Data Collection Write Up For This Action Research

Data Collection Write up: For this Action Research, I conducted two whole group semi-structured focus group discussions in order to compile the inquiry data. Both discussions centered on a core set of questions that related to attitudes toward honors classes, ways they learn, and their academic future. In the first focus group, conducted at the beginning of the Action Research Project, seven of the eight boys participated. All seven boys said they liked classes where they could move and had the opportunity to create a product. Four boys said they liked creating products on the computer and six expressed positive attitudes toward acting or role playing activities. All boys said they liked working in collaborative groups, especially†¦show more content†¦Three of the six boys said they will take less honors classes next year. The reason the three gave revolved around the amount of time required out of school to be successful in the honors classes. Additionally, all six expressed some type of ac ademic inadequacies. The six said that the â€Å"really smart† people in the class made them feel dumb or that their work was not up to the right standards. The learning styles attitudes were consistent with the first focus group, hands-on and collaborative. Additionally, five of the young men expressed the desire to be able to move around in the classroom, even if this just meant standing by the desk. The conversations with the young men corroborated the data on the Learning Styles Survey conducted at the beginning of the project. All eight boys participated in the survey. On a Likert scale of one to six, one being the least helpful and six being the most helpful, students were asked to rate activities that helped them learn in an academic setting. Students were asked to evaluate activities such as: debates, class discussions, researching and writing notes, competitive games, creating artwork, collaboration to analyze documents, role playing, video lectures at home, an d creating graphic organizers. Examining the scores on the learning styles survey, debates and role-playing were ranked as the most helpful learning activities