Week 3 Blog EDLD5301Research ET8021

Background information I would share about my action research topic is that during my teaching career, I have noticed that those students who are actively engaged in extracurricular activities tend to be more actively engaged in the classroom. I thought this might be simply a coincidence one year, but I noticed the same trend year after year. That observation led me to question if indeed there was a direct positive correlation between student achievement in the classroom and student involvement in extracurricular activities, and if there is a positive correlation, then why isn’t more funding channeled their way? Regarding the Design of the Inquiry, my first step will be to meet with the PEIMS clerk in order to get a list of 10-12 grade enrolled students. I will then filter this information to identify those students involved in extracurricular activities. I need to stop at this point and find a ratio between students involved and students not involved in extracurricular activities. I will need to meet with the PEIMS clerk a second time to generate a confidential list of student grade point averages. This information will not be shared outside of this action research, but is crucial information for my action research. I will then compare the gpa’s of the active group to those of the uninvolved students to see if my action research topic is true. During this phase of my research, I will also conduct a student survey. The survey will poll all 10-12 grade students and ask if they are involved in any extracurricular activities, and if not, why not. Are there barriers in their lives such as transportation or funds that limit their activity, or do they simply choose not to participate? This survey might further divide my findings of students who choose not to participate with a subset of those who cannot participate. Once I collect all the data, I will be able to determine if my topic is accurate. In summary, I will most likely end up with three outcomes – those students who participate in extracurricular activities, those students uninterested in participating in activities, and those students who, for reasons out of their control, cannot participate. I believe the gpa’s of the actively involved student might be similar to those of the students who are unable, not unwilling, to participate.