Bilingual Education

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION RESEARCH PROJECT OVERVIEW

The Research Proposal is designed to guide candidates through the steps for planning and conducting an in- depth research project focused on improving an issue within your field of study. The project involves an opportunity for candidates to apply the knowledge, skills, and behaviors they gain from their respective programs. Candidates will document the mastery of a substantial number of program standards with the planning, design, and evaluation of their projects.

This project is a research proposal for an experimental research proposal.

Research Proposal

The Research Proposal is designed to guide candidates through the steps for planning and conducting an in-depth improvement project focused on a topic within their field of study. This research proposal will include the following: Research Problem, Literature Review, and Methodology. The completed product will include the three chapters of a research proposal.

Research Proposal Outline

A template is provided that will guide candidates through the development of a detailed outline that can then be fleshed out into three complete chapters.

Research Problem: Candidates gather existing data from their classroom, school, district or work setting. They will construct a graphical representation that allows for easy analysis of the compiled data and assess the data to identify a problem or weakness that can be addressed in an experimental study. Specific prompts provided in the outline template provided will require candidates to identify the problem/weakness, connect the problem or weakness to trends or patterns represented in the data, and explain how the problem or weakness might have impacted student achievement. The required scope of the problem/weakness depends on the level of advanced degree being sought.

 Master level – classroom level or school level problem

 Specialist level – multiple classrooms or school level problem

Literature Review: Candidates will discuss the background of the identified problem with colleagues, conduct a literature review following APA format (most recently published edition), and become familiar with the scholarly debate surrounding the topic or problem identified in the existing data. The scope and expectations for the literature review depend on the level of advanced degree being sought.

 Master level – Candidates must describe a best practice or a trend/theory and justify its use and connection with the identified problem; use a minimum of 10 sources (largely representative of the most recent five years); describe/justify the best practice and/or theory based on each of the sources; and provide a synthesis of the related literature.

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 Specialist level – Candidates must describe a best practice or a trend/theory and justify its use and connection with the identified problem; include a minimum of three best practice options AND a theory/trend; clear descriptions and justifications; and provide a synthesis of the related literature from the past 5 years. (15 sources are required, but a minimum of 20 sources are required to receive all points.)

Methodology: Candidates construct a measurable and executable action plan that includes a description of needed resources, description of the plan, and the scope and expectations required to complete an experimental study. The description of the plan includes a descriptive timeline, participants, variables, definitions of key terms in the study, data, resources, leverage plan, pertinent documents, and justification. The scope and expectations for the action plan depend on the level of advanced degree being sought.

 Master’s level – represents a plan to address a problem identified across multiple classrooms (i.e., teacher leader looking at data from multiple classrooms on the same grade level).

 Specialist level – represents a plan to address a problem identified across an entire school, multiple schools, or throughout a district (i.e., an instructional leader addressing a problem across elementary schools in a district).

THE SIGNATURE PROJECT FINAL SUBMISSION

The culminating requirement in ED504 is the final iteration of your Signature Project Stage 1. The Signature Project Stage 1 is your research proposal. It is designed to guide candidates through the steps for planning an experimental study to examine an in-depth school improvement project focused on improving teaching and learning. The project involves an opportunity for candidates to apply the knowledge, skills, and behaviors they gain from their respective programs.

Cover Page Abstract Chapter 1: Research Problem

Introduction Statement of the Research Problem (include hypothesis) Data Graphic and Discussion Impact on Student Achievement Research Methodology Summary (of chapter 1)

Chapter 2: Literature Review Introduction Sub-headings (according to the organization of your study) Synthesis of Literature Review

Chapter 3: Methodology Introduction Population Sample Sample Technique (with justification) Role of Participants and Impact on Participants (with explanation) Plan for Protection of Human Subjects Variables

Timeline (with sequence of steps and timeline for data collection)

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Constitutive and Operation Definitions Description of Data (data needed) Reliability and Validity of Instrument Limitations

References

Appendix A: Consent Form Appendix B: Permission to Study Appendix C: Copy of the instrument or survey if one is used.

General Guidelines

 APA format.

 Double-space using Times New Roman 12 pt. font size. Follow the example found in the Course Resource section of this course.

 Top, bottom and side margins must be 1 inch.

 Pages must be numbered, top flushed right.

 Organize the literature review according to themes important to the study.

 Direct quoting of other authors is not permitted. All written text should be in your own words.

 Appropriately cite all information sources using APA.

 Include a minimum of ten scholarly sources, five of these sources should come from the primary literature (ED504 requirement). All ten sources should primarily be from the past five years.

 References should be in APA format and on a separate page in the document.

 If your scholarly literature sources were obtained from an Internet site (e.g., online journal article), include the URL and the date downloaded as part of the bibliographic details presented. Check APA on formatting.

 Grammar and spelling must be correct.

INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD APPROVAL

Completion of the IRB approval does not occur in ED504.

 Candidates at both the Master’s and Specialist Levels are required to complete the Responsible Conduct of Research Program offered through Citi Training. (https://www.citiprogram.org/) The course candidates are expected to complete the Social, Behavioral and Education Sciences section. The modules that must be completed are Introduction to RCR, Research Involving Human Subjects, Collaborative Research, Conflicts of Interest, Data Management, Mentoring, Peer Review, Research Misconduct, and Plagiarism. This training is free.

 Candidates must complete the Citi Training in ED504.