EDUC731 Research Proposal on Enhancing Learning Through Technology Integration in Primary Education
- Subject Code :
EDUC731
EDUC731 Research Methods 2023-2024 Research Proposal (1,000 words)
This research proposal should be within the scope of an MA dissertation: Proposals should not involve vulnerable participants. The duration of the project should no exceed 6-7 months including write-up. The word limits provided are approximate only. You can type your answers directly into the document under each of the headings.
Course
M.A Education
Title (ca. 20 words)
Please provide a concise title that expresses the essence of your proposed research.
Enhancing Learning Through Technology Integration in the Classroom
Project Overview (ca. 300 words)
Please provide a short summary summarising your proposed research. This overview should contain a statement of the problem you will address with the research, a concise summary of relevant literature, the research aim/s, and how the findings are likely to contribute to theory, policy, and practice.
Examining how the incorporation of technology affects the learning outcomes of primary school kids is the main objective of this study. With an emphasis on primary school settings, this research will review the existing literature on the topic of technology integration in the classroom and draw conclusions on its efficacy and best practices. This study aims to explore current studies on technology integration in elementary school in order to identify any gaps and help fill them.
This study will investigate the present state of technology usage in elementary school classrooms, specifically looking at the kinds and frequency of technology employed. It will also look at how both students and instructors feel about the pros and cons of using technology in the classroom. Improving primary school students' learning outcomes via the strategic use of technology is the overarching goal of this research, which seeks to provide light on the present state of the integration of technology in the field (Baran, 2014).
Educational theory and practice could stand to benefit from this study's conclusions. In terms of theory, the research will add to what is already known about the topic of incorporating technology within the classroom by giving a thorough review of where things are right now. The results will provide important information for policymakers, instructors, and others involved in primary school instructional technology integration strategies that will help students learn the most from these tools.
Research Question/s (ca. 50 words)
Please provide no more than three research questions that you will aim to answer with your proposed research. You can state hypotheses if this is appropriate for your research. Research questions must be specific and clearly written and answerable within the scope of an MA dissertation.
1) What effects does the use of technology have on the learning outcomes of elementary school students?
2) What are the best strategies for incorporating technology into elementary school classrooms?
3) How do instructors see the role technology plays in promoting learning outcomes in elementary education?
Methodology (ca. 300 words)
Give a description of your methodology including any data collection and analysis methods. This section should clearly demonstrate how your methodology answers your research question/s or tests your hypotheses.
This study will adopt a combination of methods, integrating surveys that are quantitative with interviews that are qualitative. The justification for the above strategy is to gather extensive information that may offer quantitative information regarding the incidence and effect of the integration of technology in elementary schools and qualitative knowledge into the observations and opinions among educators regarding the utilisation of technology in the educational setting (Davies, et al., 2013).
The quantitative component of the study will entail the preparation and delivery of questionnaires to elementary school instructors and pupils. The surveys will be intended to collect data on the kinds of technology that are utilised in classrooms, the amount and duration of their usage, and the perceived influence of computers on students' educational outcomes. The surveys will also contain questions targeted at identifying any obstacles or hurdles to successful technology integration.
The qualitative component of the study will consist of interviews that are semi-structured with a subset of elementary school teachers. The interviews will give a chance to study in-depth the experiences, viewpoints, and practices of instructors about technology inclusion. by these interviews, the study intends to find subtle insights that could not be gathered by data collection alone, including the contextual variables that impact technology usage in diverse classrooms (Emre, 2019).
Data analysis will entail qualitative as well as quantitative methods. Quantitative data from questionnaires will be evaluated using statistical methods to uncover recurring patterns and patterns in technology usage and its perceived effect. qualitative information collected the interviews will be evaluated using thematic analysis to find recurrent themes and patterns in instructors' observations and views of technology integration.
The combination of methods will provide for a full grasp of the study issues, integrating a range of quantitative information with the richness of qualitative insights. By combining data from numerous sources, the study intends to give a thorough and comprehensive understanding of the influence of incorporating technology on primary school kids' learning outcomes.
Ethical Considerations (ca. 300 words)
Please give a brief description of the main ethical considerations involved in the study and state clearly how you will address these in your proposed study.
This research will comply to ethical principles for investigation involving human participants, assuring the preservation of their privacy and health during the study. The ethical issues that follow will be addressed:
(Ghavifekr & Rosdy, 2015), Informed permission: Informed permission will be requested from everyone who participates, including both instructors and students engaged in the research. The procedure for obtaining consent will explicitly define the goal of the study, the methods involved, the optional character of involvement, and the private nature of the data. Participants will be notified that they're given the opportunity to disengage from the research at any moment without penalties.
Confidentiality and Security: All data obtained from volunteers will be kept secret and anonymized to safeguard their privacy. Participants' names will be substituted by codes or anonymous identities in all study materials and publications to preserve anonymity. Only the researchers engaged in the research project will have accessibility to the initial information, and every bit of electronic information will be maintained securely with limited access.
Protection of Sensitive Participants: As the study does not include vulnerable individuals, such as children with impairments or individuals from disadvantaged groups, there are no unique concerns connected to vulnerable populations. However, great effort will be taken to guarantee that all individuals, especially students, are regarded with respect because their well-being is emphasised throughout the study process (Lin, et al., 2017).
Data Security and Storage: Every piece of information acquired throughout the study will be kept securely in conformity with data protection legislation. Electronic information will be secured and secured by a password while physical data (e.g., permission forms) will be held in secure filing cabinets with limited access. Data will be stored for a reasonable duration following the conclusion of the research and then securely deleted to ensure confidentiality.
Ethical permission: Ethical permission for this study will be acquired from the appropriate ethics committee appropriate organisational review board. The study will only begin after getting ethical permission, and any revisions to the investigation protocol will be disclosed to the committee of ethics for evaluation and approval.
Project Timeline (ca. 30 words)
Please provide a timeline which shows how you plan to complete your research within the available timeframe (January to September). You are welcome to insert an image.
January-February: Review material on integrating technology in teaching.
March-April: Develop survey tools and gain ethical clearance.
May-June: Conduct questionnaires to elementary school instructors and pupils.
July-August: Hold qualitative inquiries with instructors.
September: Evaluate data, write up results, and conclude dissertation.
References
Please provide a list of references used in the text using either Harvard or APA7th style. References are not part of the word count.
Baran, E., 2014. A review of research on mobile learning in teacher education.Journal of Educational Technology & Society,17(4), pp.17-32
Davies, R.S., Dean, D.L. and Ball, N., 2013. Flipping the classroom and instructional technology integration in a college-level information systems spreadsheet course.Educational Technology Research and Development,61, pp.563-580
https://www.sthembrasil.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Flippling_the_Classroom_Spreadsheet.pdf
Emre, D., 2019. Prospective teachers perceptions of barriers to technology integration in education.Contemporary Educational Technology,10(4), pp.381-398
https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/832912
Ghavifekr, S. and Rosdy, W.A.W., 2015. Teaching and learning with technology: Effectiveness of ICT integration in schools.International journal of research in education and science,1(2), pp.175-191
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1105224.pdf
Lin, M.H., Chen, H.C. and Liu, K.S., 2017. A study of the effects of digital learning on learning motivation and learning outcome.Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education,13(7), pp.3553-3564
