Action Research Plan for ePortfolios

Topic

In the beginning of the DLL program, we had to build our own ePortfolio. This was a new concept for me and it sparked my interest after having some hands on experience with it. I realized how valuable it would be and decided to pursue my interest with my innovation project. The topic of my innovation plan is using ePortfolios in the pre-k classroom. The advantages of an ePortfolio outweigh any of the negative challenges students might face. The students will benefit from the learning and personal growth that will continue after the class ends by reflecting on the ePortfolio as well as adding more content in the future.

Purpose

The purpose of the plan is to determine if the use of ePortfolios in pre-k increase their CLI (Children’s Learning Institute) Engage scores, productivity, and increase their skills. It will help determine how the ePortfolios can be used to increase scores on assessments, such as CLI Engage, which is related to increased learning and productivity. The research agreed in the positive usefulness, effects, and results in using ePortfolios with students and teachers. The ePortfolio can be used in all grades, for different reasons, with different subjects, with all kinds of purposes. Students who have technology skills are able to create their own ePortfolios (Brown, 2017).

Fundamental Research Question

How can pre-k students create and use ePortfolios to promote their learning and increase student CLI Engage scores in different categories such as vocabulary and letter knowledge?

The goal is to help students improve and become more successful in pre-k and ignite their potential. In the ideal situation, students would go home and share about their day. Students would tell their parents the highlights and the difficulties of the happenings in the classroom (Davis, 2009). When dealing with pre-k students, it might be a challenge for the parents to understand and grasp the full story and miscommunication could be likely. This is another reason ePortfolios could be implemented into the daily routine. Parents could visit the ePortfolio to enhance the communication at home with their child.

When students have support from home and parents are involved, they are more motivated to learn and more inspired to do a good job in school. The more they learn, the more they can share with their parents, and that continues the academic conversations at home.

Research Design and Research Method

The design of my research question is quantitative because it can be compared to the previous test or the following test. In order to measure the outcome of the action research question, data will be collected and analyzed using the CLI Engage results at the beginning, middle, and end of the year in one pre-k class. These tests are referred to as Wave 1, Wave 2, and Wave 3.

Data Collection

There is only one regulated district-wide mandated test in pre-kindergarten. It is the CLI (Children’s Learning Institute) Engage test. This test is administered three times a year, BOY, (Beginning of the Year), MOY, (Middle of the Year), and EOY (End of the Year). The same categories are tested each wave (testing period). If a new student arrives at the school, they will be tested during the next testing period. Therefore some students may only have two test results available for comparison, depending on when they enrolled in the school.

Measurement Instruments

The data collected from the CLI Engage test results which will be done at the beginning, middle, and end of the year will be compared and used to determine if there is an increase in scores.

The CLI Engage reports can be printed for each individual student and can be shared with parents of each student. See Appendix A for a sample of an individual student report which is what the parents are able to view. The first column of numbers is the maximum score for that category and the second column is the number the student received in that category.

Also, the test scores can be printed by class in order to review which areas have improved and which areas still need improvement. See Appendix B for details about the test.

How Literature Review Informed Project

This action research literature review gave an overview of the importance and usefulness of ePortfolios including parent involvement, the importance of using the COVA approach, and how it can increase scores on assessments. It showed there are three main advantages are the student can use the COVA method, the parents will be involved in their education, and their scores will increase due to them reflecting on their own learning. There was very little found on using ePortfolios in a pre-kindergarten classroom which shows a need for this action research plan. As the topic of ePortfolios become more popular, new discoveries will be made, and more research will expand this topic.

Below is a snapshot condensed version on the projected timeline for the ePortfolio plan.

Below is the detailed timeline for the plan.

REFERENCES

Brown, M. (2017). Education world. Using technology, electronic portfolios in the k-12 classroom. Retrieved from https://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech111.shtml

Davis, J. (2009). The effect of using portfolios on student-parent and parent-teacher communication. In M. S. Plakhotnik, S. M. Nielsen, & D. M. Pane (Eds.), Proceedings of the Eighth Annual College of Education & GSN Research Conference (pp. 27-32). Miami: Florida International University. http://coeweb.fiu.edu/research_conference/

Harapnuik, D. 2018. Digital learning & leading. Retrieved from http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=7012.

Mertler, C.A. (2019). Action research: Improving schools and empowering educators (5th ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

GRADE FOR THE CLASS: 483/500 is 97/A.