Episode 3: Designing the Research – From Master’s Study to Classroom Impact

Episode 3 – Designing the Research: From Master’s Study to Classroom Impact

In this episode of Education Unlocked — Learn. Apply. Thrive., Marc Pietersen explores how his action research project was designed and why action research was chosen as both an academic requirement and a professional tool for enhancing learning within a real school environment.

Marc explains how a Master’s-level research task evolved into a wider classroom intervention that impacted not only reading fluency and comprehension, but also student confidence, engagement, and independence. He discusses how the project moved beyond assessment requirements to contribute to professional learning within the school — and how this podcast now serves as a platform to share that learning with the wider teaching community.

Drawing on Burns’ principles of action research and Rasinski and Kulich’s work on reading fluency, this episode demonstrates how theory, pedagogy, and reflective practice can come together to create meaningful and scalable classroom change.

Key references discussed in this episode:

Burns, A. (2010). Doing Action Research in English Language Teaching. http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/51133/1/2.pdf

Benchmark Education. (2023, August 24). S2: Ep002 The science and the art of reading fluency [Audio podcast episode]. Teachers Talk Shop. https://www.benchmarkeducation.com/teachers-talk-shop-podcast/s2-ep002-the-science-and-the-art-of-reading-fluency

Learn. Apply. Thrive.

About the Podcast

Education Unlocked supports teachers in building confidence, clarity, and classroom impact through research-informed, practical strategies. Hosted by Marc Pietersen, this podcast bridges the gap between theory and practice — helping teachers thrive, one lesson at a time.

If this episode helped you reflect or refine your practice, consider following the podcast or sharing it with a colleague.

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:10

And welcome back to Education Unlocked. Learn, Apply, Thrive. I'm Mark Peterson, and in this episode, we move we're moving a bit more away from the why into the how, but also into the bigger picture of what classroom research can become. So in the previous episode, episode two, we explored the problem context behind my action research. Today we explore and we'll focus on how the research was designed, why action research was chosen, and how this project grew beyond a master's requirement into something with a more wider impact. So today we'll be looking at a few things. So let's unlock it. Why action research? The first thing. So at the time, for me, in my classroom, that problem was clear. Low reading fluency was limiting students' comprehension, confidence, and access to the curriculum. Action research was the most successful and appropriate approach because it allowed me to respond directly to what I was seeing in my classroom in real time rather than relying on abstract or decontextualized theory. According to Burns 2010, Action Research is a cylindrical and reflective process that positions teachers as researchers within their own classroom, enabling them to identify issues, implementing interventions, and refine practice based on evidence. Now, that link to Burns 2010 work you can find in the episode description section if you'd like to read further about that. This approach aligned perfectly with both my academic requirements for my master's and my professional responsibility as a classroom teacher. Because that is our responsibility as teachers is to implement change and interventions to support students. But as the project developed, it became more than just a master's assignment. And this brings us to the second point I want to talk about today was from research requirements to classroom impact. So what started as a focused attempt or focused attempt, I should rather say, to improve reading fluency began to influence more than just reading outcomes alone. So over time, the intervention which was implemented impacted students' confidence and willingness to read aloud. I had a student who was very low who, in their interview with me, stated that they're scared of reading loud to actually at the end of this program reading aloud in front of the peers in the classroom. It also developed learners' independence during reading tasks. So they grew the confidence, which then developed independence within their reading, and that reading was becoming less of a challenge or struggle or a fear into something that they were willing to do. So this also then led to them engaging with the text. So they were able to read with understanding because the lack of fear or anxiety was taken away. And then measurable progress influencing comprehension could then also be recorded. It also prompted reflection beyond my own classroom. Colleagues began asking me questions about my strategies, the use of technology, and the progress my students were making and how that was affecting them. So it was at that point the research shifted from being something I was doing for my degree to something that was contributing to wider professional learning within my year group. Or start off in my year group. Um, and that's where this podcast fits. And I felt that I could start sharing what I experienced beyond the classroom walls as well as beyond my school walls. So action research doesn't need to remain within academic submissions or classroom walls. But when shared responsibly, it can support other teachers facing similar challenges, both within a school and across a wider teaching community. And this podcast is part of that sharing process, and that's what I want to do, and that's what encouraged me actually carrying out this podcast. So let's share the next point designing the intervention. The research took place over a short period of time, it was only seven weeks, with a small group of low-ability EAL learners. So the intervention was designed to be teacher created, allowing teachers to be creating content that was actually linked within the classroom practice. So how they could be able to create meaningful learning experiences or interventions. It also was cost effective, it was low cost because a lot of schools don't support programs. A lot of teachers have to design or purchase their own programs. So I thought, well, what are ways that I can help teachers create their own content at a low cost that is then also scalable, which is the next point, and it's embedded into the existing routines. So what I was looking at was my intervention was based on well developing reading fluency, firstly. Secondly, it didn't cost me much of anything besides using a like a Canva account to create the reading tasks, using AI to generate the reading stories, but then also on top of that, I was then embedding spelling words, right? Um, the weekly spelling words were included in the stories. Those stories were then also linked within what we're doing in the classroom, which are leading to these key elements included. What I did was I included audio modeling using my own teaching voice, so a voice that my students could connect with. They already knew it and they felt comfortable because they were connected already. It was a repeated and supported reading, so it was with that audio, the students could listen to the story over and over again while they practiced reading based on my example, and then they could then design that to be their own. It was carefully pitched weekly text. So if we were doing suspense stories in classroom, the text they would read were suspenseful. If they were doing um balanced arguments, then it was also linked to balanced arguments. So not only were they reading stories and practicing reading, they could also then use those stories within their classroom work and magpie ideas or whatever they read about. The students also then would um student journaling, they would write their own journals to capture confidence and reflection. What they felt went well, what they felt they could work on, and then they would submit that like through a Google form. And then it wasn't something like you could have a conversation with them, it was also kind of private, so they felt that they could provide that information without any form of uh what being judged or anything like that, and then also tech-supported access to reduce anxiety and extend practice beyond the classroom. You know, um, neuroscience says that when someone is obviously less anxious, they're more confident in order to be trying something out. So that's what my thought about if I could send this project home as a home project, they're getting the support in a home environment because obviously, in my situation, dealing with a lot of EAL students, we also have EAL parents. So, are they hearing English fluency at home effectively enough to grow that responsibility? So, beyond the classroom walls, they were at home, and then they could also then practice their reading with no judgment in a relaxed environment and the comfort of their own walls. So the design was informed by fluency research. Now, based on a podcast that I listened to, Benchmark Education shared some insights between Timothy Rosinsky and Lynn Kulich in a podcast which was called The Science and the Art of Reading. Now, Timothy described fluency as the bridge between decoding and comprehension, um, emphasizing that students need modeled, repeated, and supported reading experiences to develop automaticity and understanding. And that's literally where this fell within what I wanted to do within my classroom. You could also listen to that uh podcast link, which is in the episode description as well, to actually give that a good listen to. Now, technology as a scaffold and not a solution. Now, it's important to clarify that technology was not positioned as a solution. Pedagogy always comes first, all the time. Technology actually acted as a scaffold, supported modeling, repetition, and independent practice in the way that reduced pressure and increased accessibility. So instead of paying for a program, I knew that those stories were created with purpose, that they were meaningful, they were linked back to the classroom, and this aligned with the constructivist principles where learners actively built understanding through guided interactions rather than passive consumptions. Okay, they built that understanding again from taking ownership of their work, um, creating it, uh reading it, sorry, reading it in their own homes, and then practicing it over time. And then as they practiced, they built that confidence. And as I say in all my posts that I post, I mean confidence can lead to anything. If you have confidence, anything is possible. Now, within that, there was obviously ethical and professional considerations. Because this research was embedded in classroom practice, ethical considerations were essential. So I had to actually get parental consent, which was obtained, and student's identity was completely protected, and participation was supported rather than forced. So if they wanted to pull out at any time, they could have done that. Lucky enough, in my research, none of that happened. So all my students participated from beginning to end, which was very amazing to see, and the data that it pulled was also and outstanding and fantastic. So, most importantly, the intervention aimed at to provide equitable access to fluency development, not to label or to limit learners. And then what I've done now is I've taken that, so instead of having one story, what I've done is I've done differentiated stories. So three levels. So in the case that I'm doing now at the moment, I've got a mild story which has the audio support. I have a spicy story, which is when I talk about mild and spicy and hot, it's different levels, right? Low, medium, and high. So okay, the low story basically had simple text with audio support. Then my medium story had no audio support, but a bit more of a challenging reading piece. And then the hot task, which was for the high students, had no audio support, higher language fluency, and um and more challenging words that they would have to then practice. And they would submit that to me. And I actually assessed that now on a bi-weekly basis just to have that engagement. So now looking ahead, um, in the next episode, we'll explore how progress was measured, looking at the data collection, analyzing student voice through their journaling, and how confidence and growth were captured alongside that attainment. So if you're interested in how classroom research can both be manageable and meaningful, you're in the right place. And on that note, thank you so much for listening to today's episode. Thank you so much for listening to Education Unlocked, Learn, Apply, and Thrive. And until next time, keep learning, keep applying, and keep thriving. And I'll see you in the next episode. If today's episode gave you something to think about, something to try, or something to grow with, share it with a colleague who might need it too, or leave a review to help other people discover the podcast. You could follow the podcast for more episodes where we break down real strategies, real research, and real classroom impact. Until next time, keep learning, keep applying, and keep thriving. And I'll see you in the next episode.