Category: Action Research

Action Research, ADL Program, Advising, Evolution, Goals, Growth, Growth Mindset, Learning, Personal, Professional, Reflecting

Research Rabbit Hole

The Advisor That Cares

I am embarking on my second literature review ever in my forty-six years of life, and I am actually excited about it. We have been challenged and encouraged throughout the ADL Program to make our projects authentic. There is just something amazing that happens when your passion and your practice align.

(I reserve the right to panic and freak out at any moment)

The most significant benefit of making this learning journey authentic is the genuine excitement to learn more about what we are passionate about in life. I am incredibly passionate about empowering college students to take the wheel of their academic journey. I want them to ask informed questions and know where to verify information accuracy. Humans are flawed and inevitably make errors and assumptions or give inaccurate information. My passion is showing people the path and letting them set the pace.

My action research proposal is a big step away from this passion project in many ways. Instead of understanding the heart of students or advisors, I am focusing on how a flipped advising approach could create space in advising interactions for the truly impactful conversations that keep students engaged in the learning opportunities and face any challenges life throws at them through that process.

Deep conversations about life changes, evolving interests, overcoming mindsets, and setting goals for the future are life-affirming for advisors and students. The only way to get to this deeper level of conversation is to move the time-consuming registration conversations to a blended learning environment. If students can research their degree audits and know how to sequence their coursework to meet prerequisite requirements, advising appointments become spaces for forming trusted relationships.

Deeper and deeper down the research rabbit hole, I am thankful that I get to research two topics near and dear to my heart: advisors and students.

Action Research, ADL Program, Advising, ePortfolios, Goals, Growth Mindset, Innovation Plan, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Personal, Professional, Professional Learning, Reflecting

Topics for AR

The Advisor That Cares

Here we are on the due date of the first assignment for the Action Research course, and I am still refining and finessing my action research question. The book and my literature review have made it clear that pinpointing the action research topic is critical. Failure to do so effectively will make me evaluate the wrong data or jump to faulty conclusions. I am doing my best to remove bias from my topic question (which is difficult to do when considering your passion project). I am really narrowing in on the topic to isolate specific variables. The vital behaviors process keeps coming to mind as I identify precisely who, what, when, and how this action research process will unfold.

In reflection, as I finalize my action research question, I thought I would share some of my questions:

What might I be able to do differently with my advisees that could facilitate agency and preparedness for advising appointments/course registration?

What might I be able to do differently with my advisors that could facilitate their knowledge, accuracy, and confidence?

Is there a difference in advising effectiveness between traditional and flipped advising for freshman and sophomore university students?

To what degree does the use flipped advising tools and strategies impact student readiness for advising.

Does a flipped advising module on how to read your degree audit increase student agency in course selections?

To what degree do advising ePortfolio resources impact students’ progress through their degree plan requirements?

What are the attitudes of students toward the use of advising ePortfolios/Flipped advising tools/strategies? (Qualitative study option)

What is the nature of the relationship between college students’ academic course selections toward degree completion and their advising experience?

What is the effect of flipped advising techniques on incoming cohorts of college students on the development of student agency?

What advising practices are most closely associated with effective advising? (too broad)

How does a personally curated advising ePortfolio improve student preparation for course selections made during advising appointments? (rejected for bias)

How does using advising ePortfolios increase student agency over course selections during course registration advising sessions? (rejected since we don’t know if it will increase agency)

How will using an advising ePortfolio stimulate student agency for/over/in first-year course selections?

How does the use of flipped advising (blended learning) increase student agency in course selections made by first-year college students?

In what ways is student agency impacted by a flipped advising module on degree requirements as evidenced by accurate curricular choices?

In what ways does a flipped advising module on degree planning impact student agency in making curricular choices?

In what ways does a flipped advising module on degree planning facilitate student agency in making curricular choices during the first year of college?

Action Research, ADL Program, Collective, Contributions, Evolution, Growth, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Personal

Plan-Do-Study-Act–ion Research?

The Advisor That Cares

I sincerely cannot accurately outline my learning process. Still, I could post a screenshot of the number of tabs I currently have open with articles, search terms, and related content as I wrap my head around the process of Action Research. I would like to share some interesting findings about one of these search trails in hopes of returning to it or having it be helpful to another.

I found this webinar and related resources in my search for literature on “student agency,” may it be useful to you.

Maximizing Student Agency
Implementing and Measuring
Student-Centered Learning Practices

https://www.air.org/sites/default/files/2021-06/Maximizing-Student-Agency-NICs-Report-Oct-2018.pdf: Plan-Do-Study-Act–ion Research?

As you will see, the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles outlined in this framework, sound just like the phases of action research we are currently working through in the ADL program.

Maximizing Student Agency
Implementing and Measuring
Student-Centered Learning Practices
TECHNICAL APPENDIX

https://www.air.org/sites/default/files/2021-06/Maximizing-Student-Agency-NICs-Technical-Appendix-Oct-2018.pdf: Plan-Do-Study-Act–ion Research?

Beginning on page 35, there is an example student survey, and on page 42 an example teacher survey.

Action Research, ADL Program, Learner's Mindset, Learning

AR – Questions

The Advisor That Cares
  • Think of a Problem
  • Pick a topic of deep interest
  • What do you want to know?
  • Formulate a research question
    • How (qualitative) and to what extent (quantitative) does (one variable) influence, change, improve, modify, decrease, choose a verb (another variable)?

Reference

Conexiones: The Learning Sciences Platform. (2019a, July 30). Action research: How to formulate a great research question by Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa, Ph.D. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDUExnUNOZQ

Action Research, ADL Program, Advising, Growth Mindset, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Tips

AR – Back to Basics

The Advisor That Cares

So I feel like I’m playing a bit of a game… two steps forward, one step back in my new Adventures in Action Research. You see, I thought I had developed my action research topic/question and identified my research method, but I can’t help but ask myself, do I even care. The more I think about the original problem that drove me to my innovation, the more I feel like I need to refine and finesse what I’m interested in finding out.

So in my typical fashion. I’m going back to basics. My basics. As you might remember, if you’ve read any of these prior ramblings, finding additional sources online always helps me process the information I have been reading and studying.

As I review different sources, I find different nuggets that help me understand the task at hand. I am really trying to put in the maximum amount of time, effort, and due diligence into this initial planning stage so that once I prepare my Action Research Outline, I will be well on my way to the foundation for my Action Plan.

The Short Version:

John Spencer. (2017, January 11). What is action research? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov3F3pdhNkk

While I was still searching for Learner’s Mindset Discussions on the topic, I came across a lovely video series on action research. This is a really nice overview of the Action Research process.

The Long Version:

Conexiones: The Learning Sciences Platform. (2019, September 24). Action research: How to conduct action research, by Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa, Ph.D. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWaVbxGMeVI

I hope it helps as you wrap your mind around this new adventure too.

Action Research, ADL Program, Advising, ePortfolios, Goals, Growth, Growth Mindset, Humor, Innovation Plan, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Personal, Professional, Reflecting

ADL and AR

The Advisor That Cares

Reading Action Research: Improving Schools and Empowering Educators by Craig Mertler has me reflecting upon the ADL program up to this point. We have poured blood, sweat, and tears into our innovation project. Now we are asked to research the validity of some aspect of our innovation or the innovation itself. I don’t know about everyone else, but I am freaking out at the possibility that I could determine my innovation is garbage!

I am wrapping my head around evaluative validity concerning qualitative research and am honest enough to acknowledge that remaining “unbiased” while reporting data is a tall order (Mertler, 2019, p. 142). I will keep reading in hopes that through this process, I will learn to be objective and see the greater good of refining my innovation, but in the middle of this book, I will honestly report that I am a little freaked out.

Reference

Mertler, C. A. (2019). Action research: Improving schools and empowering educators (6th ed.). SAGE Publications, Incorporated.

Action Research, ADL Program, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Reflecting

Personal Empowerment

The Advisor That Cares

Working my way through Craig Mertler’s book Action Research: Improving Schools and Empowering Educators, I decided to jump online and see what I could find to better wrap my mind around the concept. A few of my favorite quotes, as related to the ADL program, are found below.

“Gathering evidence of the effectiveness with which this new strategy works for us also empowers us to make our lives better. We’re not waiting for someone else to tell us if the learning that they imposed on us works. We’re in charge of that part of the process, as well” (TEDx Talks, 2019, 3:45).

“Finally, I think reflecting on this entire process of identifying something that we want to change, finding a different way of doing it, and then trying it out. Gathering evidence of the effectiveness but then making a plan for where we go next. is this the solution, or do we need to keep looking. All of this empowers us to make our lives better” (TEDx Talks, 2019, 4:08).

“Using this idea of personal empowerment in a continuous improvement manner, the idea that we use this every day as a mechanism to find little ways to improve our lives and make us better people” (TEDx Talks, 2019, 8:38).

“Empower ourselves to take control over our own learning” (TEDx Talks, 2019, 9:28).

Reference

TEDx Talks. (2019, March 20). Personal empowerment through reflection and learning | Dr. Craig Mertler | TEDxLakelandUniversity [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzDsT-25w14