EDU 671 Week 4 Complete

1 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

- 1 -

[no notes on this page]

2 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

- 2 -

1

2

3

4

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 DRAFT OF ACTION RESEARCH PLAN

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

- 3 -

1

2

1. consideration.

great points [Kathy Hoover]

2. Bakken

poor source choice; follow

APA formatting for author

attribution [Kathy Hoover]

4 DRAFT OF ACTION RESEARCH PLAN

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

- 4 -

1

2

1. group.

great points but support

diminishes credibility [Kathy

Hoover]

2. co-teaching

needs in-text citation to avoid

plagiarism [Kathy Hoover]

5 DRAFT OF ACTION RESEARCH PLAN

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

- 5 -

1

1. needs.

awesome! [Kathy Hoover]

6 DRAFT OF ACTION RESEARCH PLAN

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.

- 6 -

1

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 DRAFT OF ACTION RESEARCH PLAN

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.

- 7 -

1

1. References

use only scholarly articles for

support [Kathy Hoover]