Getting Specific: Research Design and Methodology

After much debate, our action research team has identified the following key questions:

Research Questions

•What are teacher perceptions of PBL at Mount Saint Joseph?

•How are teachers currently using PBL in their classrooms?

•How can a common vision of PBL be achieved at Mount St. Joseph High School?

Study Design:

         Using surveys, focus groups and case studies this study will be both qualitative and quantitative in nature. It is a cross-sectional descriptive study in that it will address a number of age groups, both of students and faculty. Student and faculty surveys will have closed ended responses (answering agree, disagree or neutral) with respect to the current usage of PBL at Mount Saint Joseph. We will use video recorded focus group discussions to  provide qualitative insights which we can compare to the quantitative data gained through our surveys. In order to ensure data triangulation, PBL lessons performed by volunteering faculty will be videotaped and analyzed for common practices.