Example of Assignment 2
Achievement Levels of High School Physical Education Students in a Traditional In-School Classroom Versus Those in an Online-Only Classroom
By
Model Assignment
CIT 0502
Research in Education: Process and Application
Nova Southeastern University
Chapter 1: Purpose of the Research Project
Description of the Community
The community in which the present research project will be conducted is located in a suburban Pennsylvania area. It is composed of 21 square miles and contains 11 municipalities. The population is 13,934 and the current district enrollment is 1,878 students (QVSD.org, 2015). It is a diverse district, containing (a) 85.37% Caucasian, (b) 4.11% African American, (c) 6.25% Multi-Ethnic, (d) 2.72% Asian, (e) 1.33% Hispanic and (f) .21% Native American/Alaskan Native (QVSD.org, 2015).
Households within the community consist of 74.86% married and 25.14% other. Households in the “other” category consist of females without a male spouse present and males without a female spouse present. The average household income is $137,689, which is significantly higher than the national average of $54,462. From an educational standpoint, 48% of the adult home occupants have a Bachelor’s Degree or higher. The majority of the homes contain children under the age of 18, while the average age of a community member is 43 years of age. It is a young community with a stable population. It is also considered a very safe community in which to live, as the rates of all major crimes are significantly lower than the national average.
Writer’s Work Setting
The school district consists of two elementary schools, a middle school and a high school. All of the schools are recognized as top-level schools in the region, state and nation. The district is also at the forefront of educational technology. In 2001, the district received the Pennsylvania Digital School District Award, which provided each student in the high school and middle school with a laptop, along with each teacher in all four buildings. Currently, student laptops are Dell PCs at the high school and Google Chromebooks at the middle school, while the teachers are provided with Apple MacBook Pros. The district received the Classrooms for the Future Grant in 2007 and in 2010 was named an “Apple Distinguished School for Technology”.
The 2016 NICHE PA School District Rankings named the district 2nd in the region, 6th in the state and 49th in the nation. U.S. News and World Report ranked the high school 6th among Pennsylvania’s 673 high schools and 485th out of more than 21,500 public high schools nationwide in 2016 (Best High Schools, 2016). The high school is the work site of the writer, which contains 637 students, 43 full-time teachers, 15 administrators and 13 aides/learning support specialists with a student to teacher ratio of 15:1. Lunch and breakfast are provided daily with 15 students on reduced lunch and 60 on free lunch. The high school staff is well educated and praised. There are currently 13 National Board Certified Teachers at the high school and many have received local and national awards for excellence. The majority of the instructional staff falls between 15 and 20 years of service, as the turnover rate is very low due to the quality of working conditions.
While the facility is quite old, built in 1956, it is still a safe and providing environment for all students and faculty. The school is not only recognized for outstanding academics, but also provides the students with the following: (a) high-achieving performing arts programs, (b) competitive athletic teams, (c) a Global Scholars initiative and (d) foreign languages with the opportunity to visit other countries. The school hours are 7:45am to 2:48pm and consist of a six period schedule. Classes run the span of one hour and are split into trimesters with each course running one, two or a full three trimesters in length.
Writer’s Role
The writer has been with the school district in various positions for eight years. Currently, the writer is a health and physical education teacher at both the high school and middle school. The writer teaches health, in-school physical education and online physical education at the high school and teachers health at the middle school. Additionally, the writer also teaches health and physical education online during the summer for students unable to fit in those courses during the school year for various reasons. Lastly, the writer is also a coach for the high school boy’s soccer team and track and field teams. The writer holds two degrees: (a) a Bachelor’s of Arts degree from the Pennsylvania State University in Telecommunications with a minor in Information, Science and Technology and (b) a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Slippery Rock University in Physical Education.
His duties also include organization and implementation of all online health and physical education courses at the high school level and ensuring consistency across the curriculum between the online and in-school courses. In the 2015-2016 school year, the writer taught six online physical education courses, two in-school health courses, one in-school physical education course, two summer online health courses and one summer online physical education course. The combined total of students taught was 265 overall. In addition to his role as a contracted teacher, the writer also helps out in the community by volunteering his time in youth soccer programs and volunteering at a local comic book shop, which gives local students of all ages a place to socialize outside of school.
Problem Statement
High school students are taking more online and independent courses and the concern is that studies are showing that these students are not performing as well in the online/independent courses. The impact of not having a face-to-face interaction can have negative long-term consequences (Heppen, Allensworth 2016). The problem to be investigated is that students partaking in independent learning through an online medium in a Physical Education program do not perform as well on fitness tests as do students taking a traditional in-school program. The writer will specifically investigate if students taking an online Physical Education course can execute what needs to be done for fitness testing without having the face-to-face interaction of a traditional classroom setting.
Problem Description
The problem the writer is experiencing is that students taking an online Physical Education course are not performing well on fitness tests provided by Fitnessgram, the official assessment of the Presidential Youth Fitness Program. Students taking the online course are provided with the same curriculum as those in the traditional in-school program are provided, but how they access the material and submit assignments, including fitness test results, is done through electronic means. The writer is finding that online students routinely do not perform as well on the Fitnessgram tests as do those taking the course with a teacher physically present.
The writer is concerned that students may not perform to the best of their abilities if a teacher is not present to hold them accountable for their actions. This could create a larger problem where students do not hold themselves accountable later in life after high school for their own health of fitness levels. This could then lead to health issues from inactivity or low levels of activity, such as heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer and high blood pressure. The writer fears a movement towards online courses for physical education and a lack of direct supervision may not serve the students like a traditional course would serve them.
References
Best High Schools. (2016, April 26). Retrieved May 11, 2016, from http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-
schools/pennsylvania/rankings?int=c0b4c1
Heppen, J., & Allensworth, E. (2016, April). Comparing the Effects of Online and Face-toFace Credit Recovery. American Institutes for Research.
QVSD Demographics. (2015, August 26). Retrieved May 15, 2016, from http://www.qvsd.org/page.cfm?p=8
The Impact of Online Learning Technology on Achievement Levels of African American High School Students Compared to Other Ethnic Groups
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Instructor’s Name
Date
Chapter 1: Purpose of the Research Project
Description of the Community
The community is a deep neighborhood in the State of Florida. The neighborhood offers residents a dense suburban feeling and many people own their homes (Carney & Morales, 2022). The community possesses a lot of coffee shops, restaurants, and parks where residents can rest. The Neighborhood has a total population of about 14, 747 people. Regarding racial diversity, 80% of the neighborhood population are Whites, African Americans are about 15%, Hispanics are 4%. Asians and two more races are 3%, American Indian or Alaska natives make up 1% of the population. In many American States, Whites make up the majority of the population. Similarly, the majority in the community are Whites, African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and Alaska natives, respectively.
Educational levels are distributed as follows: 29% of the people hold a Master’s degree and higher, 40% of them have bachelor’s degrees, and 22% of the population hold some college or associate’s degree. People who hold a high school diploma or equivalent are few compared to other categories (Census.gov., 2020). The median household income for the community is $51,370, which is significantly below the national average at $ 62,843. 11% of the households earn less than $25,000 annually. Additionally, 12% earn between $25-$44k, 13% earn between $45-$74k, 30% earn between $75-$149k, and 34% earn $150k and above annually. The disparity between the household incomes is wide as indicated by the data. In terms of real estate, the community record a median home value of $440, 424 and a median rent of $ 1,313.
About 70% of the population own their homes or houses and only approximately 30% rent houses. About 47.54 are male population while 52.46 are female. More than 80% of the people are employed (Census.gov., 2020). Approximately, 89.64% do white-collar jobs while only 10.36% are employed in blue-collar jobs. The proportion of Self-employed, those employed in private companies, government workers, and those in for-profit companies include 12.57%, 61.99%, 11.85%, and 13.6% respectively. The general quality of life in the community is average. It is among the most populous metro area in the list of best places to live in Florida state. It has a well-managed infrastructure compared to other neighborhoods. Hospitals are good and there are many of them within the area.
Nuclear family dominates in the community, especially among the whites. However, there are a few single parent families around. Extended families are common among African Americans. Additionally, blended families are more common among the Alaska natives (Census.gov., 2020). Every family recognizes that the father is the head and is responsible for many family needs. Family values may vary based on ethnicity and personal values of the family members.
Writer’s Work Setting
The setting or workplace is a high school that serves grades 9 to 12 within the selected community. The school was built in 1925 to meet community-academic demands due to growing populations in Florida. Between 2020 and 2021, the school has about 1, 637 students. The school is a highly rated, public school in the State of Florida (The Annie Foundation, 2022). About 61% of the students are at least proficient in reading and 49% in Mathematics. Currently, there are 425 students in 9th grade, 421 students in the 10th grade, 402 in the 11th grade, and 384 in the 12th grade. Although the school is diversified, the majority of the students are Whites. To explain further, about 55.8% of the students are Whites, 21.7 are Blacks, 16.0 are Hispanics, 3,9 are Asians, and 1.5 % are two or more races. White students are still the majority in most American schools. Additionally, the American Indian/Alaska Natives are only 1.0% and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders are only 0.1%. In general, there is 44.2% minority enrolment in the school.
In terms of students’ gender, females make 48% while males are 52%. Furthermore, some students are economically disadvantaged within the school. Some of them depend on the free lunch program and others on the reduced-price lunch program (U.S.News., 2022). About 38% of the students are economically disadvantaged. Out of the total students enrolled, 30% are dependent on the free lunch program and 8% on the reduced-price lunch program. The workplace has 78 teachers who are full-time workers. Therefore, student to teacher ratio is 22:1. The average teacher salary is $70,548 annually. Other staff perform administrative and subordinate work are also full time workers. The school has a total of 30 staff members apart from teachers. About most of both students and parents feel that teachers provide engaging lessons (The Annie Foundation, 2022). Approximately 77% of students and parents agree that teachers care about students. In an interview with both parents and students, 79% of them agree that most students in the school participate in clubs and organizations.
The majority of students participate in sports and dances; about 38%. Also, pep fests, homecoming, and spirit week are practiced by 21%, 13%, and 13% of students respectively. Students’ performance vary based on several factors such as ethnicity, household income, ability to afford food, and whether they study online or physical classroom (U.S.News., 2022). Graduation rates are more than 80%. Minority groups make the largest group of students who fail to graduate for one reason or the other. The school has a distant learning program done through student portals and online classes. Students are requiring with laptops to aid online learning. The school has online library where online students can access learning resources. The school has counseling programs for all students, including those studying online. Four school counselors are employed to ensure students’ psychological wellbeing.
Role of the Researcher
The writer is a school counselor at the above-described school. The writer is a licensed/certified educator whose responsibility is to improve students’ success for all learners by designing and implementing comprehensive and efficient school counseling programs (Wilder, 2018). Children, adolescents, and young adults need support and guidance to deal with academic social, and personal issues to help them achieve their goals. The School counselor, therefore, owes students lots of responsibilities to ensure they succeed. One of the responsibilities of the writer is to listen, assess, and take action about concerns regarding academic, social, and emotional problems (Wilder, 2018). It is the researcher’s responsibility to help students through scholarship or job application processes.
The writer also helps students by mediating conflicts among their peers, among students and teachers, and/or parents. The researcher helps students improve their mental status through referral, recommendations, or parental education. The writer maintains academic standards and performance goals set by the organization and the government (Wilder, 2018). The school counselor identifies the causes of the achievement gap in schools and develops effective ways of closing the gap. To be a school counselor, one must complete a master’s degree at minimum in psychology, school counseling, or social work. The writer has obtained the National Certified Counselor (NCC) certification, the National Certified School Counselor (NCSC) certification, ASCA, and the State of Department of Education (DOE) Division of Certification (Wilder, 2018). The researcher is also a certified member of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA).
In summary, the community of this study is a neighborhood in the State of Florida. The setting is a well-ranked school located within the described neighborhood. Both the community and the setting exhibit a diversified place where many ethnic groups interact. The school has a counselor whose responsibility is to ensure the academic, social, and emotional success of all students.
Chapter 2: Identification of the Problem
Problem Statement
Online education is one of the major innovations that technology has made in the learning industry. Online learning has today become mainstream an integral part of the educational landscape in the United States and around the world (Salvo et al., 2019). Besides higher learning institutions, American high schools are rapidly embracing blended learning, which entails students learning both in physical classrooms and online. Online education is defined as instructions delivered electronically through the internet or multimedia platforms such as s CD-ROM or DVD (Kumi-Yeboah et al., 2022). The growth of online learning in the United States reflect that online classroom is becoming more diverse in terms of culture, background, and nationalities.
Previous research has examined factors that promoted online course completion among African American male undergraduate students (Salvo et al., 2019), and perceptions of minority graduate students about cultural diversity and the challenges they face in online learning environments (Kumi-Yeboah et al., 2022), and findings from these studies showed that there is a current growth of diverse students enrolling in online learning environments. However, there is a lack of research studies looking at the impact of online learning on achievement levels of African American students compared to Whites. According to Salvo et al. (2019), African American online students tend to have lower grades compared to their White counterparts. This trend suggests that achievement gaps found in many traditional educational programs also exist in online programs. The problem to be investigated is the achievement gap between African American students and White students taking online learning. The writer will specifically investigate if there is a gap in achievement level, how learning technology affects African American students compared to white students.
Problem Description
The problem the writer experienced is that African American students taking online courses are not performing well compared to White students. Students studying online are provided with a similar curriculum as those in traditional classrooms (Yeboah & Smith, 2016). The only difference is that online students access learning materials, learn, and submit assignments electronically. The writer has identified the achievement gap among African Americans and White students taking similar subjects and sitting in the same class. This assessment was done across all grades within the school. The writer is concerned that there might be issues to do with cultural discrimination, inadequate access to online learning, or lack of self-regulation among African American online students. The writer is worried that dismal performance among the students might lead to societal problems in the future.
According to Kumi-Yeboah et al. (2022), online education has rapidly increased within the last two decades in most universities, colleges, and high schools around the United States. Online learning poses different perspectives of educational, cultural, and social experience, to students, which could be the sources of the identified problem above. These perspectives of online students require teachers to recognize and acknowledge cultural experiences and resources that students bring into the online environment (Yeboah & Smith, 2016). As online learning continues to become popular, there is a simultaneous growth in the number of African Americans enrolling in online learning.
Despite the increasing number of online learning enrolments among African American students, their performance continues to remain dismal. Yeboah & Smith (2016) shows the extent of the problem by stating that African Americans are the second most cultural community experiencing dismal achievement from online classes after the Hispanics. The authors show the extent to which the problem is affecting African Americans. It is a daring extent and the problem needs serious attention from educators and education stakeholders.
Salvo et al. (2019) support the writer’s observation by stating that African Americans tend to have lower grades in online learning than White students. Learning institutions have failed to understand how African American students perceive and experience the online environment, that in turn influences their performance. Some students face challenges learning online due to a lack of computer skills, or lack of access to online learning resources. According to (Yeboah & Smith, 2016), there is a significant relationship between students’ experiences and achievement levels. Cultural differences such as miscommunication, negative perception, and misunderstandings with some instructors and peers during discussion forums have a negative influence on students’ performance.
A large number of minority students have reported that they receive little or no support from online instructors. The Online bias observed in online learning might be a contributing factor to dismal performance reflected among African Americans compared to white students (Salvo et al., 2019). In the survey conducted by Yeboah & Smith (2016) minority students stated that they self-regulated learning skills for online learning. African American students who study online might have problems related to time management due to workloads at home (Salvo et al., 2019). As online instructors try to find solutions to the problem, they need to focus on acknowledging cultural differences in online learning
References
Carney, K. & Morales, A. (2022). Mind-boggled by Florida Demographics. https://www.florida-demographics.com/
Census.gov. (2020). Quick Facts. Florida. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/FL
Kumi-Yeboah, A., Dogbey, J., Yuan, G., & Amponsah, S. (2022). Cultural diversity in online learning: Perceptions of minority graduate students. In Research Anthology on Racial Equity, Identity, and Privilege (pp. 1132-1153). IGI Global. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331910382_Cultural_Diversity_in_Online_Learning_Perceptions_of_Minority_Graduate_Students
Salvo, S. G., Shelton, K., & Welch, B. (2019). African American males learning online: Promoting academic achievement in higher education. Online Learning, 23(1), 22-36. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1211043.pdf
The Annie Foundation. (2022). K–12 Public School Enrollment in Florida. https://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/5342-public-school-student-enrollment#detailed/2/any/false/2029,1965,1750,1686,1654,1601,1526,1445,1250,1069/any/11865
U.S.News. (2022). Best Florida High Schools. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/florida
Wilder, C. (2018). Promoting the role of the school counselor. Journal of Professional Counseling: Practice, Theory & Research, 45(2), 60-68. https://doi.org/10.1080/15566382.2019.1646085
Yeboah, A. K., & Smith, P. (2016). Relationships between minority students’ online learning experiences and academic performance. Online Learning, 20(4), n4. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1124650.pdf