The purpose of this assignment is to expand and add on the Action Research Project that you have developed in EDF6487. Your expanded AR project will include all the elements specif

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Action Research Project Written Report

Latoria Johnson

EDG6920

Professor Foerch

July 30, 2023

Action Research Project Written Report

Introduction

Changes have occurred in the educational system over time, most noticeably with the advent of electronic tools for teaching and learning. Using educational games and tools to increase student engagement is one of the most talked-about developments in cutting-edge technology. The Marco Polo Learning Tool is an interactive online curriculum for kids ages 3-7 to foster intellectual, physical, and social growth (Armstrong, 2018). This resource can be accessed from any internet-enabled device and features games, videos, and interactive information. In this study, I aim to determine if implementing the Marco Polo Learning Tool into the classroom does increase student interest and participation (Armstrong, 2018). There is little evidence that this tool increases student engagement, despite claims that it provides kids with a more entertaining and dynamic learning environment.

The problem statement is determining whether using the Marco Polo Learning Tool in the classroom increases student interest and participation and the potential effects of SEL practices made easier by the tool on students’ academic achievement. By examining the effect of this particular tool on student involvement and examining the connection between SEL practices and academic advancement within the Kiddie Academy VPK program, the study seeks to close the gap in the literature. A number of studies have investigated the effectiveness of educational games and technologies in maintaining students’ interest.

According to the findings of a study by Alqahtani, the utilization of educational games has been demonstrated to increase students’ involvement and motivation (2018). In another study, Lu et al. (2018) found that students who used interactive technology in the classroom were more interested in the material being taught and could better remember it afterward. The Marco Polo Learning Tool has only been the focus of a limited number of empirical studies, even though evidence indicates that it raises students’ interest in learning. Kim et al. (2019) researched an online teaching tool comparable to one they found to improve student engagement successfully.

When investigating whether or not using educational games in the classroom will boost student engagement, Balcikanli and Yildiz (2021) stumbled onto a similar inquiry barrier. The findings showed that students exhibited higher levels of interest and motivation when they were able to participate in educational games. My research is warranted since there is a lack of literature on the tool I am examining, despite the significance of educational games and tools for boosting student engagement. This is because there is a material shortage on the instrument I am analyzing.

A teacher at Kiddie Academy is expected to pique the interest of their pupils and encourage the children’s growth as individuals capable of learning. This study evaluates the link between social-emotional learning (SEL) practices and programs and academic achievement, with a specific emphasis on Marco Polo as the focus of the investigation. Since it plays an essential part in supporting students in developing skills such as communication, cooperation, problem-solving, and decision-making, social-emotional learning (SEL) must be included in every curriculum. In addition, the development of skills such as self-awareness, self-management, and self-regulation via SEL is a critical component of academic accomplishment. SEL may help students acquire these skills. It is for this reason that it is of the highest significance to investigate how SEL might affect the academic progress of kids while they are in the classroom.

To increase the number of children who participate in the Kiddie Academy VPK program, this research aims to examine the many ways in which the learning tool known as Marco Polo may be included in the curriculum for the program. As a metric for determining the level of engagement among the student body, we will look at the number of students who take an active role in the various activities that take place in the classroom, such as submitting their work on time and contributing to the various topics that are brought up in class discussions.

Research Question

How can I use the Marco Polo learning tool to increase student engagement in my VPK class at Kiddie Academy as measured by an increase in the number of students completing assignments and participating in class discussions?

Literature Review

Social and emotional learning (SEL) has been identified as a critical element of a successful education system. The literature on SEL is overgrowing, focusing on understanding the impact of SEL programs on various outcomes, such as classroom climate, academic achievement, and social-emotional skills. Recent studies have shown that SEL programs can positively impact academic skills. For example, McCormick et al. (2021) studied the long-term effects of an SEL program, INSIGHTS, on academic skills. The study found that INSIGHTS positively impacted academic performance, even after two years. Furthermore, Aygün and Taşkın (2022) examined the effect of an SEL program on social-emotional skills, academic achievement, and classroom climate. The results indicated that the SEL program positively impacted all three outcomes.

The research done by Malhotra et al. (2021) studying the effects of a curriculum-based Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) program on schoolgirls in rural Uganda offers insightful information on the advantages of SEL interventions in this particular setting. The study’s results show that the SEL program improved the social and emotional skills of the schoolgirls, with a focus on increases in self-esteem and self-regulation abilities. The benefits of SEL programs for improving social-emotional skills, classroom atmosphere, and academic achievement have been well demonstrated in the literature. This rural Ugandan research emphasizes that SEL interventions may successfully enhance results for schoolgirls in underprivileged and underserved communities, which adds to the body of data on the subject. Such programs may help create a more encouraging and caring learning environment by emphasizing the development of social-emotional skills and encouraging healthy academic and psychological growth.

Future studies should emphasize examining the most efficient methods to deploy SEL programs in addition to examining the impact of SEL on different groups. This entails looking at the length, rigor, and dose of treatments and pinpointing the essential elements and tactics of SEL’s positive effects on students’ social-emotional competence and general well-being. The sustainability and scalability of SEL initiatives must also be taken into account, particularly in environments with limited resources. To ensure long-term effectiveness and broad acceptance of SEL interventions, it is crucial to develop scalable, affordable models that can be incorporated into current educational frameworks.

The research by Malhotra et al. (2021), which shows increases in social-emotional abilities, self-esteem, and self-regulation among schoolgirls in rural Uganda, concludes that SEL programs favorably influence these students. The larger body of evidence affirms that SEL interventions have the potential to improve student academic achievement, classroom atmosphere, and social-emotional well-being. Additional study is required to understand the impacts of SEL in various groups and circumstances and determine the most efficient implementation approaches for scalable and sustainable treatments.

Purpose of the study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of the Marco Polo Learning Tool in improving student engagement in the classroom.

Research Design

For this research, a qualitative research design has been used. Qualitative research is a sort of research that investigates the subjective experiences, emotions, and views of persons (Allan, 2020). This study’s research plan ideally matches its purpose because it will allow the researcher to investigate how and why the VPK kids at Kiddie Academy use the Marco Polo educational platform.

Participants

Nine children who are now enrolled in Kiddie Academy’s VPK program will serve as participants in this research. To choose participants for the study, we will utilize a method known as purposeful sampling, which is a kind of non-random sampling in which people are chosen based on specific criteria. The participants in the study will consist of VPK students who volunteered to participate in the research and will get priority for selection. Even though only nine students are represented in the sample, this is considered a suitable amount for qualitative research. This is due to the fact that it enables the researcher to get a decent sense of what the students are going through.

Data Collection

Participant Observation

During the VPK session, students were observed for their attentiveness, engagement, and clarity of understanding regarding the contents of the learning modules of the session. A total of 10 follow up responsive questions were asked by the presenter of the session for the students to raise their hands for answering of questions. The VPK session followed three segments of discussing topics of simple counting, naming of body parts, and names of things and object identifications through illustrations provided by Marco Polo learning tool. In terms of engagement, for each question asked for counting and naming of body parts multiple students were observed to raise their hands to show their willingness of responding to the follow up questions. Students were generally observed to generally exhibit attentive behaviors through the course of VPK session. In terms of clarity and understanding of contents of learning modules, students were observed to give correct answers on 8 out of 10 instances of students answering to follow up questions.

Semi-structured Interviews

Students were asked open ended questions after the sessions related to their motivation, attentiveness, engagement, and clarity of understanding of the contents of the VPK session involving the use of Marco Polo Learning tool to assess the use and effectiveness of technology in learning process. Some of the key questions asked during the interviews were: Do you like coming to class every day? ; Do you like seeing photos and videos of things played in class?; Can you count from 1-10? If so, Please count!; Do you know the name of body parts? If so, Name three!; Can you name the things lying around you? If so, name a few!

Out of the selected 9 students, a wide majority of 7 students responded favorably to the question about their liking to coming to class every day with one of the students responding “I like to come to class… I learn about many things”. All 9 of the study participants responded positively to the question about their liking of seeing photos and videos being played in class room. Student responses varied from “I like seeing pictures of things…,”; “I love learning counting and watching poems”. Most of the students, i.e. 8 out of 9 students reported in affirmation of their ability to count from 1-10, and a total of 7 students out of those 8 willing students were able to demonstrate their ability to count from 1-10 on command.

Students were then asked about their perceptive ability of naming body parts and objects lying around them to understand their attentiveness and quality of understanding of these concepts. A total of 6 out of 9 students responded in affirmative when asked about their ability to name objects lying around in the table and 5 out of those 6 students were able to correctly name objects lying around them in the classroom. While 4 out of 9 students when asked about their ability to name body parts responded positively and all 4 of those students were able to correctly name three body parts as asked by the interviewer.

Figure 2 Marco polo Effects

Data Analysis

Content analysis of the data gathered through participant observation and semi-structured interviews was done through carefully coding and categorizing of collected data into themes of attentiveness, engagement, and clarity of understanding regarding the contents of the learning modules of the session. Field notes from participant observation and transcriptions of audio recordings of semi-structured interviews were analyzed collect all of the relevant data related to the research study. This study aimed to uncover recurrent patterns and topics that emerge from the experiences and viewpoints of students who have used the Marco Polo teaching tool.

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