Zach Boness

EDCI 631

RESEARCH DESIGN/DATA ANALYSIS

Course Reflection

The purpose of the research design/data analysis course was doing research
and gathering data to better the impact of students within the school district. There is a
lot that goes into impacting the schools and improving the attitudes of the student body.
Administrators have to pick topics, gather data, and analyze the data collected to see if
what they thought was valid or invalid.
The purpose of this course was to have myself pick a research topic and analyze
the findings. My proposal was, “the problem, that is to be studied, is student
engagement with technology in the classroom, and how it impacts student
performance.” I strongly feel that student’s attitude and participation can be drastically
impacted with the implementation of technology.
When teachers implement technology it increases the participation and puts the
learning in the students hands. Teachers can still have teacher led instruction, but at the
same time it allows for students to have the opportunity to make it more student led.
Students can impact their own learning and this drastically increases student
participation. When students take a love in the learning process we are setting these
students up for success in life. This is vital or else, I feel, we are setting these students
up for failure in the the long run.
I’ve continued on with this research proposal and collected my own data from it. I
was lucky enough to win the Centurylink Technology Grant which allowed me to
purchase my own personal chrome cart that never leaves my room. From there I have
transferred my entire curriculum into an online database which my students use the
entire year. Students can learn and work on my social studies class from anywhere,
even their cell phone. This allows students to be more engaged. My analogy from this is
driving a car. The traditional way of teaching has the teacher drive the student through
their education and the goal is to drop them off at the finish line. With implementing
technology and allowing for student led learning it puts the students in the driver's seat
and allows them to learn on their own with the support of the teacher. Since i have
changed my class to this I have seen grades and attitudes drastically change from
within my classroom for the better.
This course was one of the more beneficial ones that I have taken within my
master’s courses. This allowed me to become a better teacher and back my ideas with
data that backs it. Technology in the classroom is a very powerful tool if used correctly.
Technology isn’t going away so we, as educators, need to embrace it and utilize it for
the betterment of our students.