Research problem statement
Green Valley Community College is experiencing a high level of school drop-outs, which has been attributed to the lack of technology in the classroom. The use of technology in the classroom would be beneficial as the learners get motivated and encouraged by learning things practically, which in a way, enhances better learning. The use of technology in class would ensure the development of morale in learning by learners in which the previously observed level of school drop-out is expected to decline. The problem in this scenario is a lack of technology applied in the class work. This would discourage and demotivate learners and cause negative attitudes towards school therefore, increase the dropout cases.
Research Questions and Hypotheses
Research questions
- Would the integration of technology in training programs reduce the level of school dropout?
- Will the incorporated technology in class work impact positively in the entire society?
Testable hypotheses
Considering the current rate of school drop-outs, it is important to evaluate the curriculum which is currently in use by the changes observed in the classroom in terms of technology. The rate of the current school dropout is expected to decline once technology is incorporated in the classroom environment. By incorporating technology a positive impact would be expected in the way the students respond to the classroom curriculum.
Research Design
The research is targeted to analyze the student’s and faculty’s attitudes on the concept of integrating technology in the classroom. Qualitative research design will be implemented to carry out the research. Case study will be the research design targeted to analyze the case in Green Valley Community College following the integration of technology into the classroom. Cassell & Gillianm (2006) described a case study as an in depth study about a situation. It is better than a statistical survey. Case study will be used to narrow down the topic about integrating technology into the classroom because it is a broad field of research. It will help to narrow down to a researchable topic in this case being how the issue relates to school dropout and its impact in the entire society. Case study design is also ideal because it will give the researcher an opportunity to take a broader scope in the research and cover the wide topic. It will also necessitate the collection of useful data generated from the respondents. Lodico, Spaulding, & Voegtle (2010) noted that case study design enhances easy proving of the research hypothesis in a quantitative experiment without taking a lot of time in data collection.
Walpole & McKenna (2004) also added that case studies are advantageous because they are not dependent upon sample sizes to collect reliable data. Case studies help researchers to come up with meaningful results with just a small research sample (Lofland & Lyn, 1995). The research is also intended to integrate mixed methodology, which has been identified by many scholars as ideal in collecting reliable data. The method will integrate the use of questionnaires and interviews as part of the instruments to collect data for research. Varying types of qualitative information are targeted in data collection, which will be a guide in answering the research question. Perceptions and attitudes of the students and the faculty members about the integrated technologies in classroom situations are some of the data to be collected in this research. Opinions about the link between dropout cases and inadequate technology use in classrooms will also be part of data collected in the study. The research will also seek for recommendations from the participants on appropriate strategies that the institution could use to integrate technology in classrooms for teaching and learning purposes. All the information targeted to be collected is related to Green Valley Community College experience of high level of school drop-outs. Therefore, case study design facilitated through interviews and questionnaires are ideal for this research.
Sampling Procedures
The research will target to analyze student and faculty attitudes on the concept of integrating technology into the classroom. In this case, simple random sampling has been identified as the method that will be used for this research. Simple random sampling involves a random selection of members of the population to identify the ones to be included in the sample (Cassell & Gillianm, 2006). In this research, the entire students’ fraternity will be given an equal chance of being part of the sample. The faculty members will also have an equal chance, as well. Based on the fact that everyone within the school has had an encounter with the integrated technology into the classroom, it is apparent that everyone can be part of the sample and provide valid and reliable information for the purposes of this research.
The sample size for the research is targeted to be small but equally representing the students and faculty. 15 students will be included in the research sample and the same number of faculty members integrated as per of the sample. The number has been identified on the basis of time required for research that is limited. The size also considers the resources allocated for the research. The number is also manageable and will allow easy collection of data and easy analysis to come up with the findings in due time and make recommendations on the issue.
Data collection method and instrumentation
This study will be investigating the impact of integrating technology into the classroom. The study will look into whether the integration of technology in training programs would reduce the level of school dropout. To guide data collection, an exploratory purpose will be established (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001). This is ideal for successful research on this exploratory case of technology introduction in classrooms. Qualitative data collection has been identified as the ideal method for this research based on grounds that data collected will be wholesomely qualitative in nature. Interviews and questionnaires are identified as instruments to be used in this research.
The research will use unstructured interviews in the process of data collection. Unstructured interviews will be chosen based on the fact that they provide an opportunity to understand the respondents’ experiences better (Denyer & Tranfield, 2006). Unstructured interviews are ideal for qualitative data because they help to collect huge amounts of data, which is ideal for reliable data analysis. Creswell (2003) also explained that unstructured interviews are ideal in qualitative research because they allow random change of questions to meet the level of intelligence, experience or understanding of the respondent (Rana & Chad, 2006). In this research, two types of respondents have different levels of understanding about the research topic. The two groups are faculty members and students and therefore, changing the questions will be ideal for effective data collection. Lodico, Spaulding, & Voegtle (2010) noted that unlike structured interviews, the unstructured type overcome barriers in carrying out research because they avoid limited or pre-set responses from the respondents. Instead, the unstructured questionnaires advocates for diverse responses to the question. The interviews will also engage audio recording for later analysis and clarification.
Open ended questionnaire will also be used for this research (Walpole & McKenna, 2004). Based on the same reason of collecting huge amounts of data, open ended questionnaire will be favored for this research. With the topic under study being analyzing student and faculty attitudes on the concept of integrating technology into the classroom, huge amounts of data will be preferred to validate the findings. Open ended questionnaires allow respondents to provide opinions, comments or suggestions on the particular issue under study (Sparrow, 1999). Open ended questionnaire are ideal because they encourage meaningful answers dependent on the knowledge of the respondent (Walpole & McKenna, 2004).
Data analysis method
The research will target to analyze student and faculty attitudes on the concept of integrating technology into the classroom. Therefore, qualitative data analysis is the main method that the research targets to undertake because as mentioned earlier, this research will come up with varied qualitative data. The research will integrate constant comparative analysis (Cassell & Gillianm, 2006). This is a general approach that was earlier used by researchers in grounded theory methodology (Bryman, 2008). Constant comparative analysis involves a researcher taking one piece of data, which might be a theme or a statement from the questionnaire of the interview and making a comparison with other pieces of data collected in the research process (Rana & Chad, 2006). The comparison is made to help the researcher in the process of developing conceptualizations and assumptions of the possible relations between the collected data (Denyer & Tranfield, 2006). In this case, the researcher will compare the accounts of students and the faculty members who shared a similar experience of the integrated technology in the classroom and pose some analytical questions about this issue. These questions will help make conclusions required for the research.
Lodico, Spaulding, & Voegtle (2010) noted that qualitative studies are normally undertaken to generate knowledge regarding particular themes or patters engulfing specific human experiences. The comparison will therefore continue for all questionnaires and interview responses from the respondents to ensure a comprehensive analysis. Constant comparison analysis has been used in numerous qualitative researches. The method has been described by numerous researchers as advantageous because it is valid and reliable (Walpole & McKenna, 2004). The method ensures certainty especially in a research where a particular human phenomenon is assumed to engulf fundamental social processes that develop intense explanations regarding human experience (Lofland & Lyn, 1995). Such experiences as easy learning processes emanating from the integrated technology in classrooms would be easy to establish through constant comparison analysis.
Data presentation strategy
Data will be presented in a simple but similar pattern. The presentation will be targeting easy understanding for every person targeted to receive the findings. Based on this, data will be presented through a PowerPoint presentation. PowerPoint presentations will be chosen because they are easy to use and save a lot of time in data presentation (Denyer & Tranfield, 2006). The presentation will take a unified structure (Cassell & Gillianm, 2006). A unified structure is one which presents the data uniformly in the entire presentation (Ian, 2005). The findings will be divided into headings and subheadings for easy presentation. The presentation will be displayed in sections with the respective headings. Under each section heading the structure will present the finding. The presentation will make a transition from one finding to the other for easy understanding and comprehension of the targeted populace.
Tables and figures will also be used to present the findings integrated in the PowerPoint presentations. These are appropriate tools in data presentation as they allow for easy presentation and summarizing of the collected data. Lofland & Lyn (1995) wrote that the presentation of ideas requiring references of data becomes easier with the use of graphs or tables to help make the point clear. Creswell (2003) termed graphs and tables as visual methods that have enormously been used to help make the point stronger and emphasize on a particular issue than relying on simple description of data. Graphs and tables are therefore regarded as powerful methods of data presentation but to some extent, they also have the negative outcomes. Ian (2005) noted that a keen interest on how to merge these tools and present data in a valid way is required to avoid negative outcomes that ruin a presentation. This is particularly when these tools present the findings wrongly and pass along a fraud message, which confuses the audience.
Appropriate use of the instruments is advised for anyone relying on these tools to enhance the validity of the message they deliver. The tables and graphs are recommended in many research presentations because they help the listeners to assimilate the information being presented and understand the research findings better (Denyer & Tranfield, 2006). Being a broad issue, presenting findings on impacts of integrating technology into the classroom might be boring if orally presented. Visualization will be integrated to keep the listeners alert and make the presentation more interesting as well as easy to comprehend.
References
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Cassell, C. & Gillianm, S. (2006). Taking qualitative methods in organization and management research seriously. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, 1(1), 4 – 12.
Creswell, J.W. (2003). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Method Approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE.
Denyer, D. & Tranfield, D. (2006). Using qualitative research synthesis to build an actionable knowledge base. Management Decision, 44(2), 213 – 227.
Ian, A. (2005). Fieldwork and data collection in qualitative marketing research. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 8(1), 97 – 112.
Lodico, M., Spaulding, D. T., & Voegtle, K. H. (2010). Methods in Educational Research: From Theory to Practice (Laureate Education, Inc., custom Ed.). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.
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Walpole, S. & McKenna, M.C. (2004).The Literacy Coach’s Handbook: a Guide to Research-Based Practice. New York, NY: Guilford Press.