Week 4 – Assignment 1

Formative Evaluation – Interpretation

 In EDU671, you identified the type of data, the frequency of collection, tools and have also explored topics related to ethical consideration of this information. You are in the process of collecting data for your action research in the field at this time. 

Be reminded that you’re the approved Action Research Informed Consent allows your implementation of this action research intervention or innovation in a specialized setting as follows: Those currently employed in a classroom setting. Those currently employed in a non-classroom or      educational setting. Those not employed but implementing the intervention or      innovation with family members, yourself, or your own children 

You are also in the final week of your action research intervention. Through this process, your experience reinforces action research as being cyclical (Buczynski & Hansen, 2014; Mills, 2014) and for the best outcome we must engage in critical reflection of the data (Volante & Beckett, 2011). 

Vital to the process of collecting data is the continual alignment to your research question(s). Equally important is how you will systematically collect multiple sources of data and present the finding to arise at comprehensive conclusions at the termination of your study. The quality of your data analysis is a strong predictor of the ease with which you can manage the data but how you can develop sound findings at the end of your study. Consider: How will you triangulate this information? How will you continue to build upon this information in order to make sense and correlate your data to your outcomes? 

The focus of this assignment is to reflect on the data and to prepare for how to analyze in order to answer the research question. We want to answer the question of “So what?” (Mills, 2014, p.132) This is a critical stage of your action research! In this assignment, you evaluate the main themes emerging from your data thus far and how they are or are not supporting your research questions. For example, depending on what you are seeing in the data, you may have assessed that your research question should have been stated in a slightly different manner in order to more authentically capture the specific data. Or, perhaps the data tells you that one of your questions was irrelevant or that an additional question with a slightly different focus should have been asked.

Construct your assignment to meet the content and written communication expectations below.

Content Expectations Themes (2 points):      Describe the themes emerging from the data collection. Personal Experiences (2 points): Analyze how the preliminary findings relate to your      personal experiences using specific examples.  Implications. (3 points): Describe the implications of your data that can be      used to answer your research question(s).

Written Communication Expectations Page Requirement (.5 points): Three-to-four pages, not including title, references,      and appendix pages. APA Formatting (.5 points): Use APA formatting consistently throughout the      assignment. Syntax and Mechanics (.5 points): Display meticulous comprehension and organization of      syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar.  Source Requirement (.5 points): Use no less than two scholarly sources in addition to      the Buczynski and Hansen (2014) and Mills (2009) textbooks, providing      compelling evidence to support ideas, and if applicable, reference to      original project if enhancement of existing project occurred. All sources      on the reference page need to be used and cited correctly within the body      of the assignment.

Next Steps: Review and Submit the Assignment
Review your assignment with the Grading Rubric to be sure you have achieved the distinguished levels of performance for each criterion. Next, submit the assignment to the course room for evaluation no later than Day 7. 

Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.