PBI 2020: Research Proposal
An essential part of undertaking any research is ensuring the work is planned carefully before any actual research activity takes place. This form aims to help you to start planning your individual research work. We ask you to start to complete the form below and to update it as much as you can as you become clearer about your project: your research question, your research approach (method) and your ethical considerations.
Please complete (as much as you can) and upload this form into Moodle to the “Research Proposal Upload Forum” by 24th February 2020. The team will then be able to look at your ideas and give you some feedback.
My name:
What focus or area of my work am I interested in researching (think of the 8 passions – this may help you identify your question)
Focus: Practice and influence-
Teachers in England practice modern technology teaching, which facilitates faster and more comprehensive learning progression. Modern technology involves the use of tools such as computerisation, multi-media devices and audio-visual applications which enable teachers to connect with writing students in a systematic and advanced way (Mofareh, 2019). Since technology is developing, more tools keep emerging which improve teacher-student relation in understanding the concepts by making it easier to present and apply.
Modern technology also influences the students by increasing their understanding and attaining the writing skills that are important in the academic journey. However, to achieve the required knowledge and improved performance, student perception of modern technology is essential. As such, students who learn through open line courses or distance learning positively embrace modern technology as its is leads to higher student engagement and it’s the only means they get the learning (Abdullah et al., 2019). Nevertheless, some students may be comfortable with the traditional methods and fail to embrace modern technology means.
Rationale (Why am I interested in this area of my work?)
With the so-called digital era, students of the millennials are used to modern technology, that is developing periodically and makes work easier. Modern technology has great potential for facilitating innovative educational methods. These methods are appropriate for students as it enhances understanding and is familiar to them. According to a report by BBC News, technology has the power to transform how people learn. The introduction of flipped classrooms is expanding, showing teacher-student positive perception of modern technology in class (Wakefield, 2015).
Teaching in England has also been developed to the use of modern technology in class. Teachers facilitate learning, rather than standing in front of the class, to give the required information to students by telling them what to do. Instead, they guide the students, through the technological mediums, to understand and apply contents and students get on with what they were doing, improving performance (Wakefield, 2015).
In April 2019, the Department for Education in England developed a strategy to incorporate technology into its education system. The department believes that technology is an effective tool to reduce workload, increase efficiencies, engage students, support effective teaching and improve student attainment (Hinds, 2019).
Therefore, since the government is working to incorporate modern technology in learning, teachers need to get used to the new programs and use it to improve students’ performance. Having reduced workload means more time to engage students hence more learning.
I am interested in exploring how teachers use technological methods to improve performance.
I also want to find out how the new approaches implemented by the teachers, have influenced students’ perception of learning.
What is the possible research question(s) emerging from my focus (what am I trying to investigate?) Possible Research Questions
What types of modern technology are appropriate for use by teachers and students in learning?
How do teachers apply the chosen modern technologies to improve students’ performances?
In what ways have modern technology impacted students’ attitudes towards learning, especially in writing?
Can modern technology negatively influence students’ perception of class activities and assignments?
Key readings /sources I will use in my literature review about action research
Abdullah, R., Muait, J., & Genafri. (2019). Students’ Perception Towards Modern Technology as Teaching Aids. Researchgate, 9(2), 38. Retrieved 3 March 2020, from.
Al-Bataineh, A., Harris, J., & Al-Bataineh, M. (2016). One to One Technology and its Effect on Student Academic Achievement and Motivation. Contemporary Educational Technology, 7(4). https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/6182Decoita, I., & Richardson, T. (2018). Teachers and technology: Present practice and future directions. Contemporary Issues In Technology And Teacher Education, 18(2). Retrieved 3 March 2020, from https://citejournal.org/volume-18/issue-2-18/science/teachers-and-technology-present-practice-and-future-directions/.
Ghavifekr, S. & Rosdy, W.A.W. (2015). Teaching and learning with technology: Effectiveness of ICT integration in schools. International Journal of Research in Education and Science (IJRES), 1(2), 175-191.
King, L. (2015). Teachers’ Use of ICTs: What Do Students Think?. Profweb. Retrieved 3 March 2020, from https://www.profweb.ca/en/publications/articles/teachers-use-of-icts-what-do-students-think.
Raja, R., & Nagasubramani, P. (2018). Impact of modern technology in education. Journal Of Applied And Advanced Research, 3(S1), 33. https://doi.org/10.21839/jaar.2018.v3is1.165Key readings /sources I will use in my literature review about my focus
Abdullah, R., Muait, J., & Genafri. (2019). Students’ Perception Towards Modern Technology as Teaching Aids. Researchgate, 9(2), 38. Retrieved 3 March 2020, from
Basri, W., Alandejani, J., & Almadani, F. (2018). ICT Adoption Impact on Students’ Academic Performance: Evidence from Saudi Universities. Education Research International, 2018, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/1240197
Hinds, D. (2019). Realising the potential of technology in education: A strategy for education providers and the technology industry [Ebook] (p. 36). Retrieved 3 March 2020, from https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/791931/DfE-Education_Technology_Strategy.pdf.
Moferah, A. (2019). The Use of Technology in English Language Teaching. Frontiers In Education Technology, 2(3), p168. https://doi.org/10.22158/fet.v2n3p168Al-Hariri, M., & Al-Hattami, A. (2017). Impact of students’ use of technology on their learning achievements in physiology courses at the University of Dammam. Journal Of Taibah University Medical Sciences, 12(1), 82-85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtumed.2016.07.004Schindler, L., Burkholder, G., Morad, O., & Marsh, C. (2017). Computer-based technology and student engagement: a critical review of the literature. International Journal Of Educational Technology In Higher Education, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-017-0063-0
Positionality: How/where do I position, myself, socially and politically, and how might this influence my research?
Positionality:
The education sector is vital in England as it nurtures leaders and provides the foundation for students lives. Therefore, my focus is on education and will not be influenced by any political factors when interviewing my audience. I do not support a political party but rather support the government strategies to support education systems in schools, especially with the development of EdTech in the UK, which affects England. This will influence how I will comprehend my sample population.
Being in the faculty of education, I understand that teacher-student relationships may affect the responses received from interviews conducted. This is because students may not want to give a negative response to any teacher’s effort to use modern technology in teaching. Therefore, they will end up giving positive responses, even when it negatively affects their performance. Also, as modern technology makes work easier for teachers, it may be interpreted as useful for student application. However, this may fail to translate to students through the performances. Hence, the teacher’s response may be positive but may fail to be the same on students.
Some of the interviewees will be my high school teachers; thus, there may be withholding of some information as they may not want to give negative information on how they conduct their learning processes in class. They may provide information that supports technology and hide the contrary truth on how it affects them and also the students they teach.
Methodology and methods?
(how will I begin to investigate my question, and why will I use particular approaches?
Methodology:
Questionnaire- The questions in the questionnaire will be open-ended to ensure the respondents give sufficient information that will provide accurate findings for the research. This will mostly work for the students.
To get the respondents, random sampling will be used for all the methods
Interviews- The interviews will be semi-structured so as not to restrict the interviewees to certain information and withhold some.
The interviews will involve teachers from two high schools and three colleges in England. I will first have a call conversation to assess their willingness to participate before the final sample population is selected. Each interview will take at least 20 minutes.
Before the interviews and days for answering the questionnaire, I will have:
Prepare questions for the questionnaire and have some important points for the interviews to provide a guide for the conversation.
Identify target interviews and assess their willingness
Give information on basis of the interviews and questionnaire to the respondents as well as time allocated for each.
Find out the respondent’s free time to plan with them when and where the interviews will take place.
Prepare for the interview
On the day of data collection,
I will introduce myself where I am from.
Inform respondents on the purpose of the interview and questionnaire
Address confidentiality of the information of the responses provided
Allow the respondents to withdraw or fail to answer some questions whenever they are uncomfortable or feel it is too personal.
Conduct the interview and questionnaire sessions.
The preparation approaches give the confidence required to direct the interview sessions while addressing confidentiality ensures there is an understanding between interviewee and me and allowing the respondents to withdraw when feeling uncomfortable gives them the freedom and enhances trust.
Ethical considerations – what actions will I have to take to ensure my research is conducted in ethical ways and that I adhere to the University of Nottingham ethical guidelines? (See Moodle for ethical guidelines To ensure I conduct my research ethically, I will take actions such as:
Address issues of confidentiality of the information provided
Provide information on the objective of the research- for academic purposes and no other aims.
Getting consent from the respondents before conducting the interviews
Inform the respondents of the methods of data collection that is taking notes and recording audio and video.Request for ethical approval from the school and tutor before conducting the interview, for collecting data for research.
I will be honest and professional.
Ensure all the factors in the consent have been adhered even to have been conducted.
Inform them that there will be follow-up in case there are clarifications needed later and they will be informed on the progress.
Appreciate the respondent’s cooperation and for the information provided to enhance the success of the research.
What issues do I anticipate and how do I intend to respond to them (time frames, access to resources/ sources, opportunities for conducting the research) Anticipated Issues:
Some respondents may not be willing to participate in the interviews for the research project.
The time anticipated for the interview may not be convenient for the respondents.
Respondents may only provide positive responses and withhold the negative truth that may make the research accurate.
Students may be limited by their institutions to give any information on their school’s operations.
How I intend to respond:
I will convince the respondents to participate
I will be flexible to work on a convenient time for the respondents
Using the open-ended and semi-structured questionnaires and interview, I will further question the positive responses to get the truth.
I will ask for consent form the institution before selecting the sample students.
What sources of support will I access? How will I utilise my critical friend? My sources of support will include My tutors, colleagues in class, critical friend, lecture notes and slides, and academic works of literature.
My critical friend will support me through providing a different understanding of concepts, analysing and evaluation of data, provide recommendation for improvement and help develop analytical and objective questions.
