Weekly Readings: Introduction to Educational Research (3rd ed.) by C. Mertler (2022) (Use as one the references)
Chapter 1: What is Educational Research
Chapter 2: Overview of the Educational Research Process
Chapter 3: Identifying a Research Problem
Prompt 1: List the 2-3 campus areas of concern that were generated from your discussion with your campus mentor and identify your chosen research topic.
1) Academics (Student grades, campus assessments, state testing- Texas “STAAR” etc..) for all students. Campus goal is success for all and closing education achievement gaps. (Research topic)
2) Attendance (staff and students)
3) Social/Emotional learning (briefly discuss learning prior to Covid and the impact it has placed on education).
Prompt 2: Post your ‘draft’ Problem Statement and Research Question(s).

Assignment 2
Part 1: Week 1 Assignment Part 1: Identifying a Research Topic
Directions:

1. Meet with your campus mentor to identify 2 to 3 areas of concern that need to be addressed on your campus. Refer Table 3.1 in the text for examples of broad and narrow topics. (Introduction to Educational Research (3rd ed.) by C. Mertler (2022)
2. In a 1-2 paragraph summary, share what you learned from your campus mentor about identifying needs, including, the evidence used to identify need (TAPR, needs assessments, etc.), what resources are available to address the needs, are these campus or district needs, and what is a reasonable timeline to address the needs. Furthermore, based on your meeting with your campus mentor, provide a reflection describing how a focused research project of your choice from one of the areas of concern could inform decision-making regarding school improvement.

Week 1 Assignment Part 2: Problem Statement and Research Question(s)
Directions:
Based on your meeting with your campus mentor and the readings from the Mertler text, identify your problem to research. Then, the next step is to “convert” it into a problem statement. The problem statement is a reiteration of the research problem as a complete sentence. The purpose of the problem statement is to guide your study. Refer to the examples in the text. The research statement is the fundamental question inherent in the research topic. It serves as the main guide to the study. The research questions should begin with the word how or what. Do not assume results in the questions. Ask questions that can be answered with data. Do not ask a question that can be answered yes or no. In the workspace below, identify your problem statement and research question.