Action research is any systematic inquiry conducted by teachers, administrators, counselors, or others with a vested interest in the teaching and learning process or environment to gather information about how their particular schools operate, how they teach, and how their students learn (Craig,2016, P. 21).
Retrieved from: Action research: Improving schools and empowering educators (Fifth edition.) P. 65
In the ETEC 543 class, I acquired action research via the nine steps that I showed above.
In the planning stage:
To limit and narrow down my topic, I consult some students who were taking online courses. Through relevant literature, I identified my research topic: The online course's impact on the interaction between instructors and students. This research aimed to figure out whether the online course negatively influences the interaction between students and teachers. In this research, I will apply the explanatory mixed-method to collect qualitative and quantitative data.
In the acting stage:
I recited 20 participants and utilized an online survey(google form) and one-on-one interviews to collect quantitative and qualitative data.
Using online survey chart to display quantitative data, interview transcripts to analyze qualitative data that is students' attitude toward online interaction between instructors and students
In the reflecting stage:
Most students reflect that online courses decrease exchange and interaction between students and teachers, thus increasing loneliness while taking online learning. This study found that online learning negatively impacts the exchange and interaction between teachers and students.
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ETEC 543 Reflection
In the ETEC 543 class, my most significant result was to acquire how to synthesize a literature review efficiently. In my opinion, the literature review provides rich, valuable, successful experiences for me to determine what analysis methods I can use in my research. Moreover, I also grasped how to collect quantitive data through an online survey and qualitative data via a one-on-one interview. These kinds of knowledge will lay a solid foundation for future educational research.