Respond in a paragraph to the discussion board. In your response, DO NOT JUST AGREE OR DISAGREE IN THE RESPONSE, tell the reason for your response. Your response must be at least 100 words.  Each answer separately. Use APA 7.

Peer1

Zulema Alonso Martínez

Forum Week 8

At the center of every action research endeavor rests the desire to take action to improve students’ educational experiences. Assessing and teaching fluency and comprehension is a difficult task since students come from different background.  Besides, every student is unique in his own way justifying the need to integrate or customize lesson plans in a way that address the unique needs of every student.  Therefore, action research can provide instructors with invaluable information required to develop apposite lesson and to improve instruction for the entire students, including those with disabilities. Information acquired as a result of conducting action research enables instructors to offer exceptional students with enhanced access to general education curriculum.

The above background informs the basis of action planning as illustrated by Jack Reston’s action planning chart which provides a framework that enables the teacher researcher to take action, having learned from findings of their research projects and cycles. I have used the same framework to outline the key steps in my action research plan, including the measures that I will take to handle some of the challenges that may arise in the course of the project. The ultimate goal of this project is to develop an action plan that is intended to yield positive educational change to improve fluency in reading and comprehension among students (Mills, 2018).  Conducting this action research will help to improve reading and comprehension skills to seven  years old boy.  The following represents the chart.

Table 1

 Steps to Action Research

Summary of findings and research questions

Recommended action targeted to findings

Who  is responsible

T-Teacher

S-Student

P-Principal

PA-Parents

Who needs to be consulted or informed

Who will monitor/collect data

Timeline

Resources

Problems with reading fluency

Assigning the learner many books to read, requesting him to read allowed, and summarizing major points.

Action researcher

Parents

Action researcher

Ongoing

Books, paper, pens. Laptop.

Interventions for assessing and improving comprehension

Curriculum Based Measurement (CBM) and Gray Oral Reading Test IV (GORT-4). Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) and Early Reading Diagnostic Assessment (ERDA)

Action researcher

Parents

Action researcher

Ongoing

Books, paper, pens. Laptop. Microsoft Office Software

            The above displays the various steps of action research, which include a summary of findings and research questions, recommended action targeted at the findings, those who are responsible, including teachers, students, principal, and parents, and who needs to be consulted or informed. Other steps include who to monitor and collect data, timeline, and resources.

In this project, I intend to establish how to better assess the students’ reading capacity in terms of fluency and comprehension and to improve their reading and comprehension fluency.  According to Oakhill et al., (2014), Fluency denotes the students’ automatic ability to read a set of connected words in text. Comprehension is the process by which a student reads a text and is able to make meaning of that text i.e. understand it. Teachers usually use multiple assessment criteria, tools and methods to gather information on the performance of students and to tailor their instruction to meet specific student needs

Applying an Action Plan

Mills (2018) model illustrates how researcher uses the findings of their action research to inform their decisions. The initial research question for my action research is “what special considerations must be taken into account when assessing student reading fluency and comprehension skills?” Not every assessment is appropriate for all students and assessment of reading depends on the age level, skill level and culture of the student. Thus, assessments must be culturally appropriate and instructionally relevant. Students entering the classroom are at different levels of literacy skills and come from diverse backgrounds (Schumm, 2017).

The second research question is: “what interventions exist to assess and improve fluency and comprehension skills of students?” Existing research has shown that various methodologies are used to assess reading. Assessment measures used to test fluency skills include Curriculum Based Measurement (CBM) and Gray Oral Reading Test IV (GORT-4). Assessment measures for testing reading comprehension skills include Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) and Early Reading Diagnostic Assessment (ERDA) (Israel & Duffy, 2014).

Onto the “Steps to Action,” my intervention will involve evaluating the existing tools and methods of assessing reading fluency and comprehension. The recommended action involves working in collaboration with other teachers as well as parents within the school community. Responsibilities will be shared among the various stakeholders who interact with the child. I will share the findings of my action research with my colleagues, to bring them on board for corporate action towards bettering student performance. Ongoing monitoring or data collection regarding my recommended action will be based on my observations. I will carefully record both qualitative and quantitative data for later analysis. I will outline a timeline for action and additional resources for this project (Makoelle & Van Der Merwe, 2014).

I intend to deal with any challenges that will arise to the best of my ability. I recognize that scarcity of resources may hinder me from implementing the plan. I know that dealing with students with different literacy skills is a challenge that may require designing of literacy instruction to meet the needs of each individual student. The assessment process may involve multiple sources of data and perspectives, further complicating planning, research, and data collection. Lack of support from colleagues and the school community at large may limit the implementation of my action plan. Having recognized that the action research will require quality time, I will make time for it by scheduling coordinated, regular, and consistent interactive sessions with the student and parents. I will also work with various other stakeholders to distribute the work for ease of the research (Mills, 2018).

References

Israel, S. E., & Duffy, G. G. (Eds.). (2014). Handbook of research on reading comprehension. Routledge.

Makoelle, T. M., & Van Der Merwe, M. P. (2014). Educational change and inclusion: lessons from a collaborative action research. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(14), 169.

Mills, G.E. (2018). Action research: a guide for the teacher researcher. (6th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN-13: 9780134523033

Oakhill, J., Cain, K., & Elbro, C. (2014). Understanding and teaching reading comprehension: A handbook. Routledge.

Schumm, J. S. (Ed.). (2017). Reading assessment and instruction for all learners. Guilford Publications.

Peer 2

Giraldo J. Almeida Pardo

Designing an Action Plan

Having a robust action plan is central to helping instructors develop a proactive strategy for facilitating the delivery of instructions. Students in a classroom setting have unique abilities. Therefore, to bring about a positive change that maximizes learning outcomes, instructors must be able to tailor instructions in a manner that addresses the different unique needs of every learner (O’Connor, Greene, & Anderson, 2006). Action research is critical because it helps the teacher or instructor understands the best strategies that should be adopted to maximize learning outcomes (Bissonnette, & Caprino, 2014). In action research, an action chart plays a fundamental role in giving the researcher a blueprint or framework for the entire action planning process. As noted above, action research is intended to unearth the best methods for delivering instructions that guarantee maximum learning outcomes.  In this study, the author is interested in developing an intervention to reduce addiction to video games to a single 9-year-old child.  The following represents an action research chart that will be used in this study.

Table 1

 Action Research Chart

Findings summary and research questions

Suggested action targeted to findings

The person responsible for the action

Person who needs to be informed or consulted

Who to collect/monitor data collection

Timeline

Resources needed

Which strategies can be used to reduce addiction to video games among the targeted population

Implementing both family and school-based interventions. For instance, the parent monitoring the child at home to restrict the time spent on violent videogames.

Action researcher

Parents

Action researcher, parents.

Four Weeks

PS4, TV, Videogames. Laptop. Questionnaire

Which video games are more destructive

Incorporate Educational Games in the child´s game routine.

Action researcher

Parents

Action researcher, parents.

Four Weeks

PS4, TV, Violent video games. Laptop. Microsoft Office Software.

As evident, the chart above identifies the study findings, recommended course of action that specifically targets a given finding, which in this case is to reduce addiction to video games to a single nine-year-old child. The chart also displays who is responsible for the actions to be taken, who should be informed or consulted, the duration of time upon which data will be collected, and resources required to ensure adequate collection of data. Here, the responsibility lies in the hands of many people, including the child, parent, and teacher. To overcome addiction, the three groups must work in tandem. The above-documented action research steps will ensure a detailed analysis of the problem to arrive at the most proactive solution for helping the nine-year-old child to reduce addiction to video games. Perhaps, doing so will help the child to concentrate on his or her studies, eventually culminating in better academic outcomes.

Identify Some Potential Challenges in Implementing the Plan

The present study is interested in designing and implementing an intervention to reduce addiction to video games to a single 9-year-old child. Although the action plan will help to improve learning outcomes in the targeted population, it is worth noting that implementing it is likely to face serious challenges. For instance, one of the challenges is the COVID-19 pandemic that has significantly limited movement. On this note, implementing the proposed strategy may not be easy because up-to-now; it is not clear when children will resume normal learning. Therefore, since the initiative is to be implemented by both teachers and parents, as long as the pandemic continues to affect people, it may not be easy to integrate the plan.

           In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, another potential challenge would be resources. Irrefutably, scarcity of resources is always the greatest obstacle when it comes to implementing an action plan (Norasmah, & Chia, 2016). As noted above, the objective of the present study is to design and implement an intervention to reduce addiction to video games to a single 9-year-old child. This requires resources, both human and financial resources to ascertain whether the proposed intervention is achieving its intended objective. To succeed, both parents and teachers will have to spend a great deal of their time and energy to appropriately direct children to reduce addiction to video games. Despite the scarcity of resources being the greatest obstacle to integrating the proposed intervention, it is worth noting that being creative, innovative, and energized by the desire to ensure that children’s learning outcomes are at optimal can always help one transform how instruction is delivered to ensure that the unique needs of every learner in the class are addressed in the best way possible.

           A teacher must not only be creative but also innovative to develop hands-on materials for facilitating the teaching and learning process. Further, by being creative, a teacher will be able to engage addicted learners on how they can overcome their addiction in the best way possible. There are different ways through which an action researcher can be able to obtain resources to help in the implementation of his or her intervention in a classroom setting. They include parent-teacher association, grants, community organizations, school boards, and businessmen and women (Mills, 2018; Townsend, 2013). For instance, donors and businessmen can help in providing the capital required to successfully implement the intervention for reducing addiction to video games. Since human beings by their very nature are resistant to change, any move intended to bring about positive change may be criticized. Sometimes, members turn against the proposed change leading to failure. Therefore, support from the organization is central if action research is to be successfully implemented in an organization.

A key barrier identified by teacher-researchers is the issue of time. How will you make time for action research in your busy schedule? Identify a plan on how you will be able to conduct action research within your daily schedule.

Undoubtedly, the issue of time is a key barrier identified by the teacher-researcher. Despite the busy schedule, developing a time table on how to conduct the action research is central and will help to ensure that action research is conducted within the busy schedule. I will develop a Gantt chart highlighting what should be done at a given time. The chart will ensure that I can maneuver through my busy schedule. Doing so will ensure that action research is successfully implemented. 

References

Bissonnette, J. D., & Caprino, K. (2014). A Call to Action Research: Action Research as an Effective Professional Development Model. Mid-Atlantic Education Review, 2(1).

Mills, G. E. (2018). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher. Prentice-Hall, Inc., One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458.

Norasmah, O., & Chia, S. Y. (2016). The challenges of action research implementation in Malaysian schools. Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities, 24(1), 43-52.

O’Connor, K. A., Greene, H. C., & Anderson, P. J. (2006). Action Research: A Tool for Improving Teacher Quality and Classroom Practice. Online Submission.

Townsend, A. (2013). Action Research: The Challenges Of Changing And Researching Practice: The Challenges of Understanding and Changing Practice. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).