Application Week 3: Writing the Research Questions

If a school district implements a Civic Education program into its 8th and 11th grade social studies curriculum throughout the entire year, does that program improve the students’ writing scores on standardized tests.

Who: High school students.
What: Implementing a civic education program in the curriculum throughout the school year.
Why: To evaluate 8th and 11th grade writing scores on standardized tests.

Since I will be evaluating statistical information from a quasi-experimental design, secondary data analysis, a case study, and cause and effect relationships, both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed which seems to point to the mixed method research design. Inexperience is revealed with appropriate knowledge in the area of denoting a mixed-method explanatory approach or the combination of the aforementioned, which is more appropriate?

I plan to also examine:
1. What content does the program introduce?
2. What strategies of instruction are implemented in the program?
3. What role does technology play in the classroom instruction around program?
4. Will teachers need training to implement the program?
5. Will the program offer similar or different writing prompts than previously employed?
6. Does the program develop civic awareness as well as affect student scores on standardized tests?

These are some of the questions that I plan to look for in the research. Please feel free to offer any advice. Since the program is called Civic Education, it is difficult to explain what it does differently than an ordinary social studies curriculum. Basically it augments basic curriculum by learning the processes of government from the local level, through the state level and eventually the federal level through social networking. Students investigate local political issues, local history, Constitutional awareness, as well as civic awareness and conflict mediation. They participate in debates; write editorials, persuasive and informative essays, participate in group projects to promote local historical topics and public events National Constitution Day. There seems to be a movement by the National Council for the Social Studies and the Pennsylvania Council for the Social Studies to promote these programs to districts across Pennsylvania and to other states. I am also interested to see if this is an effective way to increase students writing skills while developing civic responsibility.

Problem Statement

Although integrating technology in the classroom is the main focus of this course, I became interested in a topic that is a current focus for just about all schools in Pennsylvania. Increasing students’ standardize test scores seems to be directing educational curriculum. The use of technology also plays a key role in this paradigm. For this class, I have chosen a topic which interested me because it makes use of technology, secondly, the ultimate goal is to increase standardized test scores, and thirdly it relates to the field of Social Studies education.

My problem statement:
I plan to determine if implementing a civic education program throughout the entire school year will help increase high school students’ writing scores on standardized tests.

Who: High school students.
What: Implementing a civic education program in the curriculum.
Why: To evaluate the students’ scores on standardized tests.

I am looking for help from my peers in brainstorming questions or thoughts for this problem as it is not too late to alter, or even go in a different direction. The reason for my interest in this topic lies with my interest in Social Studies and the wealth of information provided through the use of technology in the classroom.
The well being of any democratic society largely depends on its ability to instill in youth the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for active, informed citizenship. I am not investigating (nor promoting) a program that indoctrinates, but rather, informs students. There are several programs sponsored by the state governments, professional educational organizations, and other corporate professionals that supply a district with materials, and sponsored activities. These programs range from Mock Trials, Constitution Day, Conflict Mediation, and the like. They are usually integrated throughout the entire district from 1st grade through graduation and are integrated primarily in Social Studies, but by design, develop cross curricular into language arts. By teaching students the process of a government, teaching what the Bill of Rights means to them, conducting debates, researching court cases, the students develop a broader understanding of their role in society, not just parroting responses from talk radio or news shows. Students would have to learn to read and analyze newspaper, magazine, and professional journals. They would learn to write opinion editorials, persuasive, and informative essays. Create blogs to reflect on, interact with, and provide information to the community beyond the classroom. Most of the programs I have seen thus far are focused in developing students’ community awareness and involvement.