Student Involvement Assignment - Research Article

Research on Student Involvement and Student Achievement

RESEARCH ARTICLE: The paper should be written at a professional level. It must be typed in Times Roman type face and 12-point font, double-spaced with 1-inch margins on all sides, and 0.5" indentations on all paragraphs except the Abstract despite the example in the Action Research book. The paper should follow the standard research paper format:

1. Title Page
2. Abstract
3. Body
4. References

Citations used in text should match the reference list. Use last names of all authors, the date of publication, and page or paragraph numbers for direct quotes. Citing researchers indicates you learned the information from them or they support your point of view. Every paragraph that contains material that is new to the general public should have a citation, even if you used the same citation in the previous paragraph. Follow the APA 5th edition guidelines for citation format, referencing, and heading levels. See the APA/Library Resources Module in Blackboard for guidelines. Professional level writing is a must. Write in the third person and do not refer to yourself in the article. Do not use contractions or colloquial phrases or terms. Block quotes that are longer than 40 words. However, save quotations for when there is no better way to make the point; paraphrasing is preferred. Seek help from the Online Writing Center if needed.

Evaluation: Title (2 pts), Abstract (5 pts), Introduction (5 pts), Area of focus statement (3 pts), Research questions (5 pts), Literature review (10 pts), Data collection (15 pts), Data sources (5 pts), Data analysis and interpretations (20 pts), Action plan (15 pts), Final thoughts (5 pts), References (5 pts) = 100 total points. NOTE: 2 pts will be deducted if directions aren't followed. (**Evaluation and specific guide follow after the presentation directions.)

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The purpose of this study is to examine whether performing a single student involved assessment can improve student achievement. Further, this study will examine whether student involved assessments are more useful if consulted throughout the learning process and whether poor self-assessments at the start of learning discourages or encourages learning.

Defining the Variables

The independent variables in this study include the presence or absence of a self-evaluation, and awareness of self-evaluation. The dependent variables are the outcomes of the tests given at the end of each unit.

Research Questions

- Does performing a self-assessment improve achievement on a given scale?
- Does a positive self-assessment coincide with better achievement?
- Does a poor self-assessment coincide with greater improvement?
- Does knowledge of a self-assessment coincide with improvement on a given scale?

Review of Related Literature

The expectation of this study is that simply performing a self assessment will have no significant effect on test scores, but that incorporating self-assessment into teaching will provide a measurable impact on test scores, and on reported satisfaction with the overall learning experience on each unit. Previous research has shown limited correlations between self-assessment and performance (Byrd & Matthews-Somerville; Andrade, Wang, Du, & Akawi). However, the same research suggests that under certain conditions and applied in particular ways, self-assessment may indeed be able improve outcomes.

Andrade's research suggested that merely performing self-assessment improved students' understanding of the mechanics of the field of study. However, her research showed that instructional rubrics, not checklists, are required in order to improve outcomes. Andrade and Boulay found that two, facilitated, 40-minute self-assessment sessions did not create a consistent, measurable improvement in students' writing.

The research on self-assessment suggests that it can do more to help students understand teacher expectations, but it does not necessarily improve learning. There are two considerations that are interesting to consider on this point. One is that extensive self-assessment has a psychological affect on the learning, causing them not to focus their learning on weak areas, but to assume that weak areas are something they are not good at, thus securing poor performance (re-find that researcher!). The second, and one that this research will examine, is that in more mathematical or scientific arenas, improving knowledge of expected outcomes may improve learning. Writing is a different type of task and Andrade did not separate spelling or grammar improvements from stylistic elements like word choice, organization, or sentence fluency. It is possible that the interactive and design elements of the subject area are more amenable to improvement.

- Data Collection
- Data Sources
- Data Analysis and Interpretation
- Action Plan
- Final Thoughts

References

Andrade, H.G. Teaching with rubrics: the good, the bad, and the ugly. College Teaching, 53.1. p.27-31. Expanded Academic ASAP.

Andrade, H.G., & Boulay, B.A. Role of rubric-referenced self-assessment in learning to write. The Journal of Educational Research, 97.1. p21-35. Expanded Academic ASAP.

Andrade, H.L., Wang, X., Du, Y., & Akawi, R.L. Rubric-referenced self-assessment and self-efficacy for writing. The Journal for Educational Research, 102.4. p.287-301. Expanded Academic ASAP.

Byrd, T. & Matthews-Somerville, R. Efficacy of student's self-assessment. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 11.1. p.162-166. Expanded Academic ASAP.