The Department of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, Sabaragamuwa University, Sri Lanka, has earned a reputation as a leader in sports education and has been recognized nationally since 2008 for the delivery of two full-time undergraduate degrees in Physical Education and Sport Sciences & Management. Students complete two action research studies in partial fulfillment of . . .
Our global population continues to increase and so must our food production. However, literatures indicate that fewer people have access to safe or sufficient food sources. This research is intended to address this problem, as we look at ways to increase middle school student interest in agriculture, including food production, distribution, and agricultural technology. . .
This article is a review of an episode of the Action Research Podcast. In Episode 15, co-hosts Adam Stieglitz and Joe Levitan talked with Lonnie Rowell about important issues within Action Research, knowledge democratization, knowledge production, and the variety of approaches to action research. The Action Research Podcast is . . .
The purpose of this project is to expose a new form of knowledge inquiry and dissemination through the use of podcasting. Dr. Joe Levitan and Adam Stieglitz created “The Action Research Podcast” as an attempt to push back on the standard approach to accessing meaningful knowledge, specifically in the academic realm. As co-hosts, Adam and Joe feel it . . .
I wrote this piece after hearing many of my peers expressing confounding perspectives on “learning loss” during a pandemic which has turned everyone’s life upside down. I published this on a Facebook page and was astonished at how far it has traveled and how many people around the globe have responded that it expressed their concerns as well. Ultimately, the piece has received about 1,000,000 global interactions in . . .
This short essay explores why I recently created a website to digitally codify a slice of my life work in feminist participatory action research and teacher action research. My website – part repository, part memoir – includes freely downloadable PDF files of publications, presentations, and teaching resources. In this essay, I briefly explore why I included personal Backstories to . . .
Scientific literacy and critical thinking are key components of science education aiming to prepare students to think and function as responsible citizens in a world where science and technology play a key role. Students should be given opportunities to engage in learning experiences that promote development of critical-thinking skills, resulting in their ability to take . . .
This writing is for teachers who are either returning to schools to conduct research or are hoping to conduct research within their own institution. I explore how my previous role may have been seen by the young people within the school and how that impacted on the young people’s perceptions of me. The aim of the writing is to reflect on my preparation to conduct qualitative research on power in a school where I . . .
Project-based education was first introduced to the education system of Sri Lanka through the “Handessa” scheme of 1932. Subsequently projects were included in the General Certificate of Education Advanced Level curriculum by the educational reforms introduced in 1972, 1997 and 2007. In the 1997 reform, all . . .
This essay is my self-reflection, as a young person, about the pre Covid-19 society and Covid-19 society of Sri Lanka. There has been a vast change in Sri Lankan society during this Covid-19 pandemic. As we are a developing country this pandemic hits everyone’s life. However, when I reflected on lives during Covid-19 I found that there are many positive impacts of the pandemic . . .
It is widely documented that white working-class children are underperforming academically compared to peers from ethnic minority backgrounds. Consequently, opportunities for higher education and well-regarded careers are often foreclosed for these young people. There is a perception, albeit contested, that this pattern of underperformance is rooted in . . .
This short essay describes my life as a teacher in a teacher training school during confinement generated by the COVID-19 pandemic in the city of Chihuahua, Mexico. Through this writing, I allow myself to recount my experiences during a period that has been long, complicated, and with . . .
The text describes the situation generated in a Normal School in northern Mexico as a result of the health contingency caused by COVID-19, and mainly highlights the prompt organization of teachers and students to continue the 2019-20 school year online. The main problems faced result from economic needs that limit the possibilities of relying on permanent . . .
This Project was initiated to shed light on teachers’ experiences as a result of this Spring’s school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020. Its primary goal was to understand teachers’ experiences with mandated online schooling. Related goals included gathering information about . . .
The creation of a virtual classroom for special education students, as a result of physical school closures due to the COVID-19 virus, offered many challenges including the need to create temporary educational plans and to learn the mechanics of online service delivery. Unexpected and positive outcomes of the virtual classroom included improved therapist and teacher . . .
The aim of this research is to explore real life experiences of Muslim women in education and educational leadership. It aims to promote an awareness and discussion of the unique experiences of Muslim women and highlights the discrimination and inequities that they face. It gives Muslim women a platform to voice their perceptions and experiences of . . .
The project goal was to establish the need for staff collaboration, with subsequent regular staff meetings to address identified issues. The project took place at an educational centre in Dubai. An initial staff meeting was conducted to obtain ideas about collaboration and identify attitudes of colleagues towards staff collaboration, with information about the focus of the meeting emailed to staff prior to the meeting. . . .
Marking across vocational courses in Further Education (FE) is a substantial contributor to lecturer workload. With lecturers potentially marking hundreds of assignments per academic year, any strategy to reduce marking time could contribute towards the development of internal policy to manage workload and improve marking/grading processes. One process . . .
A group of Dutch teachers, as part of their Master’s programme, developed a game that allows teachers to break free from their day-to-day affairs and reflect on futures by designing scenarios about the future of their school. In this game-based approach the journey of scenario exploration is composed of seven steps: (1) choice of a theme and timeframe, (2) selection of …
Most of the students in my intensive math class are multiple years below grade level and struggle with basic math facts. To help students recall the basic facts with automaticity so they can solve more advanced math problems without being hindered by their lack of basic skill, I implemented the Reflex program, a game-based computer program that was . . .
Graphic novelist, cartoonist, and teacher, Gene Yang, chose his platform, “Reading Without Walls” (Yang, 2016), to challenge America’s youth to read a book about a character that did not look or live like the reader themselves or a book about a topic that the reader knew nothing about. The goal of this project was to explore . . .
This paper explores academic literacy development from the perspective of social capital, identity and communities of practice. Many universities are widening participation for social justice and financial imperatives. The arrival of increasingly diverse students is not, however, always matched with flexible approaches to developing academic literacy. 65% of our students are ‘non-traditional’ and we are challenged with supporting their …
This study explored teacher professionalism, perceptions, as well as factors that impact upon their performance and the role of leadership in the enhancement of teacher effectiveness. As the teaching profession has been through harrowing times and the recruitment and retention issue has been a major focus of public attention in the U.K., this study . . .
This work explores a process of reflection accompanying an innovation in a 5th grade primary class at a public school in Santander, Spain. Combining conceptualization of curricular innovation and action-research as the instrument for innovation and professional development, this work resulted in a deeper knowledge . . .
Learning and practicing skills such as mindfulness and yoga have been shown to provide students with tools they needed to self-regulate and manage the increasing demands placed upon them in the classroom. This project examined whether incorporating mindfulness and yoga . . .
The goal of this project was to equip high school seniors in Special Day Classrooms with the tools and knowledge necessary in order for them to succeed as functional adults post-graduation. In order to expand on each student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) transition plan that was currently in place, interventions were . . .
Facilitating the progress of children with moderate learning difficulties can be a challenge due to the poorer retention and memory that many of the children categorized in this group have. The aim of this study was to determine effects of an intervention which would not only enhance the children’s math and reading abilities, but also positively impact on the . . .
The concept “Personalized Professionalization in Pedagogical Fields through Practitioner Research” (PPS-PR) is based on the assumption that the professionalization of prospective teachers can be fostered by actively carrying out practitioner-research projects during internships. The research project aimed . . .
The goal of this action research was to examine whether home access to e-readers would affect readers’ engagement in independent reading and their reading skills. E-readers (loaded with Internet browsers, literacy apps and skill building games) were used for the research. The devices were made available for students for use at home and at school to encourage . . .
The objective of this practitioner-research was to determine if the new motivational and instructional strategies that I planned to implement would help create a classroom environment in which students feel safe and enjoy learning and collaborating with their peers. I wanted to create a space for all the students to express their feelings and emotions freely and openly so that they would have a relaxed mind for productive . .