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Evaluate the effectiveness of using blogs to support the tutorial process among highschool AVID students 1

University of Hawaii at ManoaMasters in Educational Technology

Evaluate the Effectiveness of Using Blogs to Support the Tutorial

Process among High School AVID Students

Dain A. ShimabukuSeptember 24, 2010

ETEC 687


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The purpose of this action research project is to evaluate the effectiveness of

using blogs to support the tutorial process among high school AVID students at King

Kekaulike High School on the island of Maui. AVID is a college preparatory program to

assist those who are in the middle level and want the extra support to perform well in

school and attend a four year college. Many education programs are created for the gifted

and the disabled and not the students in the middle. One of the pillars of AVID is weekly

tutorial sessions. In these sessions students create higher level questions and to discover

the process of finding the answer. The sessions are run by AVID tutors who are trained in

the tutorial process. Creating a blog to facilitate the tutorial session may be moreeffective then the face-to-face tutorial sessions.

Being situated within the internet allows bloggers to access their blogs anywhere

and anytime an internet connection is available, an opportunity for learning to continue

outside the classroom (Huffaker, 2005). Blogs allow students to receive assistance from

each other after school hours, where daily assessment takes place. Collaborative

activities might improve some distance learners social integration process and possibly

sustain their motivation, which would lead to higher involvement in coursework, and,

ultimately, to persistence (Poellhuber, Chomienne, and Karsenti, 2008). Many students

in this study lack motivation, this online tutorial process could lead them to be motivated

in their courses.

King Kekaulike high school is in its third year of implementing the AVID elective

class. The AVID elective class is mostly made up of 18 students who have the

determination to succeed but lack study and organizational skills.

I intend to create a blog using Ning where students will be able to post questions

and receive feedback from their classmates. Their participation in the blog will be apart


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of their grade and students will be instructed not to share answers but post questions to

facilitate the process of finding the answer.

Prior to implementation I plan on developing a survey with the intention to

understand how students feel about the face-to-face tutorial session done in class. During

the implementation process I plan on developing a survey and interviewing the

participants. After the implementation process I plan to develop a survey as well as

interview the participants to determine is the online tutorial session was better then the

face-to-face session. All surveys will use the Likert Scale format.

During the first two weeks of implementation students will create a Ning accountand practice posting and responding to a question. During the next four weeks students

will be required to post a question once a week and give feedback to two of their

classmates questions. I plan to facilitate the Ning discussion to ensure the

appropriateness of the posted content.

At the end of the implementation period I will gather and review the data from the

surveys that are given to the participants. I will create graphs that compare the pre and

post survey answers. I will develop a summary of the comments and observations

throughout the implementation period.

Besides developing the blog to assist with tutorial sessions many students come

across problems when completing homework after school hours. Having a blog where

questions can be posted may allow students to receive the peer help that may be

necessary to complete assignments or study for tests. Students build an online resource as

well as develop an online asynchronous learning environment. The results of this study

will determine if blogs enhances the process of the tutorial sessions.


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References:

Brindley, J.E., Walti, C., & Blaschke, Lisa M. (2009). Creating effective collaborativelearning groups in an online environment. International Review of Research inOpen and Distance Learning, 10(3), 1-18.

Cepeda, N., Coburn, N., Rohrer, D., Wixted, J., Pashler, H., & Mozer, M. (2009).Optimizing distributed practice: theoretical analysis and practical implications.Experimental Psychology , 56 (4), 236-246.

Cuhadar, C., & Kuzu, A. (2010). Improving interaction through blogs in a constructivistlearning environment. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 11(1), 134-161.

Huffaker, D. (2005). The Educated blogger: using weblogs to promote literacy in theclassroom. AACE Journal , 13 (2), 9-98.

Jahng, N, Nielsen, W., & Chan, E.K.H. (2010). Collaborative learning in an onlinecourse: a comparison of communication patterns in small and whole groupactivities. Journal of Distance Education, 24(2), 39-58.

Leslie, P., & Murphy, E. (2008). Post-secondary students' purposes for blogging.International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 9(3), 1-17.

Poellehuber, B., Chomienne, M., & Karsenti, T. (2008). The Effect of peer collaborationand collaborative learning on self-efficacy and persistence in a learner-pacedcontinuous intake model. Journal of Distance Education, 22(3), 41-62.

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