EPDM97 – Negotiated Individual Study in Education

Assignment One – Developmental Review

NAME: Oluwaseun Popoola

ROUTE: PGCE IDL

ASSIGNMENT BRIEF
This assignment is designed to help you focus your study as early as possible. You
will present an outline proposal for the study in which you will clearly identify the topic
to be studied, the methodologies you propose to use and at least one additional
learning outcome that you hope to meet whist engaged in the study.

The proposal will also review your developmental process in terms of selecting your
study so, for example, you might indicate what your initial idea was, how you went
about selecting and rejecting ideas and how you decided upon the final idea. You
should refer to relevant literature in your work.

ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES
 Demonstrate a critical understanding of the topic to be studied
 Demonstrate clear, critical and focused understanding of the additional learning that engaging
in the study will help achieve

ETHICAL GUIDELINES
Access to children, teachers, parents or any school personnel normally must be
approached through the head teacher.

If students want to carry out research with children they must consult the head
teacher or line manager as to whether they need to write to the parents for
permission. The school may prefer to do this rather than allow the student to do it.

Students must submit their research proposal to their tutor prior to commencing the
research. This proposal must include reference to any ethical issues and how these
will be dealt with, details of the data collection including interview questions,
observation techniques, questionnaires, etc.

Students may want to use video and photographs to carry out their data collection.
Whilst this can be a very productive source of data these two devices are beset with
ethical problems. They are also extremely time consuming to analyse. Tutors must
be involved in the discussion about whether or not to allow students to use these
means of data collection and all ethical issues must be thoroughly considered.

The tutor will indicate if the proposal is approved before the student can commence
the work. This approval will indicate ethical approval and the tutor’s responsibility for
ethical standards being maintained.

The BERA Ethical Guidelines (2011) are available to download in the module space.
Trainees are required to read these. Submission of this proposal form indicates that
students have read and understood these guidelines.
1) Give a brief description of the area on which you are to
focus for the study.

Here you can articulate the overall area that will be the focus for this study. You may
also wish to briefly outline any first phases you are going to conduct or have
conducted already.

This study aims to examine the effectiveness of differentiated

learning strategies in supporting pupils’ progress and engagement
in Math for year one pupils. It seeks to explore the concept of
differentiation and how it affects pupils’ attainment and progress.

Over the years in education, there has been extensive discussion

about what differentiation really is, its importance and its benefits to
the teaching and learning process. However, Cowley (2018)
simplifies her description of differentiation by explaining that
“differentiation is about using different approaches with our
learners, so that they can all make the maximum progress in their
learning”. She further explained that “It is about accepting that the
learners we work with are all different, and that they know,
understand and can do different things at the point when we come
to teach them”.

Cowley’s view is supported by Petty (2020) where he summarily

described differentiation as “the process by which differences
between learners are accommodated so that all students in a group
have the best possible chance of learning”. To be a better teacher, it
is important to understand the differences of one’s learners in order
to plan and cater for the various learning abilities in the classroom.

This study therefore is geared towards understanding differentiated

learning and finding out how its application will help to improve
classroom experience of both the teacher and the learners.

(226 words)

2) Give a brief account of how and why you have come to the
conclusion that you should concentrate on this area of study.
How does this link with your own professional practice? How
will engaging in this study enhance your professional
practice?

Here you can engage with the background to your study and explain the reasoning
behind your choice of topic for this study. You should also consider how this will
improve your professional practice as a teacher.

The idea of embarking on this study was triggered by my

experiences from the first teaching block. One of my major concerns
during this period was ‘adequately challenging my pupils’. I
observed early on that pupils in my assigned class had varying
abilities in different subjects. For instance, a child may be in the
higher ability group in English and may be struggling in Math. Also
observed during this period was that some children just took longer
time in completing assigned tasks than others. This didn’t
necessarily indicate that they didn’t understand or struggled with
the task, they just took time in completing it.

This varying ability was usually a cause of concern as sometimes,

the assigned tasks or activities were either too easy for the higher
ability group (they will complete the task and start to distract
others) or too challenging for the lower ability. This dilemma was
also identified by my mentor during lesson observations. She will
advise that I adequately plan for all the ability groups in my class.

This concern prompted my interest in understanding how best to

accommodate my pupils’ differences and at the same time achieve
the learning objectives. With help from my mentor, and more
experienced colleagues through discussions and informal interviews,
I was able to better understand the concept of differentiation.
Notably was using assessment in designing differentiation by task
and also providing extension activities to stretch my pupils.
Employing these methods, I started noticing improved engagement
in pupils during lessons.

My interest in differentiation has since piqued and I believe that this

study will help me as a teacher to better understand how to cater
for learner differences. I believe that differentiation is an invaluable
teaching strategy that when properly deployed, it will help in
transforming my teaching and improve my pupils’ attainment as
lessons will be more suited to their abilities than before.

(313 words).

3) What is your initial research idea, question or hypothesis?

Here you should articulate an initial question or hypothesis for your study.

Initial: How effective is differentiated instruction in supporting

pupils’ progress and engagement in Math for year one pupils?

Secondary: Will differentiated instruction help to improve

classroom management and experience?

(29 words)

4) What model(s) and methods do you propose to employ for

this study and why?

Here you should engage with the methods that you propose to use to collect data on
your study. You can also reiterate any structures or cycles that will take place in your
research. Try to indicate at least your first intended cycle in this section.

Action research as described by Cohen et al. (as cited in Bell and

Waters, 2014) is an approach that is appropriate in any context
where ‘a problem involving people, tasks and procedures cries out
for solution, or where some change of feature results in a more
desirable outcome’.

Denscombe (2010), highlights the practical nature of action

research and its ability to influence change in professional
development. He also pointed out participation and cyclical process
involved in an action research study. For this study, the qualitative
methodology approach will be employed using the triangulation
technique (Bell and Waters 2014, pp. 120 -223).

Data will be collected using a range of qualitative methods. As this

study is cyclical in nature, the researcher intends to explore a wide
range of literature to better understand the problem and adopt the
recommended strategies into the planning and teaching.

The researcher will be keeping a log book where he will be making

notes and reflections drawn from observation of his teaching as he
employs various differentiation strategies. His observation will be
focused on what works and what doesn’t.

The researcher will also collect data for this study from mentor
lesson observations and teaching assistant ‘s feedback. Data from
these two sources will be analysed, reflected upon and be used in
planning subsequent lessons.

The third technique for effective triangulation will be interviews.

Informal discussions and interviews will be held with more
experienced members of staff in order to collect useful data that
may be adopted by the researcher in his teaching. This technique
will be followed closely with observation of lessons of more
experienced and senior colleagues.

(271 words)

5) In addition to the learning outcomes already stated for this

module, what other learning outcomes will the study enable
you to meet? You should propose at least one additional
learning outcome.
This is a learning outcome for YOU, not for your pupils, so
you may consider beginning it with something like: “By the
end of this module I will have a critical understanding of…….”
Additional learning outcome(s):

By the end of this module, I will have a critical understanding of

- how to effectively employ differentiated instruction in my
teaching.
- how to effectively support the varied ability groups in my
class.
- how to use differentiation to improve my classroom
management.

(45 words)

6) Additional information:
Here you should include any additional information of which you feel that your tutor
should be aware. For example, any ethical considerations which may impinge on
your work or any particular constraints which may affect your study

This study is guided by the principles of educational and social

research as summarized by Cohen et al. (2018). Particularly, the
researcher will uphold the principle of privacy, anonymity, and
confidentiality in this study. No reference to any child or individual
will be made.

(44 words)

7) References:

Here, you should include some indicative academic texts relating to the actual topic
of your study with a brief annotation showing how they will be useful for your work.
Please remember that we are looking for “Academic texts/references”
Newspaper/magazine articles, whilst useful as a starting point, should not be used as
a basis for academic discussion or evaluation

1. Bell, J, & Waters, S. (2014) Doing Your Research Project: A

Guide for First-Time Researchers, McGraw-Hill Education,
Milton Keynes.
2. Cohen et al. (2018). Research Methods in Education. New
York: Routledge.
3. Cowley, S. (2018) The Ultimate Guide to Differentiation:
Achieving excellence for all. London: Bloomsbury.
4. Descombe, M. (2010) The Good Research Guide: for Small-
Scale Social Research Projects.  Berkshire England: McGraw
Hill, Open University Press.
5. Petty, G. (2020) Differentiation. Available
at: http://geoffpetty.com/training-materials/differentiation/
 (Accessed: 2 February 2020). 

(79 words)