Response a peer

 
Respond in a paragraph to the discussion board. In your response, do not just agree or disagree, tell the reason for your response. Your response must be at least 100 words.  Each answer separately. Use APA 7.

Peer 1
 
Discussion Forum Week #6
Laura Lledo Rodriguez

Discussion Forum Week #6
 Helpful Information gotten from the video
      Action research is every changing and thus there is need to identify other important assessment tools which can be used. This is to make sure that the focus on the original issue has been maintained. Reflection after the research is complete is of great significance. This involves further questioning on the results that have been gotten from the study. This will not only be of benefit to the researcher but to the students who are learning. During the process of reflection, it is important for one to judge and gain an understanding of the worthiness of the whole process of research and the different research activities that were conducted. Alternative solutions can be gotten after a reflection has been carried out. This means that the researcher is able to identify some of the changes that can be made for the purpose of improving the results which might be gotten at the end of the day.
       The presentation of the research findings for those who were involved is also a very significant thing that one could do. The presentation of the results can be done through pinning of the results on the billboards for the parties involved to read through it or even presenting them on conferences so that they can be heard. Publishing the results in form of journals or putting them on a web page is very important. This is because they become an assessment tool for the other research which will be carried out later.
        Reflections are of great significance because other students are in a position to gain from what has been uncovered. The teachers will also be in a position to come up with the best teaching strategies to use for the better understanding of the students. Action research is of great significance to the teachers because they are in a position to assess the progress of the students and thus change the mode of teaching if the one being used is not efficient.
         Through action research, teachers are able to contribute to the curriculum of the students, maximize the whole process of learning and also make sure that the community benefits from the system of education that is being used.  Action research also provides more opportunities for the teachers to resolve understand and even improve the modes of teaching. Moreover, the students are in a position to be understood as individuals. New approaches to learning are also discovered through action research.
The Concept of Validity
      When individuals focus on history of validity, it was linked to the research that is numerically based. The research was conducted during the positivistic tradition. The different types of research that were discovered were meant for the purpose of convincing the researcher together with the researchee that the results gotten during the research are right and accurate, and thus could stand more scrutiny from the other dedicated researchers (Mills, 2018). Internal validity can be described as the degree to which certain results can be termed as being true and accurate for the participants who are involved. Apart from internal validity, there is also external validity which entails the degree to which particular results gotten from the study or can be applicable to the environments and groups and the environment that is based outside the setting of the research.
        Most of the action researchers do not really claim to the knowledge that is free from context. In other words, action research by its nature is based on the context of different schools and classrooms. The different issues related to action research such as validity, credibility and reliability are usually measured by the willingness of the researchers who are teachers. The validity of an action research is mainly based on whether the solution to a given problem really solves the problems that have been discovered.
Validity in Action Research and How to improve Children Motivation
         Carrying interviews with children for the action researchers who are teachers can be quite difficult. This is because most of them can give replies that have very painful outcomes. In most of the cases when teachers are carrying out a research while interviewing children, it is common that they will jump into conclusive answers that children have not talked about. There is need to consider being patient to get the correct answers from the children. The degree in which Marland’s research results are attributable to the students’ conceptual understanding of the multiplication process along with efficient basic facts strategies and not to another explanation is the degree to which the study is internally valid (Mills, 2018). Consequently, Marland used triangulation and member to address validity.
        Some of the ways that will be of great significance to increasing student understanding and motivation is by employing different data sources such as test scores, interviews, surveys, and other work materials. Also, motivation can be increased by introducing new ways for them to learn (e.g. games).  It is important to always seek for feedback and give a chance for the readers or interviewees to speak for themselves, which is from their own point of view.
Marland Alyson Determination of the Effectiveness of her Intervention
        The research results are mainly attributed to the conceptual understanding of the students of the different processes of multiplication with the efficient basic strategies facts and not to the other different explanation. This is the degree to which the study was valid internally. Marland at the end of the study was in a position to gain an understanding of the fact that 35 % of the students were not in a position to meet the required state standards in spite of the different interventions that were planned. The discovery of Marland made her gain a deeper understanding of the impact that the different teaching strategies had on the achievement of the student statewide assessment test.
Definition of Reliability
          Reliability can be defined as the trustworthiness or the ability to be in a position to perform consistently. A research is said to be reliable if it is in a position to produce similar results under conditions that are consistent. When a test is reliable then it means that it can be depended upon by other scholars for reference purposes. More confidence is placed on a test when the same results are gotten after it has been administered and re-administered again and the same results are gotten. An unreliable test can be termed as being useless. When the test is unreliable then it means that different results will be gotten when it is administered and re-administered again.
  The Reliability of Alyson Marland
          When it comes to the whole issue of reliability, Marland’s research did not achieve the trustworthiness that was required because after carrying out the study, it was discovered 35% of the students who undertook the test were not in a position to reach the required math state standards. This was in spite of the different interventions that had been planned. This made her to have an understanding of the impact that putting into place the different teaching strategies that will improve the achievement of the students on an assessment test that was provided statewide. If the students are not in a position to achieve the standards that have been put in place, then it means that the trustworthiness of the outcome or the findings that are gotten at the end of the day. If 35% of the students were not in a position to give out the desired outcomes or even reach the anticipated standard of the test, then it means if the same test will be administered the second time there will be no promising results. When a test and a retest is done and the outcomes are accurate and can be trusted then it means that the test is valid, or the research outcomes are valid.
Conclusion
          Action research can be of great significance to the school setting, the teachers, the students and the wider community. It also gives room for most of the questions related to better learning strategies of the students to be discovered. Teachers are also in a position to come up with the best teaching methods and strategies. Action research can also be of great significance to the other individuals who are going to carry out research later in time.
References
Mills, G.E. (2018). Action Research. A Guide for the Teacher Researcher. Pearson.
Missmelissa73. (2009, Nov 7). Action Research in the Classroom Part 2. (video) Retrieve from:

Peer 2

 
Discussion Forum Week 6
Zulema Alonso Martínez
 
Video Analysis
The selected YouTube video is entitled Action Research in the Classroom Part 2 by Missmelissa73 (Missmelissa73, 2009). The rationale of this video rests on the fact that it is focused on introducing action research as a topic to primary school teachers. It also demonstrates theory, benefits, and the methodology of employing action research in a classroom setting. The specific portions of the video, which are helpful, include those that highlight the benefits and methodology of integrating action research in a classroom setting. For instance, the methodological part will help me to learn the best strategies or approaches for implementing action research to achieve better learning outcomes.
Validity
Validity is an incredible research element. It refers to how accurately or precisely an intervention method measures what it is intended to. Where research has high validity, it produces results corresponding to real characteristics, properties, and variation in the social and physical world. Historically, validity was associated with numerically based research done in the positivistic convention (Mills, 2000). Four varied types of validity exist and serve to convince both the researchee and the researcher that the findings are not only right but also accurate, and therefore, can easily endure scrutiny from other researchers. Validity can be divided into external and internal validity. Internal validity is the capacity or the degree to which obtained results are true to participants. Validity is, therefore, the extent to which an intervention measures exactly what it purports to measure. 
Issues of Validity
As stated above, validity is the level to which scientific observations measure exactly what they purport to measure. Marland’s study was interested in ascertaining whether the intervention planned of using student’s conceptual understanding of the multiplication process coupled with efficient basic facts strategies impacted their scores as far as state mathematics test was concerned. Here, the level to which Marland’s research results are research are attributable to the participants (students) conceptual understanding of the process of multiplication coupled with efficient basic facts strategies is what is known as the internal validity (Mills, 2000). Marland in her study ascertained that approximately 35% of students never satisfied standards placed by the state in mathematics despite the planned intervention incorporated by her. Marland made no claims to external validity in the study of thirty-five 4th grade students. To make such claims, he would need to achieve the tenets of quantitative research, including random assignment of students to intervention or control group. 
Nonetheless, that was never the goal of her research whose primary focus was on fostering student’s motivation and understanding while comprehending basic number facts. Marland addressed issues of validity in different ways. The intention was to enhance student motivation and understanding of multiplication facts. One of these methods was triangulation, which encompassed making use of more than one method to gather data on the same topic. In this case, Marland employed varied sources of data, including students’ test scores, student interviews, and work samples. The use of different sources of data was intended to guarantee validity. Member checks were also done in addition to triangulation, as a technique of addressing the issue of validity. Member checks refer to a qualitative method used for purposes of establishing the tenets of credibility as far as trustworthiness is concerned. 
Credibility entails establishing the truth of the research findings. In layman’s language, it implies demonstrating that research findings are not only accurate but also honest.
Therefore, as evident in the case study, Marland employed both triangulation and member checks to address validity issues and to ensure that the intervention measured exactly what it was intended to measure. Marland determined whether the intervention was effective using different strategies. Informal interviews provided her with insight regarding what the students thought regarding timed tests. Most students confirmed that these tests were helpful because it offered them the chance to practice multiplication facts. A timed test was also used to unearth multiplication facts that were troublesome or difficult to students.
Reliability
Besides validity, reliability is another worthwhile research element. Reliability is the consistency or dependability of a method or an intervention of measuring something. Where similar results can be achieved using similar methodology under alike circumstances, the measurement can be considered reliable. Marland’s intention in the research was to ascertain whether the intervention planned of using student’s conceptual understanding of the multiplication process coupled with efficient basic facts strategies impacted their scores as far as state mathematics test was concerned. Therefore, the ability of this intervention to give similar results when all other factors are maintained constant is what makes it reliable. The informal interview enabled Marland to determine a testing strategy that students communally accepted as best. She also used a timed test to unearth areas of difficulties and to adjust the intervention to address identified problems, a move that promoted reliability (Mills, 2000). 
References
Mills, G. E. (2000). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher. Prentice-Hall, Inc., New Jersey.
Missmelissa73. (2009). Action Research in the Classroom Part 2. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZHvpgU7pc8&feature=youtu.be