Week 33


n this week’s discussion, you will share one of your articles from your literature review that you find particularly integral in justifying the problem you have selected to research. Pick an article from your search to share that really caught your attention. In your initial post, first, remind your classmates of your research topic by providing a brief background of the research problem. Next, give a synopsis of the article by using the Elements of a Research Article on page 48 of your text (Putman & Rock, 2018) and these guiding questions:

  • What is the overall problem the study addresses?
  • Who were the participants?
  • What kind of research methods were used to set-up the study and collect and analyze data?
  • What were the results of the study? What are the recommendations? What are the limitations?

Response Posts:

  • What suggestions, advice, or encouragement can you offer your peers as they share their articles from their research? What did you find most interesting about the articles your peers shared? What questions do you still have about the article or your classmate’s research topic?

Part B:

One of the essential components of any research plan is a well-balanced, well-crafted Literature Review. A literature review substantiates the relevance of the Action Research Plan and identifies the gaps that still exist in the education context, and in turn, justifies the problem you are addressing.

You will now see how the annotated bibliography you created last week will help you greatly in composing your literature review! From the survey of the research, you should have a good grasp on how you would like to organize your sources. It is common to have 2 or 3 subtopics that you have uncovered from your research in Week 2. It is also common practice to address those subtopics in your literature review that relate to the overall topic and problem you are addressing. Appendix A of the textbook (Putman & Rock, 2018) shows two different examples of how to write a literature review starting on pages 222 and 233. Notice that the use of in-text citations is an important element of writing a literature review and direct quotations are used sparsely or not at all. The literature review should have your “academic writing voice” without an over-reliance on paraphrasing, which can lead to plagiarism.

Use the Literature Review template to write a 750-word minimum review with a reference page

Part C:The first part of your Action Research Plan a reader will encounter is called the Introduction to the Problem. This portion of the Action Research Plan provides the necessary background information needed to fully understand the breadth and depth of the problem and the target sample of participants you wish to use for your research.

By now, you have identified a problem you would like to investigate further, along with your research question. You have also read a substantial amount of literature on the topic of your problem. For this assignment, you will write a draft Introduction to the Problem that (1) provides a well-developed synopsis of the problem and (2) describes the target sample for the intervention. Use Appendix A (pages 221 and 232) as a model for organizing an introduction to the problem. As you write your introduction, remember to use direct quotes sparingly, or better yet, not at all. Remember, your academic voice should be the backbone of your writing. If you use in-text citations, adhere to APA guidelines. Address the following items in your introduction of no less than 250 words:

  • What is already known about the problem for which you are creating an action research plan?
  • What is unknown about the problem and the intervention you are proposing?
  • How and why should professional educators fill this gap? What is your rationale for the study?
  • What is the most updated version of your Problem Statement?
    The last sentence of your Introduction to the Problem must be the most updated version of your Problem Statement.
  • A struggling reader in 1st grade
  • A group of struggling students in mathematics at the middle school level
  • Your entire class of online students at the university level
  • One student with behavior issues in kindergarten
  • A small group of ELL students in your mainstream 5th-grade classroom