709+M3+Analysis

Final Design/Redesign Project

Preface I Analysis I Design & Development I Implementation I Evaluation

**ANALYSIS** **Objectives** Our book was created in response to observations and testimonials of high school and college educators. These professionals found that the expected skills of students were lacking in the area of conducting the research process in completing assignments. Although previous coursework had required research, the process was not formally taught or at least not in enough depth. Therefore, when students completed assignments requiring research in recent courses the products were disappointing to the instructors and resulted in confusion amidst the students due to the lack of knowledge or misconceptions regarding their efforts.

The redesigned book is aimed at undergraduate/post-secondary learners who need remediation or support with the research process. Often college professors do not have the time or inclination to teach the research process in addition to the content of their courses. Thus, this free resource available to both educators and students as a guide in understanding the core components of the research process. As students are increasingly being required to take more responsibility for their learning, this resource allows them the freedom to do so in the research process at their own discretion.

**Process used for this analysis** Our project grew from personal and related observations of professional educators that both secondary and post-secondary students have difficulty performing the skills necessary for a successful research project. We agreed that although educators had the misconception that students had mastered the research process, it is reality that these students often struggled with this process due to a lack of knowledge, motivation, and skills. In addition, we found that if students were not interested in a topic, they would not be motivated to practice a new skill associated with it. When students were ill-prepared or unmotivated, what followed was disappointing sloppy research and a very sloppy product. We felt a resource could be developed which would bridge these gaps in investigative knowledge and skill for fulfilling the goals of both teacher and student.

Keeping in mind that the research process involves the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, our group focused the topic of the research process on those students that would most benefit from this instruction. Post-secondary students are our target learners; however, those students encompass a variety of abilities and span a range of developmental stages. Our book is meant to be a guidebook, a support tool for research assignments conducted at the post-secondary level. The book will serve as a more intensive kind of support for a novice research student - he/she will check it frequently during the research process and depend on its content and instruction more often. For the more sophisticated or experienced learner, the book will provide helpful reminders through the research process. This learner may only use the book as an introductory overview before researching or check it during the process for needful reminders.

**Needs analysis** Based on our experiences as classroom teachers in both secondary and post-secondary settings, we agreed that students struggle with this process due to a lack of knowledge, motivation, and skills at times. A common misconception that educators make (be they secondary or post-secondary educators) when we assign research-based assignments is that students have mastered the research process. We may be expecting students to produce and perform something they cannot. The process should be just as much the focus of a research-based assignment as the product is. When students are ill-prepared or unmotivated, what follows is sloppy research and a similarly sloppy product. Additionally, students must be able to "buy into" their topics - if they are not interested in a topic, they will not be motivated. We must allow for student choice, which is the first step of the process - "Choose a topic to research." The "chunked" approach makes the content less overwhelming for the learner. Steps are explained and different examples make abstract concepts more concrete. With an awareness of varying ability levels and preferences, various strategies including graphic and textual concept representation and the individual choices involved the first steps of the research process provide personalized interest for the instruction.

As with any intended outcome, it is always necessary to understand the requirements beforehand in order to successfully meet a goal. In other words, students must know what is requested and how to proceed before initiating a search. It can be detrimental to students' motivation and self-esteem to discover, after-the-fact, that their efforts were misguided and therefore incorrect. The ability to use self-evaluation against set standards in meeting goals, as provided by our book, is an appropriate means for students to determine their own level of content mastery.

**Content analysis** In teaching students how to properly research a topic, synthesize and present a good quality final product, our book provides instruction which will:
 * engage the students for the assimilation and retention of knowledge
 * make the research process very concrete, by giving the learners a structured method of conducting research
 * break the research process into the smaller steps as deemed necessary by experts in order to make the research process a bit less daunting to students who are easily overwhelmed
 * ensure that the topic students choose will address the instructor's requirements
 * allow progressive assessment of knowledge and skill for all concerned parties
 * serve as a guide in evaluating sources, effective note-taking, citing sources, and avoiding plagiarism

**Learner analysis** The intended audience for our project are young adults in undergraduate college programs. The characteristics of these populations were derived from: From the information gleaned through these methods we determined that our intended audience would be: This information helped guide our decisions in that we recognized what needed to be accomplished in order to create a successful product. First, our group realized that the book needed to engage our audience from the out-set and strove to spark a general interest to gain the learner's attention. By impressing the relevance of the content and providing assistance with required assignments, we encouraged active participation and focused attention on the information presented.
 * Publicly available information including: average age, and gender, standardized test scores, general entrance ability levels, computer skills
 * Surveys on interests, existing attitudes toward research, and career aspirations (specifically college-bound or not)
 * Observations by educators with regard to learning styles, possible unspoken biases and distractions
 * approximately 18 to 22 years old
 * students conducting research only as a course requirement rather than for personal or professional improvement
 * from all learning ability levels and styles addressed by public education
 * possessing motivation levels along a wide range
 * generally computer literate and electronically savvy



Our product is designed to be used independently by the student and in the traditional classroom setting (be it secondary or post-secondary) to serve as a support material to direct the instruction of the research process. As direct instruction, the methods of the process will be class discussion and an assignment for students to complete. Instead of the assignment being the entire research project, the process will be assigned in steps according to the major steps referred to earlier in the task analysis. The instructor will explain what is involved in each step, show examples and non-examples of work, invite discussion, use the product as reinforcement and then assign the student task. Being mindful of the need to "monitor and adjust" to things beyond our control, we must also take into account the resources available to us for these required methods. We must be able to provide clear instructions, have an environment that is conducive to discussion, have access to computers and the Internet, have access to a library in which to conduct research, and be able to provide a place for students to present their final products.
 * Context analysis **

In order to reinforce retention of the content, the coaches and student response sections provide examples and opportunities for active participation. These give assessment feedback for students and teachers and provide scaffolding in the learning progression.