To begin my action plan, I have decided to use the questions that Jean McNiff outlines in her Action Research booklet as a starting point.
What issue am I interested in researching?
Procrastination, self-regulation failure and executive dysfunction in Higher Education Art students.
Research Question: Can building Explicit Strategy Instruction into curricula assist students with managing Executive Dysfunction?
Why do I want to research this issue?
I am a procrastinator and have always had a negative view of this aspect of my behaviour. However, my procrastination increased exponentially when I was diagnosed with my chronic illness and began experiencing fatigue and brain fog. I have since learned that people are more likely to procrastinate when they are experiencing cognitive dysfunction. Cognitive dysfunction is closely linked with Executive Dysfunction (EDF).
If students are procrastinating, it is likely that they are experiencing an element of EDF as well. I am interested about the methods that are currently available to educators to assist students with EDF. There are multiple methodologies available, but the research I have been doing points towards Explicit Strategy Instruction as a way of supporting students to learn EF skills and apply them in their learning.
What kind of evidence can I gather to show why I am interested in this issue?
I have decided to interview my colleagues on the PGCERT (who are currently staff and students) and tutors/lecturers. It is important that the student participants self-identify as procrastinators or feel that they have procrastinated in the past so that they give me relevant data and are more open to discussing the topic with me.
The aim objective of these interviews will be:
- Encourage participants to trust me and be open in their responses.
- Establish how my participants define/view procrastination behaviours.
- Gain a picture of how procrastination manifests in my participant group.
- Understand the experience of other procrastinators who are teaching and learning concurrently.
- Clarify if my participants were ever given ESI tools while learning.
I will use a combination of interviews, surveys, thematic analysis, literature reviews and auto-ethnography to explore this question this will primarily take the form of reflective journals via my UAL blog.
What can I do? What will I do?
I plan to research as much as possible about procrastination, EDF and creative practice. I am currently researching the best way to ask questions in an interview, in order to get the best possible responses from my participants.
What kind of evidence can I gather to show that I am having an influence?
When I have conducted my interviews, I will transcribe them and use thematic analysis to determine what the first wave of findings are. I will then use these findings to create a second intervention that will aim to support students and staff who procrastinate.
Data from the second intervention will be collected via survey and interview. I will then analyse this to determine the affect/influence I am having on my participants.
How can I explain that influence?
If I am able to influence the behaviour or thoughts of my participant group around procrastination, it will likely be because they are procrastinators themselves and feel that they need support.
How can I ensure that any judgements I might make are reasonably fair and accurate?
Presenting my findings in group tutorials, sense checking my findings with other academics, analysing to what extent my personal biases influence my interview style and methodologies.
How will I change my practice in the light of my evaluation?
If my research supports the use of ESI in higher education teaching, I will utilise ESI more in my personal teaching practice.