Action research paper

FACULTY MEMBER: TERM: Fall 2017

COURSE TITLE: Field Experience/Internship

COURSE NUMBER: IST8101

COURSE DESCRIPTION IST8101:

Students in the final year of the program who have completed the majority of the program requirements will be required to enroll in a three-credit hour supervised field-experience/internship. Students must have completed IST 8100 before registering for IST 8101.

Students will employ an Action Research Methodology to complete their selected project. This methodology can be used for new development, quality improvement, information gathering, internships, or (for the Internet Web Design students) electronic portfolio development. Action Research required that the researcher must be a stakeholder in the project. That means, the student will benefit from the research.

All other students are required to complete a field experience “praxis” assignment. This praxis will afford the students an opportunity to engage skills and knowledge acquired throughout the program into a practical learning experience.

1. MAJOR INSTRUCTIONAL GOALS

GOAL A: The student will gain an understanding of Action Research Methodology.

Learning Outcomes: The student will be able to:

A-1 Describe the evolution of Action Research,

A-2 Identify theoretical foundations associated with Action Research,

A-3 Compare methodologies and researcher’s approaches used to implement Action

A-4 Research studies, and Effectively documents all research.

GOAL B: The student will gain an understanding of their selected research or internship objective.

Learning Outcome: The students will research their selected topic and be able to:

B-1 Identify trends and prevalent directions,

B-2 Compare research perspectives and methodologies,

B-3 Deduce best practices in the field, and

B-4 Effectively documents all research.

GOAL C: The student will implement an Action Research project.

Learning Outcomes: The student will be able to:

C-1 Systemically evaluates and document all known requirements for their Action Research project,

C-2 Estimate time and resources required and include as any fiscal requirements associated with the study or research,

C-3 Identify the sequence of activities necessary to complete the project,

C-4 Evaluate conclusions and formulate hypotheses, and

C-5 Effectively documents all research.

SUPPLEMENTAL OBJECTIVE

GOAL D: Document all research using the American Psychological Association (APA) format for writing style

Learning Outcomes: The student will be able to:

D-1 Cite references in APA format,

D-2 Construct a research manuscript (document) in APA format, and

D-3 Correctly documents tables, figures, headings, quotations, etc… in APA format

METHODOLOGY:

Students will employ an Action Research Methodology to complete their selected project. This methodology can be used for new development, quality improvement, information gathering, internships, or (for the Internet Web Design students) electronic portfolio development. Action Research requires that the researcher must be a stakeholder in the project. That means, the student will benefit from the research.

All other students are required to complete a field experience “praxis” assignment. This praxis will afford the students an opportunity to engage skills and knowledge acquired throughout the program into a practical learning experience.

1. Teaching Methods:

Teaching method will include a combination of online discussions, readings, and individual research papers. A cooperative and participative learning strategy will be deployed with every expectation that the student will contribute heavily, in a self-directed action-learning mode, to this educational experience.

1. Evaluation Procedures:

All assignments will be graded using Rubrics, which are in Blackboard. Assignments uploaded to Blackboard (e.g., papers/writing assignments & presentations) submitted more than 72 hours late will receive zero (0) points. Papers/writing assignments and presentations submitted less than 72 hours late will receive a 10% points reduction for each full or partial 12-hour period (there are six 12–hour periods in 72 hours) the paper is received late. All other assignments (e.g., discussion/voice boards, wikis & blogs, journals, etc.) are due by the assigned date. Late submissions of these assignments, regardless of reason, will receive zero (0) points.

Assignments for this course must use a Microsoft Office™ file format. Text based documents such as papers and journals must use Microsoft Word™ and be sent/uploaded as a .doc or .docx file. Failure to use the .doc or .docx file will result in zero (0) points for the assignment.

If a student receives an “Incomplete” as a course grade, the highest resulting “make-up grade will be a “B” (unless there is extenuating justification, such as serious medical issues or hospitalization).

This course uses a combination of Discussion Boards, Weekly Activity Reports/Journals, and various writing assignments to evaluate students. Each student is required to submit their Action Research findings; this is accomplished in three (3) preparatory papers and a summative paper.

Discussion Boards: The discussion boards are thought provoking and entail critical thinking. In Weeks 1, 2, 4, and 6, you are required to answer the question or questions in the discussion board. Initial posts are due within the first, three calendar days after the beginning of each week by 11:59:59 P.M. (E.S.T.) (e.g., if the week starts on Monday; your initial post is due by Wednesday). Responses to a minimum of two peers are due on or before 11:59:59 P.M (E.S.T.) on the day before the next week begins or the day before the next scheduled class meeting.

Action Research Project: Your research project is comprised of four steps with the fourth step being the submission of your final action research paper. The length of each paper is determined by your ability to convey information clearly and concisely while meeting the requirements of each assignment.

The four papers are:

• Introduction & Methodology Paper

  • background on your research topic and examines action research and its applicability to your research

• Literature Review & Proposal Paper

  • examines current information about your topic and outlines the iterations

• First Iteration Paper

  • presents details about your first two weeks in the Action Research process

• Action Research Report

  • presents the culmination of all previous papers and revisions along with, at least, three additional iterations

All sources of information or material used in your papers must be verifiable.  Therefore, the source or sources of information and material (a) in hardcopy form; (b) requiring an online account, subscription, or registration for access; (c) containing incomplete information (e.g., Google Books); (d) in a language other than English; or (e) being otherwise not verifiable, inaccessible, or undecipherable by the instructor must be electronically submitted as one or more appendices at the end of the paper or submitted through Blackboard using the appropriate link at the same time as the paper is uploaded to Blackboard and, as needed, translated to English. A 10%-point reduction will occur when one or more of your information sources are not submitted on time and zero (0) points for the assignment will be earned when one or more information sources are not submitted within five (5) calendar days of the paper’s due date. You do not need to submit an entire journal article, eBook, or scan an entire hardcopy source.  You only need to submit the page or pages containing the quoted or paraphrased information.  This policy excludes any material electronically obtainable from Wilmington University’s library as a full text document.

All papers must use a formal writing style and use the writing style and formatting guidelines contained in the Publication of the American Psychological Association [APA Manual], 2010, 6th edition, 7th printing. The title page, table of contents, reference page or pages, and appendices are not considered content.

Detailed information about the Action Research Project is available on Blackboard.

Introduction and Methodology (Paper 1)

• Introduction and Methodology - Use the appropriate template and only submit the portion of the template that services the assignment.

• Introduction - what you plan to accomplish and why, include an overview of the situation or organization and what the situation/problem is that you intend to improve (usually 1-2 pages).

• Follow APA 6th ed., 7th printing requirements for all aspects of the paper paying close attention to citation, quotation, and reference formatting.

• Methodology is a research paper about Action Research, 2-3 pages (include reasons and justification for approach), minimum of five (5) professional references. Use the 1st Paper References link, above, to upload your references.

• All sources of information or material used in your papers must be verifiable. See the course syllabus for details. Use the link above to submit your references for verification.

• If writing assistance is needed or you just want a quick review, please go to the Student Success Center's writing assistance page http://www.wilmu.edu/ssc/writing.aspx.

• Submit to Blackboard by 08:00 AM the morning of (week 2) class (or specified date)

Literature Review and Proposal (Paper 2)

• Literature Review is a research paper about your topic.  Most Action Research (AR) topics are very specific, you will most likely need to generalize your topics.  For example, if your AR project involves collecting business requirements for a new system, you may not find academic research about collecting business requirements for a new system.  You will be able to find research about business requirements and process change, 3-4 pages, minimum of eight (8) professional references

• Proposal – this is your plan - review the template, which should provide you with some common ideas regarding how to document your proposal

• Briefly summarize (a paragraph or two for) each of the proposed (AR) iteration (at least 4 iterations)

• Include a visual representation – (example provided in template)          

• Submit this assignment to Blackboard, using this link, by the scheduled time and date.  Prior to submitting your literature review, review the resources provided in Week 2's content area.

• Think of this assignment as chapter two and three of your research paper.  Only submit the Literature review and Proposal (Do not include your Introduction and methodology - especially the references for those sections).

• • If writing assistance is needed or you just want a quick review, please go to the Student Success Center's writing assistance page http://www.wilmu.edu/ssc/writing.aspx.

  • Submit to Blackboard by 08:00 AM the morning of (week 3) class (or specified date)

Iteration 1 (Paper 3) - Iteration Requirements

• The 1st Iteration to include your Plan, Action, Observations, and Reflections.

• Plan – at least one page in length, should include a description of all the planning activity that has taken place…may include agendas or other manuscripts as appropriate

• Action – at least one page in length, should include a description of that actual activity

• Observation – at least one page in length, should include a description of all the information collected as well as any analysis

• Reflection – at least one page in length, should include a description of your thoughts about what happened, what went well, as well as not so well.  If your iteration was a meeting, you may want to discuss the effectiveness of the meeting, did you have the best participants, did you miss any (not invite) or learned during the meeting you should have invited someone else..if so, what are your thoughts regarding mitigation …etc…

• Remember to support appropriately.  Use 'personal communications' as necessary.

• Submit to Blackboard Week 5 Assignment section (per scheduled time and date on the Course Syllabus).

• • If writing assistance is needed or you just want a quick review, please go to the Student Success Center's writing assistance page http://www.wilmu.edu/ssc/writing.aspx.

  • Submit to Blackboard by 08:00 AM the morning of (week 5) class (or specified date)

Final paper (Paper 4) should include at minimum

• Final paper must follow the one of the provided templates and include, at minimum, the information below.   In addition, this assignment uses the SafeAssign originality and plagiarism checking tool.
  
  

• Title page

• Table of contents, list of figures/tables

• Introduction

• Methodology

• Literature review

• Proposal

• Four iterations of research (minimum)

• Summary of learning

• References (minimum of thirteen (13) peer-reviewed, professional references)

• Integrate graphs, diagrams, charts etc. throughout your research paper

• The paper does not have a page limitation (maximum or minimum)

• Use this link to submit your Final Action Research Paper.

• If writing assistance is needed or you just want a quick review, please go to the Student Success Center's writing assistance page http://www.wilmu.edu/ssc/writing.aspx.

• Submit to Blackboard by 08:00 A.M. class (or scheduled date)

Week 15 - Presentation

Your final presentation will be in a Face-to-Face for Hybrid sections of IST 8101 and online for Distance sections of IST 8101. The presentation must be a Microsoft Office PowerPoint file (.ppt or .pptx) uploaded to Blackboard. Be sure to review the Presentation Rubric before completing the assignment. Students without presentations uploaded to Blackboard before the start of class will not present their work. The presentation must be between 10 and 15 minutes covering the following information:

• Project introduction

• • Description of the issue, project, problem

• Overview of up to 4 Iterations

• Overview of what went well in the project

• Overview of what could be improved

• Overview of what you learned about:

• • Project management

  • Following procedures

  • Yourself

  • Do not include what you learned about programming, programming languages, applications, or any other technical aspect of your research

Students who developed a website, a webpage or webpages, a productivity, social media, or gaming application must present a live demonstration of their final product.

WEEKLY COURSE SCHEDULE

The course schedule shown in the table below is tentative and may be modified as needed.

Schedule

Week 1 – Class session: to discuss expectations and generate ideas

Weeks 2, 4, & 6 – By appointment only (class hours)

Week 14 – by appointment only (class schedule)

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS:

Publication of the American Psychological Association [APA Manual], 2010, 6th edition, 2nd printing.