1Running Head DRAFT OF ACTION RESEARCH PLANDraft of Act.docx

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Running Head: DRAFT OF ACTION RESEARCH PLAN
Draft of Action Research Plan
Jennifer Sumner
Dr. Kathy Hoover
EDU 671 Fundamentals of Educational Research
October 1, 2015
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[no notes on this page]
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DRAFT OF ACTION RESEARCH PLAN
Draft of Action Research Plan
In doing a research, it is important to select an area of focus
based on individual interest
since it will help in generating research questions that are
answerable and lead to problem
solution. Without a clear area of focus, it may not be easy to
generate research questions and

research objectives. It can also lead to many problems during
research.
Area of Focus Statement
The purpose of this study is to focus on improvement of the IEP
process on an
individualized basis and the need for IEP team members to be
aware of the significance of
individualized assessments. The reason is that, IEP process is
important for students with
disabilities since it helps them to succeed in learning and
education. It is therefore important to
find ways of improving the IEP process in order to meet the
needs of each individual student
(Wright & Wright, 2007).
Problem – Interest
The IEP is important for all the students with disabilities since
the process helps them to
learn and succeed in their education goals and also in achieving
their post-school goals. Without
developing IEP, teacher-student interaction may not help a
student in achieving his or her life
goals because all the needs of each student (McDonnell,
Hardman & McDonnell, 2010).

Through the observations that I have made, observing the
students with disabilities in the
school context, I have noticed that IEP process that is used for
most of students with special
needs is usually generalized process. In the IEP process used,
there is very little attention that is
being paid to individual student. Since the generalized process
does not fully meet the needs of
each individual student, they not fully explore their potential
and does not achieve al, their life
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1. IEP
this is not under your locus of
control; you need to reframe
this statement in terms of
improving the process with

parents [Kathy Hoover]
2. reason
the reason belongs in the
justification section [Kathy
Hoover]
3. Wright,
poor source choice [Kathy
Hoover]
4. (McDonnell,
not acceptable [Kathy
Hoover]
3
goals. From this personal experience, I feel that to truly be
individualized, the needs, interests
and preference, hopes and desires of each student must be taken
into consideration.
Problem – Background
Through the experience that I have had within the school

context, I have noticed several
things that pertains students with special needs. The way
students with special needs are treated
by the teacher and other students in the school is so different.
All the students with special needs
have been secluded and are being thought in a different
classroom setting; separated from regular
classroom setting. This kind of treatment has made some of the
students to fail in achieving some
of their educational goals. The separation of the students from
the regular classroom setting
makes most of the students feel rejected from the community.
Most of the students have felt that
they are not part of the school community. According to Bakken
& Obiakor (2008), for students
with special needs to feel they are part of the community, an
inclusive educational curricular
should be develop in order to accommodate all the students in
same classroom settings regardless
of their conditions.
Despite the separation of special needs students from regular
classroom setting, the
school has also been using the generalized IEP program. The
IEP program that is used in the

school is so general and applied to all the students. Due to this,
the needs of individual student
have not been fully meet. Although the students in the school
have varied needs, the IEP program
used in the school is generalized to all the students regardless
of the student’s special needs. In
order for an IEP team to fully meet the needs of each individual
student, it is important to
develop an IEP process on an individualized basis and to have
regular improvement of an IEP
process (Boyle & Scanlon, 2010). Although the IEP team in the
school carries out assessments of
the students, they way they do their assessment shows that they
do not fully understand the
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2
1. consideration.
great points [Kathy Hoover]
2. Bakken
poor source choice; follow

APA formatting for author
attribution [Kathy Hoover]
4
importance of the individualized assessments. The assessors
carry out general assessment, with
students being assessed when they are in group.
Problem – Prior Interventions
In the past, several people in the school have tried to solve IEP
program by using various
ways. One of the ways that most of the people have tried to
solving the problem is through
development of co-teaching method. In this many people have
tried to use the co-teaching
method where the two teachers are giving instructions to the
students. The method has helped the
students to some extend since in this method, the co-teacher
give instructions to the students
while in groups.
Although co-teaching has been considered to be effective
method in teaching learners

with special need, this effort made by the teachers did not fully
benefit the learners since the
teacher who gave instructions and guidance in class were both
general educators. For special
needs students to fully succeed in their classroom activities and
achieve their goals, both the
general educator and the special educator must work together in
giving instructions and guidance
to the students.
Participant Description
In the study, the number of participants that will take part will
be six. These will include
parents for the children with special needs. The participants in
the study will be selected from
among the parents of students with special needs. Also, the
participants who will be selected will
be of varied ages since age is not concrete.
The first participant is the female parent who is of age 37. She
is married and has three
children, two male children and one female. Two children have
no disability and one has
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2
1. group.
great points but support
diminishes credibility [Kathy
Hoover]
2. co-teaching
needs in-text citation to avoid
plagiarism [Kathy Hoover]
5
disability. Another thing is that, she works with a Christian
based non-governmental organization
and she is a Christian.
The second participant is a male parent who is of age 40. He is
a married and has one
male child with special needs. He is a Christian and farmer who
rely on farming for his child’s
education fees.
The third participant is a male who is of age 38. He is a Muslim

and has a business that is
main source of income to the family. He is married and has two
children with special needs.
The fourth participant is a male Christian who works with a
government owned
organization as the chief-executive officer. He is married and
has one child who has a disability.
He is of age 40.
The fifth participant is a female Christian who is of age 42. She
is a single woman who
works as a layer. She has two children one with special needs
and the other one has no disability.
She is also a farmer.
The sixth participant is a female who works as secretary in a
government owned
organization. She is of age 36. She is a Muslim and also runs a
small business in home town. She
has one child who has special needs.
Participant Justification
In any study that is conducted, all the participants must be
carefully selected in order to
meet the objectives of the study. If the participants are not
carefully selected, many errors will be

encountered.
In this study, the reason why am using the participants above is
because they all have
children with special needs and therefore, they are among the
team members in IEP development
process. All these participants are parents of the children with
special needs and they therefore
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1. needs.
awesome! [Kathy Hoover]
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take part in the development of IEP for their children. The
responses given by participants can
therefore be used in the improvement of IEP process.
Research Questions
1. What individualizing strategies that can be use to increase the
quality of working with students
with special needs?

2. What can be accomplished by changing the parameters of
each IEP to address the needs
of the individual student versus using a generalized format?
Definitions Technical Terminologies
IEP – Individualized Education Program
Parameters- Factors that are considered in the development of
IEP.
In conclusion, it is important for any researcher to determine an
area of focus before
doing any kind of research. Area of focus must be based on
individual interest. Choosing the best
area of focus will enable one to develop research questions that
will generate responses that will
lead to achievement of research objectives.
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1. Questions
if your participants are
parents, why wouldn't the
questions include parents? for

example, "What strategies will
help parents understand the
IEP process? [Kathy
Hoover]
7
References
Bakken, J. P., & Obiakor, F. E. (2008). Transition Planning for
Students with Disabilities: What
Educators and Service Providers Can Do. Springfield: Charles C
Thomas Publisher,
LTD.
Boyle, J. R., & Scanlon, D. (2010). Methods and strategies for
teaching students with mild
disabilities: A case-based approach. Belmont, Calif:
Wadsworth.
McDonnell, J., Hardman, M. L., & McDonnell, J. (2010).
Successful transition programs:
Pathways for students with intellectual and developmental
disabilities. Los Angeles:
Sage.

Wright, P. W. D., & Wright, P. D. (2007). Wrightslaw: Special
education law. Hartfield, Va:
Harbor House Law Press.
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1. References
use only scholarly articles for
support [Kathy Hoover]
The question will be determined on exam day by the rolling of a
die. The essay will be worth 70 points. Remember that good
essays should include a thesis statement that expresses a clear
argument and organize key points body of the essay using
distinct paragraphs that include specific historical evidence
(e.g., people, events, laws, policies) to prove broader
generalizations. You should draw evidence from lectures and
assigned primary source readings (BB documents and
constructing the American Past). an essay must use at least one
primary source as evidence.
1. How did freedom and opportunity expand for African
Americans between 1863 and 1870? Which groups in American
society resisted racial equality, and how did they attempt to
limit African American freedom between 1865 and 1900?
THIS ESSAY INFORMATION INCLUDE
THE ERA OF EMANCIPATION, COLLOQUY WITH
COLORESD MINISTERS (SEE THE PAPERS THAT I
ATTECHED WITH ISRUCTION), (THE TEXT BOOK

CONSTRUCTING THE AMERICA PAST CH1
RECONSTRUCTIONAND RISE OF THE KU KLUX KLAN),
THE RISE OF JIM CROW. (THIS INFORMATION WILL
ANSWER THE ESSAY VERY VERY PRIEFLY AND
PERFECT.
2. What was the significance of the frontier in United States
history from the 1860s to 1914?
THIS ESSAY NEED TO TALK ABOUT
A.THE FORNTIER AMERICAN IDENTITY
B. FRONTEIER AND AMERICAN IDENTITY CH 3 FROM
TET BOOK (RECONSTRUCTION THE AMERICAN PAST)
3. We have studied three historical periods so far:
Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, and the Progressive Era. Write
an essay that provides the range of years for each period,
identifies the key characteristics of each, and provides an array
of specific historical examples that illustrates the key trends,
changes, and conflicts during each.
THIS ESSAY NEED INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT
BOOK, CH 4 (IMMIGRANTS DURING THE GLIDED AGE
AND PROGRESSIVE ERA), CRISES OF THE 1890S AND
POPULAR DISCONTENT. NEEDING TO TALK ABOUT THE
ISSUE (LABOR PROBLEM, LABOR QUESTION, PLITICS
AND TOW PARTY SYSYTEM, RACE RELATIONS, FOREGIN
POLICY)
3. Write an essay that supports or refutes the following
statement: “The 1890s was a decade of significant turning
points in United States history. Building tensions in labor
relations, the two-party political system, race relations, and
foreign policy were resolved and Americans’ responses to these
issues established precedents that persisted well into the
twentieth century.”
THIS ESSAY NEED THIS INFORMATIOM:
NEW FRONTIERS AND US IMPERLISIM: CUBA AND
PHILIPPINES, TEXT BOOK, CH5 (THE RISE AMERICAN
EMPIRE)
4. Using historical evidence, analyze the cartoon below and

explain how the United States had evolved and changed over
time to reach the points evoked by the image. (Hint: To fully
answer the question your essay will need to discuss race
relations, westward expansion, immigration history, and U.S.
foreign policy.)
AND YOU NEED THE TEXT BOOK CHAPTER 6 TO HELP
YOU ANSWER THE ESSAY
I certify that I completed the University Learning Outcomes
Assessment (UniLOA) on
Please save this Word document then upload it to your course
management website to assure proper credit is given for your
completion of this assignment.
� DATE @ "M/d/yyyy h:mm:ss am/pm" �8/10/2015 10:58:12
PM�
Christopher K. Sumner, Jr.
Ashford University
UniLOA Completion Document
2010-2011

Action Research Informed Consent Form
Information
Course:EDU671 Fundamentals of Educational Research and
EDU675: Change Leadership for the Differentiated Educational
Environment
Researcher Name:
______________________________Researcher Email:
____________________
Researcher Phone: __________________
Location of Proposed Intervention/Innovation:
________________________________
This form serves two purposes; first, to acknowledge approval
from the building principal or company supervisor for the
researcher to conduct the proposed action research and second,
to inform participants and/or parents/guardians of minor
participants of the intentions of your study.
Student-researchers must submit this form if the proposed study
involves any person(s) other than themselves for which a
planned intervention or innovation will occur. Students using
this form within a school setting or other place of employment
must be a current employee at the site to seek permission to
conduct action research at this location. A separate form must
be provided to and signed by each parent or guardian of all
minor (school-aged) children and/or adult participant involved
in the study. Each signed form will be reviewed by the student-
researcher’s employer as verification of participant
acknowledgment.
Ashford instructors of EDU671 will store a back-up copy of this
completed form in a secured drive, although it is the student
researcher’s responsibility to save, store, and submit to their

instructors of both EDU671 and EDU675 as required.
Purpose: The purpose of this research is to [insert your
research questions and/or description]
Participation: You will be asked to [list what the participant is
asked to do e.g. provide demographic information, be observed
in the classroom setting, sharing opinions and attitudes, or
participating in measures of academic achievement.
Risks: There are no foreseeable risks to you as the subject.
Personal Benefits: There will be no personal benefits to you
from your participation in this research. However, the results of
the research are intended to contribute to EDU671
Fundamentals of Educational Research and EDU675 Change
Leadership and Differentiated Instructional Environment class
at Ashford University.
Time: Your participation in the action research study will take
approximately [insert time in minutes or hours]. The duration of
this research project is [starting date to ending date].
Voluntariness: Your participation in this research is strictly
voluntary. You may refuse to participate at all, or choose to
stop your participation at any point in the research without fear
of penalty or negative consequence.
Confidentiality: The information/data you provide for this
research will be treated confidentially, and all raw data will be
kept in a secured file by the researcher. Personally identifiable
information will not be shared.
Review of Research: You also have the right to review the
results of the research if you wish to do so. A copy of the

results may be obtained by contacting the researcher:
[Researcher name and contact information]
Required Signatures
Supervisor Consent
I, (print full name) _________________ have communicated
with the researcher during the planning stages of their proposed
action research study and approve of their proposed study
including the pending intervention/innovation to be conducted
during their enrollment in the subsequent course; EDU675. My
signature as the supervisor indicates the student conducting this
proposed action research is an employee under my supervision.
I further acknowledge receipt and viewing of all signed and
returned Informed Consent forms completed by participants
and/or adults of minor children participating in said action
research intervention/innovation.
Name of Supervisor (please print)_______________________
Position/Title:__________________________
Phone:__________________________
Email:________________________
Signature:______________________________________
Date:_____________
Student-Researcher Acknowledgement
To be completed by the Ashford, MAED student
As the student-researcher of EDU671, I (your name)
_________________ acknowledge and accept my responsibility
to attain all signatures and submit the Informed Consent form to
my instructor by Week Four Five of EDU671 and again during

Week One of EDU675. I understand I will not move on to
EDU675 and implement my proposed intervention/innovation
unless the Informed Consent form is completed and submitted
on time.
Participant Consent
To be completed by the parent/guardian of minor participants
and/or adult participants
I, (print full name) __________________________, have read
and understand the preceding information explaining the
purpose of this research and my rights and responsibilities as a
subject and/or parent/guardian of a minor participant. My
signature below designates my consent to participate in this
research, according to the terms and conditions listed above.
Participant/Parent/Guardian
Signature:_________________________________ Date:
________________
EDU671 Instructor Verification
I (EDU671 instructor name)_____________________ verify
that (student name) __________________ successfully
completed and submitted the required Informed Consent prior to
the end of EDU671 and has passed the final project as well as
the course, confirming readiness for EDU675 and subsequent
action research intervention/innovation.
Ashford University, COE, Master of Arts in Education (MAED)
May 2014
Week Four, Discussion 1: Data Analysis Practice Scenario
The local middle school is holding an informational night for
parents/guardians to address their new “flipped” math classes in
7th and 8th grades. The middle school math teachers shared the

differences between traditional and flipped learning;
Traditional Classroom Flipped Classroom Activity Time
Activity Time Warm-up Activity 5 min. War-up activity 5 min.
Review previous night’s homework assignment 20 min. Q & A
time on video 10 min. Lecture new content 30-45 min. Guided
& independent practice and/or lab activity 75 min. Guided &
independent practice and/or lab activity 20-35 min. They
further describe the day’s lesson really begins the night before
by having students view an instructional video from home of
their teacher(s) explaining the new math concept and providing
detailed examples of problem solving. When students arrive to
class the next day, the Q & A session begins, with the teacher
clarifying any misconceptions from the lesson. Students then
are asked to complete 1 or 2 problems from their assigned
material. The teacher guides the students through their problem
solving, verifying their understanding and again, clarifying
misconceptions. Students then move to independent practice,
completing assigned performance tasks/problems while in class,
with the teacher still available to help if needed. An emphasis
is made to parents during the meeting that this approach to
instruction and learning is student-centered, taking the focus off
of the teacher and more heavily on what the student is doing.
As a member of this group of educators, you are asked to collect
notes from the parents’ during the Q and A session. The
following are questions and concerns parents presented;
• “You guys are always on a bandwagon to try new things that
never work. Why don’t you stick with the basics?”
• “It sounds like you want to do less teaching and leave the
kids on their own to learn. What will they do when they are at
home watching the video and they do not understand or know
how to complete their assignment?”
• “What about those of us without a decent computer or the
internet? You can’t tell me I have to spend the money needed so
my kid can learn from home.”
• “This idea sounds like teachers are just trying to make their
jobs easier with less accountability. How will you know when a

student is struggling, if you’re not teaching them all class
period?”
• “How will you be able to hold kids accountable for what they
do from home? They could easily say they watched the video
and really not do it.”
• “It’s about time technology is being put to good use. My
student has always struggled with understanding her math
teachers’ ways of teaching. Maybe this will make a difference.

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