Module #4 Application-Quinn

Running head: ACTION RESEARCH—ANALYZING DATA 1

Action Research:

Analyzing Data and Communicating Results

Jamie C. Quinn

American College of Education

ACTION RESEARCH—ANALYZING DATA 2

Action Research:

Analyzing Data and Communicating Results

Introduction

Within the confines of a normal school day, teachers are presented with limited one-on-

one time with students, as a typical classroom may have up to thirty students, all of whom have

varying needs. To help increase the access to additional help, many schools have implemented

afterschool programs where students can stay after with a classroom teacher and work on

anything they need assistance with, with the support of the teacher. Currently, I am an English

teacher, part of the eighth grade team of teachers. As a team policy, we have established a

Homework Club for an hour after school, every day. We have also established a rotation

schedule, so that a different team teacher stays after each week. Homework Club is a time for

students to voluntarily stay after to work on their assignments, and to get extra help in any class.

As a first-year teacher on the team, however, I have noticed that the majority of students do not

take advantage of this Homework Club opportunity, though it is available and advertised to each

student. When I think of the students in my English class alone, there are many students who

come to mind who would benefit from extra instruction, one-on-one time, and support on

homework.

Part 1: Research Report: Polishing Your Draft

Research Purpose

The purpose of my research is to evaluate why eighth grade students at Pavilion Middle School

do not take advantage of the team Homework Club, as evidenced by the low percentage of

students in attendance at these weekly afterschool help sessions.


Problem Statement and Description of Setting

In my research, I aim to answer the following questions with regards to eighth graders at

Pavilion Central School District:

Will receiving an extrinsic motivator for staying after increase student interest in

Homework Club?

Are students not attending Homework Club because of negative feelings about school

and staying after for help?

Literature Review

Attendance at Homework Club on the eighth grade team at Pavilion Central School has been

consistently low, despite the availability of teachers to help students who are struggling with

their work, or need a place to complete work at school. Before implementing strategies to

increase student attendance at Homework Club, it is imperative that I first determine the

motivators and reasons that students are not attending. In order to determine whether or not an

extrinsic motivator will increase student interest, and why students may not be attending

Homework Club, it is important to review relevant research, so that precedence may be

established.

Extrinsic motivation. Research by Garas, Furtmuller, & Guttel (2016) discusses the

different types of motivation, and the impact of each on student learning and continued

behaviors. Defined simply, “Students who are intrinsically motivated to learn…do so, because

learning as such is interesting or rewarding. In contrast, students who are externally motivated

for learning do so to achieve an external outcome” (p. 46). The researchers sought to analyze

how this intrinsic, or autonomous motivation, can be attained through the use of small rewards,

which thus combines an extrinsic motivator to help students become more intrinsic, forming the


hypothesis that “rewards that students perceive as small play an important role in explaining

student motivation to learn” (p. 48). To research this hypothesis, researchers studied the use of

small rewards in an online learning environment, where teachers may have a more difficult time

keeping students fully engaged in the content, due to the impersonal nature of an online class.

The researchers theorized that small rewards increase autonomous motivation to learn

among students because the rewards are small and trivial enough to engage the student, without

causing the student to attribute their success and experience solely to the reward. In addition,

small rewards, like bonus points, give students immediate feedback on their effort, and

encourage students to continue that effort or behavior (p. 49). The researchers designed a study

using first-year undergraduate students enrolled in introductory, online learning courses. These

students were grouped into two different courses, which were identical, except for the fact that

the treatment group was rewarded for completing voluntary homework assignments, thus

demonstrating the use of a small reward.

The results of the study indicated that the students in the treatment group completed

voluntary homework assignments at a nearly quadruple rate as the control group, even though

the small reward of bonus points did not justify such a response. These results demonstrate how

small rewards, like bonus points, can increase student participation and effort.

Student participation in afterschool programs. Research by Njapa-Minyard (2010)

discusses how to increase and maintain student engagement and participation in afterschool

programs. Specifically, the researcher focuses on older, low-income, minority youth, and how

programs can make effective changes that will encourage such students to participate

afterschool. Njapa-Minyard identified that students may be “…disengagement from day school.

These disengaged youth will not want to extend their time in school” (p. 178). Though research


indicates that participation in an afterschool program is beneficial for students, many students

may choose not to participate because of their perception of school.

To combat this low participation, the researcher provides best practices for recruiting and

retaining students in after school programs. The program must provide a safe environment, be

staffed by well-trained, energetic teachers, provide students opportunities to be engaged, and

reach out to the family and community (p. 180). Such practices can help to engage students in

the program and school, and help students to take advantage of the opportunities that afterschool

programs can provide.

Student interest. Watts, Witt, and King (2008) researched how changes implemented in

an afterschool program made an impact on student achievement and satisfaction on the program

itself. The researchers hypothesized that “If children were satisfied with the after-school

program…they would be more likely to relate their program attendance to positive outcomes,

such as liking school (a partial measure of engagement) and grades” (p. 136). This hypothesis

sought to examine the relationship between the efforts on the part of the program to increase

student attendance, and the outcomes on achievement and satisfaction in an after-school

program.

To research this hypothesis, the researchers collected surveys and data on student testing

performance. Watts, Witt, and King obtained results that indicated that students who were

satisfied with the program had positive feelings about the school and program, and saw staying

after school as a safe opportunity to complete homework (p. 141). In other words, the more

interested a student is in the program, the more likely they will be to attend the program and be

engaged.


Conclusion. In conclusion, a review of the literature indicates that the use of small,

extrinsic rewards is effective in increasing student interest in learning. In addition, in order to

interest and retain students in an afterschool program, teachers must engage the students in the

school and the program, provide a safe environment, and help to combat the misconceptions

students may have about school, and thus staying after. Furthermore, research indicates that

students who are most satisfied with afterschool programs have positive feelings about school

and see the benefits of staying after, which increases their participation in such programs. Thus,

precedence has been set to examine whether or not an extrinsic motivator will increase student

interest, and to also determine why students may not be attending Homework Club, through an

examination of student motivators and interest.

Methodology

Survey. I completed the data collection activity of a survey with all of the eighth grade

students (46 students in all). The data I collected was both qualitative and quantitative, as I

tallied the choices students made with regards to what would motivate them to stay after, but

then also used the results to describe what the students are motivated by. I took the last five

minutes of class, for each class period, to distribute the surveys, and instructed students to rate

each motivator on a scale of 1 through 5, with 1 indicating that it does not interest the student to

stay after at all, and a 5 indicating that it would most interest the student to stay after. There was

also a space for students to write in suggestions for other things that would motivate them to stay

after.

The following motivators were listed on the survey distributed to the students:

Extra Credit

Candy


A Certificate

Social Time with Peers

Words of Praise

Please see Appendix A for a copy of the survey issued to the students, and Appendix B for the

chart that reveals the quantitative data I collected from this survey.

Qualitatively, the data indicates that the majority of students expressed interest in staying

after for the extrinsic motivator of gaining extra credit. This data helps to answer the research

question of “Will receiving an extrinsic motivator for staying after increase student interest in

Homework Club?” because it demonstrates the large interest students have in receiving an

extrinsic motivator as an encouragement to attend Homework Club, where they can receive extra

help and support in their classes.

Interview. I completed the data collection activity of conducting interviews with students

who attend Homework Club, to determine what motivates students to stay after. I chose to use

this method because “Qualitative data can and should be collected using focus groups and

cognitive interviews to ensure that the meanings respondents make of survey questions are

understood and intended by the survey developer” (Pike, 2014, p. 10). For this qualitative data

point, I used my Homework Club week to call students who stayed after up to my desk, and

asked them to answer the following questions about Homework Club, and themselves:

What motivates you to stay after?

How do you feel about school?

What do your friends think about you staying after?

I interviewed three students who routinely stay after for Homework Club. Please see

Appendix C for the written transcripts of their answers to the questions.


Qualitatively, the data indicates that these students are motivated to stay after because

they intrinsically know they need extra help, or additional time to work on their homework.

These students feel that staying after has no negative meaning, but did indicate that their peers

might associate a negative connotation with staying after for Homework Club. In addition, these

students had generally positive feelings about school and recognized that staying after was

beneficial for them. This data helps to answer both research questions of “Will receiving an

extrinsic motivator for staying after increase student interest in Homework Club?” and “Are

students not attending Homework Club because of negative feelings about school and staying

after for help?” because it demonstrates how students who already attend Homework Club feel

about staying after, and how others perceive their staying after.

Focus group. I completed the data collection activity of organizing a focus group of students

who do not attend Homework Club, but who could really benefit from attending, to determine

what factors discourage students from attending Homework Club. For this qualitative data point,

I gathered a group of students who do not attend Homework Club and asked them to discuss with

me, and each other, their beliefs and attitudes about staying after, school, and getting extra help. I

asked the students to speak openly and freely, and to listen and respond to each other honestly, as

“One of the key factors in focus group interviews is that participants can converse with other

people in a comfortable way. Under this condition, the composition of a focus group is very

important” (Kai-Wen, 2014, p. 382). Thus, I used a focus group because I wanted to see how

students would respond in front of their peers.

For this focus group, I was able to engage ten students in the discussion. Please see Appendix

D for a summary of student responses that I obtained through writing notes during the

discussion.


Qualitatively, the data indicates that these students have many negative feelings about school,

staying after, and needing to get extra help in school. This data helps to answer the research

question of “Are students not attending Homework Club because of negative feelings about

school and staying after for help?”, as it identifies the factors that discourage students from

attending Homework Club, and shows what needs to be changed in order for students to feel safe

and interested in staying after.

Data Analysis

To begin with, the data from the survey indicates that the majority of students expressed

interest in staying after for the extrinsic motivator of gaining extra credit. This data helps to

answer the research question of “Will receiving an extrinsic motivator for staying after increase

student interest in Homework Club?” because it demonstrates the large interest students have in

receiving an extrinsic motivator as an encouragement to attend Homework Club, where they can

receive extra help and support in their classes.

In addition, the data from the interview indicates that these students are motivated to stay

after because they intrinsically know they need extra help, or additional time to work on their

homework. These students feel that staying after has no negative meaning, but did indicate that

their peers might associate a negative connotation with staying after for Homework Club. In

addition, these students had generally positive feelings about school and recognized that staying

after was beneficial for them. This data helps to answer both research questions of “Will

receiving an extrinsic motivator for staying after increase student interest in Homework Club?”

and “Are students not attending Homework Club because of negative feelings about school and

staying after for help?” because it demonstrates how students who already attend Homework

Club feel about staying after, and how others perceive their staying after.


Finally, the data from the focus group indicates that these students have many negative

feelings about school, staying after, and needing to get extra help in school. This data helps to

answer the research question of “Are students not attending Homework Club because of negative

feelings about school and staying after for help?”, as it identifies the factors that discourage

students from attending Homework Club, and shows what needs to be changed in order for

students to feel safe and interested in staying after.

Conclusions

The data I have collected indicates that the majority of eighth grade students expressed

interest in staying after for the extrinsic motivator of gaining extra credit, demonstrating the large

interest students have in receiving an extrinsic motivator as an encouragement to attend

Homework Club, where they can receive extra help and support in their classes. In addition,

students who already attend Homework Club are motivated to stay after because they

intrinsically know they need extra help, or additional time to work on their homework, and feel

that staying after has no negative meaning, though their peers might associate a negative

connotation with staying after for Homework Club. Students who stayed after also had generally

positive feelings about school and recognized that staying after was beneficial for them.

Furthermore, students who do not attend Homework Club have many negative feelings about

school, staying after, and needing to get extra help in school, which identifies the factors that

discourage students from attending Homework Club, and shows what needs to be changed in

order for students to feel safe and interested in staying after.

The data collected from my research answers both of my research questions,

demonstrating that yes, receiving an extrinsic motivator for staying after does increase student


interest in Homework Club, and that many students are not attending Homework Club because

of negative feelings they may have about school and staying after for help.

Part 2: Communicating Your Findings

I shared the draft of my research report with my colleagues on my team, including the

eighth grade math, science, social studies, Spanish, and academic support teachers. I shared this

information during one of our team meetings, where I described the problem and asked for their

opinion on the problem before sharing my research, data, and analysis. N. M. Wittmeyer

(personal communication, May 1, 2016), she had always believed that students did not stay after

because they did not care enough about school, so she was incredibly interested in learning about

student perceptions of staying after. K. L. Washburn (personal communication, May 1, 2016)

suggested that the team teachers begin offering extra credit to students who stay at Homework

Club to receive extra help, and D. M. Chrzanowski (personal communication, May 1, 2016)

added that we could track student attendance at Homework Club after putting this plan into

place, to see if it did in fact lead to an increase in student attendance.

Part 3: Future Actions

My next steps are to put this extrinsic motivation plan into place immediately, and to see

how student attendance improves at Homework Club. I also want to talk more with my team to

discuss the student perceptions of staying after, and what we as a team can do to change these

perceptions and help students to feel more comfortable after school. The results of my research

have really taken me in a new direction, and if I could do things differently, I would spend more

time talking with my students to see what we as teachers can do help students who are struggling

with their negative perception of school and needing to get extra help.


I expect that I will see changes in student achievement after changing student perceptions

of staying after, and adding a small reward to motivate students to get the help that they need.

Ideally, the more students stay after to get help and work on homework, the higher they will

achieve in their team classes. In the future, I would like to research the academic success of

students who stay after for Homework Club, so that I can track their achievement and make links

between staying after and achieving in school.

References

Garas, C., Furtmuller, G., & Guttel, W. H. (2016). The hidden power of small rewards: The

effects of insufficient external rewards on autonomous motivation to learn. Academy Of

Management Learning & Education, 15(1), 45. doi:10.5465/amle.2012.0284

Kai-Wen, C. (2014). A study of applying focus group interview on education. Reading

Improvement, 51(4), 381-384.

Njapa-Minyard, P. (2010). After-school programs: Attracting and sustaining youth

participation. International Journal Of Learning, 17(9), 177-181.

Pike, G. p. (2014). Assessment measures developing surveys of student engagement. Assessment

Update, 26(4), 9-12.

Watts, C. E., Witt, P. A., & King, T. (2008). Predictors of outcomes for after-school program

participants. Journal Of Park & Recreation Administration, 26(2), 134-145.


Appendix A

Please rate each item below on a scale of 1 through 5, with 1 indicating that it does not interest

you to stay after at all, and a 5 indicating that it would most interest you to stay after. You may

also write in suggestions for other things that would motivate you to stay after, which are not

already listed.

Rating: Item:

1 2 3 4 5 Extra Credit

1 2 3 4 5 Candy

1 2 3 4 5 A Certificate

1 2 3 4 5 Social Time with Peers

1 2 3 4 5 Words of Praise

1 2 3 4 5


Appendix B

Motivator: Student Rating:1 2 3 4 5 Percentage of

Students:

Extra Credit 0% 0% 4% 18% 78%Candy 0% 0% 26% 22% 52%A Certificate 60% 33% 7% 0% 0%Social Time with Peers 22% 30% 9% 7% 32%Words of Praise 83% 8% 9% 0% 0%Other* 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%*It should be noted that no students listed anything in the Other category.


Appendix C

Question: Student Answer:

What motivates you to stay after?

#1: “I like that it's a place to stay where I can do my homework without the distractions at home.”#2: “It's easy to get help on things I didn't understand in class, since the teachers are right here.”#3: “I hate having homework at night, since I always forget it. I like getting it done right away.”

How do you feel about school?

#1: “School is hard for me because the classes keep getting harder. But I like the teachers and getting to see my friends.”#2: “I love school! I really like all of my classes and learning new things.”#3: “I guess school is alright. It's just something that we have to do to be successful.”

What do your friends think about you staying after?

#1: “I think they think it's a place for the stupid kids to come, so they make fun of me a little.”#2: “I keep trying to get them to come, but they don't think they need extra help or anything. They don't mind that I come.”#3: “They get upset when I say I’m staying instead of being able to hang out.”


Appendix D

Topic: Student Opinion on the Topic:

Staying After

Tired at the end of the day Have to go home and take care of siblings Other extracurricular activities at the same time Other students are distracting Why stay after when homework is supposed to be done at home?

School

Difficult Teachers don't understand what students want Boring Students can be mean Teachers don't make class interesting Homework isn’t always even related to what is learned in class

Getting Extra Help

Sometimes the teacher who is staying after that week isn’t the teacher of the class that help is needed in

Don't want other students around when getting extra help Don't always know how the teacher can help Fear that other students will think the person is stupid Fear that the teacher will be mad when the person doesn't know

something

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Module #4 Application-Quinn