/1

2.2 Plan and demonstrate implementation of a clear

intervention strategy.AR/1

2.3 Justify the chosen intervention strategy and

timescales.AR/1

2 Understand and

demonstrate

procedures to

be used when

initiating actionresearch.

2.4 Discuss ethical and political considerations and

issues of confidentiality, explaining how these will be

observed in practice.

AR/1

3.1 Identify and draw on appropriate and relevant

literature, demonstrating use of standard referencing

methods.

AR/2

3.2 Evaluate a range of methods of qualitative and

quantitative data collection, comparing advantages

and disadvantages.

AR/3

3 Understand and

apply action

research

methodology.

3.3 Explain and justify choice of methods selected for

own researchAR/3

4.1 Discuss ways in which collected data may be

analysed.AR/34 Understand and

demonstrate how

to collect, present

and analyse

appropriate data.

4.2 Collect, present and analyse appropriate data.AR/3, 4

5.1 Report clearly and objectively on results achieved,identifying and discussing conclusions reached.

AR/45 Understand anddemonstrate how

to present

research

conclusions.

5.2 Recommend and justify action to be taken based on

these conclusions.AR/4

6.1 Evaluate own approaches, strengths and

development needs in relation to action research.AR/56 Understand how

to evaluate the

effectiveness of

own practice6.2 Plan opportunities to develop and improve own

skills in action research.AR/5

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Indicative content

Opportunities to explore different approaches to data collection methods

Action research cycle: e.g. identifying an appropriate issue, formulate the hypothesis,

explore suitable methodology, undertake a pilot study (if appropriate), collect primary data,

analyse the evidence, draw conclusions, modify the hypothesis, plan further research etc.

Appropriate area of study Intervention strategies and time scales: e.g. planning strategies and drawing up

schedules, structuring and timing of primary data collection, sources of evidence etc.

Ethical, political and confidentiality issues

Relevant literature and referencing

Qualitative and quantitative data collection: e.g. qualitative (statements, perceptions,

values) quantitative (statistical data), questioning as a research tool etc.

Selecting methods appropriate to research

Data collection and presentation: e.g. recording findings in appropriate format, collectand review data using appropriate methods etc.

Data analysis: e.g. comparisons of variables, trends, forecasting; comparison of results, graphs,

charts etc. correlation between data sets (mean, median/ mode, standard deviation)

Results and conclusions: e.g. clear and objective reporting on results, conclusions,

implications for improvement

Recommendations and actions: review approach to research methodology, suggest

improvements, identify unanswered questions, issues considered through the research, any side

issues, recommendations for implementing professional practice

Strength and development needs: e.g. evaluation of the knowledge, skills andunderstanding developed through undertaking the research

Opportunities to develop and improve own practice: e.g., staff development

opportunities etc.

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COURSEWORK: ACTION RESEARCH

AR/1: PROPOSAL

1. Identify an area for research that will allow you to investigate an aspect of your practice.

This topic should be something that is in your control and lead you to do active

reflective-practice.2. Produce a 500-word outline that identifies the following:

Name and course

Proposed area of investigation

How the area of investigation will be clarified

An explanation of the action research model to be used (if a graphic is available, please

append it)

What research methods will be used at the early stages of the investigation and why

Who the participants will be

How the data will be interpreted Possible problems with the data collection

If problems arise, what contingency plans are in place

Ethical issues that apply to the investigation

Actions to ensure ethical research

3. Draw up a table that clearly shows your timetable of events from now until the

presentation date in Mid-late May

AR/2: LITERATURE REVIEW

Review primary and/or secondary sources to craft an academic story that contextualises your

topic (1000 words).

AR/3: DATA COLLECTION

Collect and critically analyse appropriate data. You should critique the the action research

model and your research methods. (500 words).

AR/4: PRESENTATION

Report on the outcomes of the research, clearly stating your conclusions andrecommendations. You should have a 500 word summary paper with bibliography to distribute

to all in the group.

AR/5: SELF EVALUATION

From your research experience, critically evaluate your own approaches, strengths and

development needs. Plan opportunities to improve your skills. Your account should be linked

to the SVUK professional standards.

Remember : You must show skills of critical evaluation in your writing.

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Recommended Reading

Bassey M (2002) Case Study Research in M.Coleman & Briggs eds. Research methods in

Educational Leadership and Management Paul Chapman, UK

Best J & Kahn J: (2003) Research in Education Allyn & Bacon

Cohen et al: (2000) Research Methods in Education Routledge Falmer

Coleman M & Briggs A eds: (2002) Research methods in Educational Leadership and Management

Paul Chapman Publishing

Denscombe M: (2002) Ground Rules for Good Research Open University Press

McNiff J, Lomax P, Whitehead J: (2004) You and Your Action Research Project Oxford: Routledge

Falmer

Robson C: (2005) Real World Research Oxford: Blackwell

Wragg T (2002) Interviewing. In: M Coleman & Briggs, (eds.) Research Methods in Educational

Leadership and Management Paul Chapman Publishing

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COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF ELICITATION

METHODOLOGIES IN ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNINGWITHIN A CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT

By Neil Hateley, BSc. (App. Phys.), MSc (Business

Computing)

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for thequalification of

Level 5 Diplomain

Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector

Period of study:

2007 2009

Huntingdonshire Regional College

November 2008

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Action Research Project Proposal

Neil Hateley Page 7 of 13

Proposed area of research:

The evaluation of learning forms a key part of the education process, this is an area

in which the author considers their own teaching needs improvement, the

investigation will focus on the relative merits of a range of techniques when used in a

classroom environment.

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority have published a document entitled

Assessment for learning: beyond the black box (Beyond the black box, 2008), in

this publication the following assessment for learning methodologies were identified:

q observing pupils this includes listening to how they describe their work and

their reasoning

q questioning, using open questions, phrased to invite pupils to explore their

ideas and reasoning

q setting tasks in a way which requires pupils to use certain skills or apply

ideas

q asking pupils to communicate their thinking through drawings, artefacts,

actions, role play, concept mapping, as well as writing

q discussing words and how they are being used.

It is the intention to make use of a range of these techniques during the research

activity, and to compare the relative merits of the technique when applied to two

groups of learners both studying the same course.

How the topic of interest will be clarified

The research activity will clarify the effectiveness of a range of available and

applicable techniques which the author would be able to use as part of the routine in

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class assessment techniques. By comparing similar assessment techniques an

optimum assessment strategy for the lecturer and subject area may be discovered.

The main benefit would be to identify and optimise the use of assessment techniques

during lessons.

Action research model to be used

It is intended to utilise a spiral model for the action research method (Special

Pedagogies, 2008), this will ideally cover no less than three cycles with each student

cohort, allowing each of the three techniques being investigated to be used with each

cohort.

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If the opportunity presents its self then the experiment will be extended to include

repeated use of the techniques within each group.

Research method(s) at each stage:

Use will be made of the following techniques:

q Method 1: questioning, using open questions, phrased to invite students to

explore their ideas and reasoning questions and responses will be recorded

using electronic recording equipment and transcribed for the purposes of the

report.

q Setting tasks in a way which requires students to use certain skills or apply

ideas this will include the following two methods:

o Method 3: On line assessment via the virtual learning environment,

marked on line using the scoring systems within the virtual learning

environment.

o Method 4: Paper copies of the on line assessment assessed as paper

tests and marked either by the lecturer or by fellow students..

It is envisaged that these three techniques will be the most applicable to the cohort,

in terms of the learners motivation to engage and perform during the assessment,

other techniques as outlined earlier would be difficult to compare in a controlled

manner or would result in limited levels of acceptance by the student cohort.

In order to provide a fair comparison between assessment methodologies, a common

set of questions will be developed for each of the six weeks of the project. These

questions will be presented in two of the three forms described.

When open questioning is being used, a set of PowerPoint slides may be prepared to

display the question set, this should assist with adherence to the prescribed set of

questions. The other forms of questioning will make use of paper or online question

sets as appriopriate.

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Participants:

Two groups of BTEC First diploma students are timetabled for two discrete units with

the author, it is intended that the students be used alternately for one type of

assessment whilst the other cohort are assessed using a different method of

assessment. The assessment method will alternate in accordance with the grid in

table 1:

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6

Learner group 1 Method 1 Method 3 Method 2 Method 1 Method 3 Method 2

Learner group 2 Method 2 Method 1 Method 3 Method 2 Method 1 Method 3

Table 1: Assessment delivery grid

A total of three different assessment methods will be used, these will include the

methods detailed previously in this document.

Secondary sources:

The work of Black and Wiliam (Teachingexpertise, 2005) and the work of the QCA

assessment reform group (QCA, 2008) provide major tracts of research within the

domain, further work by Petty (2006) adds interpretation to the other literature.

Data interpretation:

Direct comparison of results from similar tests in varied domains provides one

possible method of comparison between the assessment techniques, another

technique would be to conduct a simple survey with the students to ascertain their

appreciation of the methods used.

In addition, the delivery experience of the tutor is key to the success of the

assessment methods, for optimal success assessment should be easy to administer

and to score or mark. The relative comparison between each of the proposed

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methodologies should allow the tutor to evaluate the impact on their workload of the

techniques being investigated.

Time scale:

It is anticipated that the bulk of the question development and data collection will be

conducted between November 2008 and February 2009, analysis of the results and

the subsequent presentation of data in a final report will be completed between

February and April 2009.

Possible Problems:

Possible problems may include the lack of acceptance of the techniques with the

learner groups.

Questioning methodologies require that the group members are keen to participate,

reluctant students can easily be allowed to fall into the shadows and not offer their

opinion on the subject under discussion.

Students responses could be recorded using a voice recorder with a wide area

microphone. This may cause some students to become shy but not more than

normal, this recording method will however require explanation, which means this

part of the assessment cannot be conducted without explaining to students that an

experiment is being conducted and giving the students the opportunity to withdraw

from the experiment should they desire.

Test papers whether on line or in paper form can cause anxiety amongst learners

who find reading or writing difficult. The mitigating factor here is that the questions

being planned are multi-choice format and this provides the students with an easier

option than an open writing response.

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Contingency Plan:

Other assessment techniques may be considered in the event that one technique

fails to effectively assess each cohort. Technical failure of the online assessment

system may pose a problem should this occur, trial assessments will be conducted

with other student groups before the method is used with the target student group.

Ethical issues:

Most of the assessment will be conducted in a blind trial neither group of students

will be informed of the nature of the assessment before results are obtained. The

results will be anonomised to remove student names from the resultant analysis for

the study. However, the questioning techniques will need to be voice recorded to

allow students responses to be properly transcribed, this will require authority from

the students and students will be allowed to accept or decline to take part.

Actions to ensure ethical research

Anonomisation of data which is included in the final report will be used to remove

traceability of subjects from the study. Students will be debriefed after the experiment

to show the overall result of the investigation.

Bibliography

Assessment Reform Group.1999. Assessment for learning: beyond the black box,

(University of Cambridge School of Education, 1999) Available at:

www.qca.org.uk/libraryAssets/media/beyond_black_box2.pdf [accessed 28/10/2008].

Petty, G. (2006) Evidence Based Teaching - A practical approach, Cheltenham:

Nelson Thornes.

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QCA (2008) AfL: Overview documents. [online] available from: http://www.qca.org.uk

/qca_13440.aspx [accessed 28/10/2008]

Special Pedagogies (2008) Action research cycle [online] Available from:

http://www.det.nt.gov.au/education/special_education_wellbeing/initiatives/images/

action%20_research_cycle.jpg [accessed 28/10/2008]

Teachingexpertise (2005) Black, Wiliam and assessment for learning [online]

teachingexpertise.com. Available from: http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/

black-william-assessment-learning-118 [accessed 13/04/2008].

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