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1) Give a brief description of the area on which you are to focus for the study. Here you can articulate the overall area that will be the focus for this study. You may also wish to briefly outline any first phases you are going to conduct or have conducted already. |
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This is an action research project that involves using and improving on a teacher’s adaptive teaching strategies for students of mixed abilities in Business Studies lessons in an upper secondary international school. The UK Department for Education Teacher’s Standard 5 highlights the need for this approach. Specifically, to differentiate appropriately, how to overcome the challenges of all learners in their need for acquiring knowledge and skills, having an awareness of the different abilities of students and how to adapt lessons to meet the needs of all learners within each class (DfE, 2021). International school classes have students with a range of literacy and comprehension abilities, as students are a mix of first and second language learners. This requires differentiated learning and individualised attention from teachers to ensure students achieve the learning objectives to the levels in which they are capable. Teachers should obtain an understanding of their students’ current capabilities in meeting the learning objectives and adjust their teaching approach according to that understanding. The approaches to adapting the lesson according to the students’ needs are differentiated instruction and assessment for learning (Maulana, 2023). Through lesson planning and teaching in Teaching Experience 1, a need for more comprehensive adaptive teaching approaches was evident through observations and feedback from my mentor and head teacher. In the initial lessons that follow for this study, formative assessment through observations and checking for understanding questions will be used to determine the abilities of every student. Summative assessment mock exam results from earlier this term will also be used in combination for a detailed assessment of each student. (263 words) |
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2) Give a brief account of how and why you have concluded that you should concentrate on this area of study. How does this link with your own professional practice? How will engaging in this study enhance your professional practice? Here you can engage with the background to your study and explain the reasoning behind your choice of topic for this study. You should also consider how this will improve your professional practice as a teacher. |
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I decided to concentrate on this area of study as I have noticed that my lessons are usually focused on stronger ability students with those students being the most active in class discussions, asking questions to the teacher, and giving answers to questions posed by the teacher. This leaves the weaker students with less talking time, and me not knowing whether all students have met the learning objective. Having better theoretical knowledge on adaptive teaching strategies and practice of application will allow me to adapt lessons to work to the abilities of all students in real-time. It will also indirectly allow me to use more formative assessment strategies to gauge the abilities and comprehension of the students. This project will also allow me to give better instructions and stimulus to each learner so that they are able to self-actualise in their learning. Although the entire class has the same learning objectives, tasks and guidance should be differentiated in levels of difficulty and in degrees of teacher attention to ensure each student is challenged appropriately. There is no one size fits all approach, and strategies should be fluid and adjusted in real time to ensure effective learning for each student. This will improve my professionalism as a teacher to ensure that all students are learning to the best of their abilities. (220 words) |
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3) What is your initial research idea, question or hypothesis? Here you should articulate an initial question or hypothesis for your study. |
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Research Questions: What adaptive teaching strategies can be used for learners of a lower and higher ability in Business Studies lessons for all students to meet lesson objectives? Will these strategies achieve a better learning environment for all learners? What effect will this have on the overall academic performance of the students? Hypothesis: Engaging with theoretical adaptive teaching strategies, practising these strategies, gathering data, planning to adjust these strategies, and implementing adjusted strategies will allow each student to learn more effectively and improve the overall academic performance of the class. (90 words) |
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4) What model(s) and methods do you propose to employ for this study and why? Here you should engage with the methods that you propose to use to collect data on your study. You can also reiterate any structures or cycles that will take place in your research. Try to indicate at least your first intended cycle in this section. |
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Action research involves reflecting on and learning from our own practice with the fundamental aim of improving our own practice as a teacher (McAteer, 2013). It involves taking actions, learning about those actions and learning about the processes involved therein (McNiff, 2016). Reflection and improvement of teaching can only occur if the appropriate data is collected, analysed, and processed with the aim of adapting teaching approaches to meet the needs of all learners for the classes taught. Qualitative data will be collected through real-time formative assessments and this will be analysed along with quantitative data of summative assessments, allowing for a fuller understanding of student abilities (Pegram, 2022). The multiple utilisations of a cyclical model will be used in this action research project as it accommodates for the adjustment of adaptive teaching strategies and for those strategies to be implemented and revised in order to work towards greater teacher effectiveness. Literature review of methods of data collection will be undertaken, along with readings on adaptive teaching strategies and action research projects. Data will be analysed through triangulation to ensure the action research integrity. (183 words) |
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5) In addition to the learning outcomes already stated for this module, what other learning outcomes will the study enable you to meet? You should propose at least one additional learning outcome. This is a learning outcome for YOU, not for your pupils, so you may consider beginning it with something like: “By the end of this module I will have a critical understanding of…….” Additional learning outcome(s): |
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By the end of this module, I will have a critical understanding of how to gather data in real-time through formative assessments and combine this qualitative data with quantitative data from summative assessments to be able to accurately assess the learning abilities of students in my classes. I will have an in-depth theoretical knowledge of adaptive teaching strategies for students of lower-achieving and higher-achieving abilities, and know how to adapt these strategies to be a more effective teacher. (78 words) |
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6) Additional information: Here you should include any additional information of which you feel that your tutor should be aware. For example, any ethical considerations which may impinge on your work or any particular constraints which may affect your study. |
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Students will not be interviewed individually. Formative assessments will be done during class time. Students are able to give their feedback after a class discussion. I will then write this feedback onto a sticky note on the board with different categories such as “What went well in this lesson?” and “What can be improved on for future lessons?”. This ensures that students’ learning is not disrupted by this project and that students are not pressured to give feedback individually. (79 words) |
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7) References: Here, you should include some indicative academic texts relating to the actual topic of your study with a brief annotation showing how they will be useful for your work. Please remember that we are looking for “Academic texts/references” Newspaper/magazine articles, whilst useful as a starting point, should not be used as a basis for academic discussion or evaluation Please note: References are not included in the overall word count. Annotations are included. |
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Education, D. for (2021) Teachers’ standards, GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-standards (Accessed: 08 February 2024). Maulana, Ridwan., Helms-Lorenz, Michelle. and Klassen, R.M. (eds) (2023) Effective Teaching Around the World Theoretical, Empirical, Methodological and Practical Insights. 1st ed. 2023. Cham: Springer International Publishing. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31678-4. McAteer, M. (2013) Action research in education. Los Angeles, California: SAGE Publications. McNiff, Jean. (2016) You and your action research project. Fourth edition. London ; Routledge. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315693620. Pegram, J. et al. (2022) “Assessing the range and evidence‐base of interventions in a cluster of schools,” Review of education (Oxford), 10(1). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3336. Bell J. (2018) Doing Your Research Project (7th edition). Berkshire: Open University Press. – Brockbank, A. and McGill, I. (2007) Facilitating reflective learning in higher education (2nd edition). Society for Research into Higher Education. Open University Press, Berkshire. – Cohen, L., Manion, L. & Morrison, K. (2018) Research Methods in Education (8 thedition). London: Routledge. – Elliott, J. and Place, M. (2012) Children in difficulty: a guide to understanding and helping (3 rd edition). London: Routledge – Gray, D. (2022) Doing Research in the Real World (5th edition). Los Angeles: Sage – Action research in education – McAteer, M, British Educational Research Association (2013) Action research in education . London: SAGE publications – McNiff, J. (2016) You and your action research project (4th edition). London: Routledge. – Mertler, C. (2013) Action research: improving schools and empowering educators (4th edition). Los Angeles: SAGE publications – Scott, D. and Usher, R. (2011) Researching Education: data, methods, and theory in educational enquiry(2nd edition). London: Continuum. |