To Research or Not to Research?

I am considering three potential questions for my action research project.


1. Is the online learning environment I am using with my students working?
2. How can we increase student attendance?
3. Does the tardy policy in effect hinder or help student achievement?

Let me address the purpose and significance of each question as it relates to my campus.

1. Online learning is the wave of the future. We are all aware of that as we take part in the phenomenon everyday through this program. It is also the wave that we need to get our students on. We are educating them for jobs that have not even been created yet and most certainly they will all involve technology. Online trainings are necessary to streamline the workforce and the current and continuing expectation is that you come prepared and you work from home. Gone are the days of the 9 to 5 job. My students are students who are behind their peers in their high school career. Online learning can be accelerated and so provides a benefit in the potential to catch up to their peers in a reasonable amount of time. Unfortunately, online learning also requires a level of independence and a strong work ethic. The rigor of online learning is increased due to the lack of one-on-one tutoring available. We must learn to teach ourselves. Isn’t that what we want our children to be? Life-long learners? My goal is to research whether the current pedagogy used when working in a virtual environment is effective. Are the software companies designing software that really works with the needs of the students? In what areas do the students still struggle? Does online learning really work with the needs of those students who are not on par with their peers?

The data for this project is available in terms of the number of courses completed and in what areas are they being completed. The age of the student as well as how far they are behind their cohort is also available. One big question that I am currently grappling with is the issue of quality over quantity. Is it better to give the students more options or less? Should they focus on one course at a time or is it better to work with multiples? These are all questions that I can provide hard data toward.

The benefactors of this study are the students as well as the district. There is often a large financial burden to start and maintain an online learning environment, all of which the campus or district must bear the weight of. Do the benefits to the students outweigh the cost to the district or school? Ultimately, why continue a project if the students are not being helped from it? Are they getting caught back up to their cohort? If such a research project as this proves to be a waste of resources, wouldn’t it be better to limit further expenditures on such a project before the school district or school is in the media for misappropriation of funds?

2. A second topic I am considering studying is the process for improving attendance of the students at a given school. What factors cause the high rate of absenteeism in our student population? I am most interested in those factors that lie in the control of the school; good teaching practices, communication between school and home, meeting the needs of all students learning styles. In other words, is what we are doing at the school helping to curb absenteeism or are we making it worse?

The obvious benefit is of course improved attendance which theoretically results in more learning. How often do we blame the students for not showing up to our class on the student rather than our own teaching or grading practices? This can be evidenced by comparing attendance rates with test scores and grades in a course.

3. Our tardy policy at our school is unclear and not shared by all on the campus. The culture among both student and adult alike is that there is nothing that will be done about a tardy. When students know that the bells mean nothing, then just like us they will take advantage of that time to socialize. The key is consistency. While I do not hold the notion that a student should be 100% responsible for being on time, it is more a question of are we modeling the behavior we wish to have and are we consistently applying a fair response to the tardy?

I can see a benefit of increase instructional time when there is a clear and consistence tardy policy in effect. I fear being met with much opposition on this topic as it is a hot button topic on my campus. I may also need to narrow all these topics down some and pinpoint some questions that can be formulated into measureable or SMART goals.