Posted: March 12th, 2023

research project

Each component must be addressed effectively to receive credit. Please refer to the research articles provided for your article review for examples.

Introduction (5-7 pages):

• Introduce your topic in a general sense, situate it within the larger context of education
• Identify the research problem you want to address
• Include relevant research concerning your topic (brief literature review)

  Discuss studies that asked similar questions to you
  Discuss studies that identified a similar research problem/research questions.
  Discuss how these studies indicated a need for your research

• After discussing relevant research and building a case for your study, clearly identify the purpose of your study
• State your research question(s)
• Include a potential hypothesis, if you deem this necessary
• Use subheadings, such as Introduction, Review of Literature, and Research Questions

Method (3-5 pages) use subheadings for each component:

• Research design: qualitative or quantitative. Explain why you selected this design. Within each design indicate your method—such as ethnography or grounded theory for qualitative research or pre-posttest experimental/ quasie-xperimental design for quantitative research. Why did you select this method to address your research questions?
• Participants: Who will they be? How many? How did you sample these participants? (ie: purposeful, random etc…) What is the setting in which your data will be collected?
• Data collection: What methods will you use to collect data? Why did you select these methods? How will you try to ensure validity and reliability of the data. Cite your text for specific validity strategies.
• Data analysis: How do you plan on analyzing your data? Will you use qualitative methods—such as content analysis or grounded theory coding? Will you use statistical methods, such as t-tests, mean comparison?

  Because you do not have an extensive background in data analysis procedures, you may hypothesize your methods and/or ask me for help.

References

• You must cite any and all research that you will be writing about. If the idea did not come directly from you, then cite. Most of your citations will be in the introduction (ie: citing education legislation to create a need for your research, citing relevant studies that address your research topic). However, you will also need citations in the methods section, concerning your research design, data collection, and data analysis. These citations can come from your text.
• I cannot stress this enough- when in doubt, add a citation. Educational researchers work hard and deserve to be awarded credit for their ideas. I take plagiarism very seriously.  Don’t do it.

APA style writing

• Please observe APA style for your proposal
• Use APA style citations and include APA style references
• Refer to your APA manual (6th edition, second printing) or https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/Links to an external site.
• Please proofread your proposal for typos and errors. Excessive errors will result in deduction.

3

Impact on Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum and Techniques on Educational Outcomes

Name

Institution

Professor Name

Course

Date

Impact on Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum and Techniques on Educational Outcomes

As a Kiddie Academy teacher, finding ways to keep students interested in class and help them learn more is essential. With an emphasis on MarcoPolo, this research aims to analyze the effects of social-emotional learning programs and strategies on student achievement. Developing vital abilities, including communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and decision-making, is greatly aided by social-emotional learning (SEL), making it an essential part of any comprehensive approach to student achievement. In addition, the skills of self-awareness, -management, and -regulation that SEL promotes are essential to academic achievement. Therefore, thinking about how SEL affects learning outcomes is crucial. This research will investigate how the Kiddie Academy VPK program can employ the MarcoPolo learning tool to boost student engagement, as assessed by the percentage of kids who complete assignments and participate in class discussions.

Research Question

“How can I use the MarcoPolo learning tool to increase student engagement in my VPK class at Kiddie Academy as measured by an increase in the number of students completing assignments and participating in class discussions?”

Literature Review

Social and emotional learning (SEL) has been identified as a critical element of a successful education system. The literature on SEL is growing rapidly, focusing on understanding the impact of SEL programs on various outcomes, such as classroom climate, academic achievement, and social-emotional skills. Recent studies have shown that SEL programs can positively impact academic skills. For example, McCormick et al. (2021) studied the long-term effects of an SEL program, INSIGHTS, on academic skills. The study found that INSIGHTS positively impacted academic performance, even after two years. Furthermore, Aygün and Taşkın (2022) examined the effect of an SEL program on social-emotional skills, academic achievement, and classroom climate. The results indicated that the SEL program positively impacted all three outcomes.

The impact of SEL on schoolgirls in rural Uganda has also been studied. Malhotra et al. (2021) conducted an impact study of a curriculum-based SEL program in rural Uganda. The study found that the program had a positive effect on the social-emotional skills of the schoolgirls. The study further noted improvements in the girls’ self-esteem and self-regulation skills. Overall, the literature indicates that SEL programs have the potential to have a positive impact on academic performance, classroom climate, and social-emotional skills. SEL programs can also effectively improve school girls’ outcomes in rural areas. More research is needed to understand the effects of SEL on different populations and contexts. Further research is needed to determine the most effective ways to implement SEL programs.

Reference

Aygün, H. E., & Taşkın, Ç. Ş. (2022). The Effect of Social-Emotional Learning Program on Social-Emotional Skills, Academic Achievement and Classroom Climate. Psycho-Educational Research Reviews, 11(1), 59-76.

McCormick, M. P., Neuhaus, R., O’Connor, E. E., White, H. I., Horn, E. P., Harding, S., … & McClowry, S. (2021). Long-term effects of social-emotional learning on academic skills: Evidence from a randomized INSIGHTS trial. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 14(1), 1-27.

Malhotra, N., Ayele, Z. E., Zheng, D., & Amor, Y. B. (2021). Improving social and emotional learning for schoolgirls: An impact study of curriculum-based socio-emotional education in rural Uganda. International Journal of Educational Research, 108, 101778.

5

Research Study on Marco polo Learning Tool on Student Engagement

Name

Institution

Professor Name

Course

Date

Research Study on Marco polo Learning Tool on Student Engagement

Research Design

For this research, a qualitative research design has been used. Qualitative research is a sort of research that investigates the subjective experiences, emotions, and views of persons (Allan, 2020). This study’s research plan ideally matches its purpose because it will allow the researcher to investigate how and why the VPK kids at Kiddie Academy use the Marco Polo educational platform.

Ethnography is being used as the research method. Ethnography is a type of qualitative research that focuses on a single cultural group or community at a time (Sharma & Sarkar, 2019). In this particular instance, the cultural group studied is the VPK class at Kiddie Academy. The researcher will focus on the experiences and perspectives of the pupils regarding their use of the Marco Polo educational tool. Given that the research will be conducted in the student’s natural environment (the VPK classroom), ethnography is a valid methodology for this investigation.

Comment from professor:

You did a nice job here, but I am a little confused of why you are using ethnographic methods and then grounded theory analysis. I would suggest using grounded theory instead, as you will be coming up with somewhat of a theory through the evolution of themes.

Participants

This study will involve nine youngsters enrolled in the VPK class at Kiddie Academy. Purposeful sampling, a non-random sample approach in which individuals are picked based on defined criteria, will be used to select participants. Students enrolled in the VPK program who also volunteer to participate in the study will be chosen. Even though there are only 9 students in the sample, this is considered a sufficient number for qualitative research because it allows the researcher to get a good feel for what the students are going through.

Data Collection

The data for this research will be gathered using a combination of observation and semi-structured interviews. Observation will be the primary method of data collection, and it will be used to conduct an analysis of the student’s level of involvement and participation in the classroom. This involvement and participation will be measured by things like the student’s contribution to class discussions and the completion of assigned work. The researcher will carry out the observations during the duration of the VPK class, and field notes will be gathered to capture the activities and behaviors of the students.

Interviews that are only partially organized will be used to collect the impressions and ideas that students have about the Marco Polo tool. Following the VPK session, the researcher will conduct interviews with the students and ask them open-ended questions throughout those interviews. Because of the semi-structured nature of the interviews, the researcher will have the chance to work on in-depth examinations of the student’s experiences and perspectives, which will be very beneficial to the project. Despite this, some structure will still be maintained in order to ensure that each participant is given the identical questions.

The researcher will engage in a number of activities in order to ensure that the data are of a high quality and can be relied upon. The researcher will begin by carrying out the observations, during which they will be careful to take extensive notes on the activities and interactions that take place among the children while they are out in the field. To verify that they have collected all of the necessary material, the researcher will record the semi-structured interviews and transcribe them. A method known as triangulation, which requires the researcher to acquire information from a variety of sources, will contribute to the credibility of the study. Interviews and observations will both be carried out at the same time in order to guarantee the reliability of the data obtained and ensure that it is indicative of the real experiences and opinions of the students.

Data Analysis

The material that was acquired is going to be assessed using a variety of qualitative methodologies, including content analysis and coding based on grounded theory. One of the qualitative approaches that may be used to discover recurring themes and patterns within the data is content analysis, which includes coding and classifying the data. The purpose of this research is to utilize content analysis to identify recurring patterns and themes in the experiences and perspectives of students who have used the Marco Polo educational tool. The replies of the students to the survey questions will serve as the source material for these experiences and viewpoints.

Coding based on grounded theory is yet another method for interpreting qualitative data. This method necessitates the development of a theory in order to explain the findings. In order to explore the influence that Marco Polo has had on the children’ desire to learn at Kiddie Academy’s VPK program, grounded theory coding will be applied. The findings of the study will be presented in a manner that is both straightforward and succinct. Particular attention will be paid to the findings that are deemed to be the most significant, as well as the significance of these findings with regard to the use of the Marco Polo instructional tool in VPK classrooms.

In summary, the purpose of this research is to explore, within the context of a VPK class at Kiddie Academy, how the use of the Marco Polo learning tool influences both participation and accomplishment. Through qualitative observation and interviews with students, this research will provide insight on how students’ opinions of the utility of the tool and its influence on their involvement in class have developed throughout the course of the study. This kind of research has the potential to assist teachers figure out how to use technology in a way that will pique the interest of even their youngest pupils in the subject of education.

Reference

Sharma, H. L., & Sarkar, C. (2019). Ethnography research: An overview. 
Education.

Allan, G. (2020). Qualitative research. In 
Handbook for research students in the social sciences (pp. 177-189). Routledge.