Running head: ACTION RESEARCH: RATIONALE PAPER 1

Action Research: Rationale Paper

Kyle Johnson

EDD8404

Action Research for School Practitioners

Telephone: 678-477-2349

Email: kyle.johnson112991@gmail.com

Instructor: Dr. Lisa Reason

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Action Research: Rationale Paper

With any Action Research project, the first step is to identify a problem in the classroom.

For many teachers, the term “research” brings back memories of college where copious amounts

of journal articles are read and summarized to identify potential solutions to a problem.

However, with Action Research, teachers engage in this method of inquiry every day in the

classroom to help them solve a problem. For my Action Research project, I chose to investigate

the reasons why students are not successful in their online Language Arts and Social Studies

courses. Upon reflection of my prior knowledge of what makes students successful, students who

show personal characteristics of independence and organization are successful. However, I

desired to look into a more definitive measure that those enrolling students into those online

courses could look at before making the decision to allow a student to engage in an online

learning environment. Based on my research question, I chose to use a qualitative correlational

study for my Action Research project.

Planning Stage

The Design of the Investigation

My research question involved looking at student Lexile scores and comparing them to

current student grades in their online Social Studies and Language Arts classes. Additionally,

this data was compared to past academic achievement in a traditional face-to-face setting.

Averages of assessment scores were taken into consideration due to differing teaching styles

teachers may have had for any given group of students. Once this data was gathered, I began to

look into relationships between the data to conclude if my hypothesis was correct.
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I chose to look into Lexile scores as a correlational measure to assess student success

because Lexile scores attach a number to student reading comprehension and reading fluency

levels. According to Kerr, M.S., Kerr, M.C., and Rynearson (2006), “…students’ academic

skills, which consists primarily of reading and writing skills, [is] the best predictor of course

performance” (p. 98). Being that reading and writing skills are such a foundational necessity for

any academic course, the ability to read is amplified with students taking an online course; there

is no teacher to direct student reading and problems must be answered by independent research

and reading assignments. In addition, it is common practice to associate Language Arts and

Social Studies with increased levels of reading and writing, simply due to the nature of the

course structures. By analyzing Lexile scores and past student achievement in Language Arts and

Social Studies courses, my hopes in drawing a correlation to assist students in their readiness to

take online course can be solidified by looking into the relationship between reading

comprehension and fluency, and academic achievement.

Acting Stage

For my research, I chose to use a target population of twenty-two students. I chose this

number because it met the general requirement of valid research of twenty students. This also

happened to be the exact number of students enrolled in online Social Studies and Language Arts

courses. To collect data in a systematic way, I chose to use Google Sheets as my data collection

tool. Should this project be carried out, I can use it to consolidate all data points within one

spreadsheet and use a Pearson’s Correlational Coefficient formula to find my correlational data.

To prevent data from being skewed, teacher assessments will be averaged and input into the

Google Sheet. By averaging the scores, I can ensure the numbers being represented do not reflect

any missing assignments.

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By using Google Sheets as my data collection tool, it is easy to present the findings

through visual representations that can be viewed easily within the program. Additionally, our

district uses Google Apps for Education, so the data contained within the Google Sheet is

FERPA protected. This provides unique ethical considerations to protect student data.

Ultimately, Google Sheets allows me the opportunity to consolidate my data points in a way that

will make finding the correlations very easy. To effectively draw these correlations, it was

necessary to include very specific data gathering methods that reflect the outcomes that I hope to

gather from this Action Research project.

Developing Stage

Data Gathering Methods

To inform stakeholders in a way that is clear and concise, I chose to use Pearson’s

Correlational Coefficient, or Pearson’s r. Pearson’s r is designed to show linear relationships.

Research proves that the lower as student’s Lexile score is, the lower the reading comprehension

levels. This in turn could result in lower academic grades. However, students may learn to cope

with their disabilities and discover strategies that may have helped them in the past learn to read.

By using Pearson’s r, a more definitive relationship can be drawn that shows a correlation

between both Lexile scores and past student achievement. The point in using Pearson’s r in this

study is not to prove that Lexile scores result in lower grades, because correlation does not imply

causation (Price, Jhangiani, Chiang, Leighton, and Cuttler, 2017). In other words, the statistical

relationship between Lexile scores and student academic achievement does not mean that a low

Lexile score causes lower grades. It is nearly a means to establish a relationship to help, in this

case, those enrolling students into an online course and helping them decide whether or not a

student is ready to take an online class based on more than their work ethic and independence.
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Based on the conclusions drawn from this Action Research project, I will be able to inform

stakeholders of possible ways to assess student readiness in taking online courses within the

district. To inform effectively, I chose to use a very specific method to share the data.

Reflecting Stage

Sharing information with stakeholders is an integral part of the research process. If done

correctly, the information shared with stakeholders could be used to inform future online

programs throughout the district. I will address my findings in a face-to-face setting and allow

those in attendance the opportunity to post questions through an online forum to be answered

after the presentation for an extended period of time. This will give stakeholders, administrators,

teachers, and others within the school the opportunity to disseminate ideas, and to reflect on what

they learned as they are implementing their own strategies into other schools within the district.

By sharing my findings with stakeholders in a face-to face setting, it will allow sharing of ideas

and live reflections based on the information provided in the presentation. As Mertler (2017)

states, “The acts of sharing, disseminating, and communicating the results of your action

research provide yet another opportunity to reflect…” (p. 276). I chose to use this method of

presentation and reflection as a means to stir up conversation that can be beneficial for not only

my study, but also for the schools that look to implement online learning programs within their

schools. Additionally, although my findings would be based on my research, stakeholders may

hold other insights that may prove to be invaluable to the success of students taking online

courses.

Conclusion

Although this Action Research project was not implemented, a great deal was learned in

regards to students taking online courses. Based on the prior research that was collected on
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characteristics of students who take online classes, how reading comprehension and fluency

factor into student learning success, and factors that influence a successful online learning

experience, I can take what I have learned and apply them to my future research endeavors. If I

choose to continue with this project to analyze the correlation between Lexile scores and past

academic achievement as it relates to current online Language Arts and Social Studies grades, I

would hope to find a definitive correlation. However, based on previous research, I would not be

surprised if there was not a correlation between these data points. Online learning takes many

facets of traditional learning and compiles it together to make a new form of learning that high

school students have yet to fully master. With that being said, there may be some students that

show a relationship between high Lexile scores and high academic achievement. However, with

the issue of reading comprehension, students may have found ways to cope with their disability

and end up performing exceptionally well in an online environment due to the extended time

students can take to turn in major assignments. Additionally, students may perform well in the

online setting due to it being asynchronous and they can express their own ideas more freely than

in a traditional classroom. Although it would be a positive outcome to find a direct correlation

between these data points, it would not be surprising if the results remained inconclusive. Even if

the results did remain inconclusive, the information and research gained from this Action

Research project can be used to further the little research that has been done for high school

students taking online courses.

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References

Kerr, M. S., Kerr, M. C., & Rynearson, K. (2006). Student characteristics for online learning
success. The Internet and Higher Education, 9(2), 91-105.
doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2006.03.002

Mertler, C. (2017). Action research: Improving schools and empowering educators (5th ed.). Los
Angeles, CA: Sage

Price, P. C., Jhangiani, R. S., Chiang, I. A., Leighton, D. C., & Cuttler, C. (2017). Correlational
Research. Retrieved from https://opentext.wsu.edu/carriecuttler/chapter/correlational-
research/