Capstone Log EDRS 8000 & EDRS 8900

Instructional Technology Department

Candidate:
ReTina D. Gray

Mentor/Title:
School/District:
Jennifer Wright/Media
Osborne High School
Specialist
Cobb County School District
Research Project Title: Increasing Cultural Awareness and Identity in At-Risk Students:
Using Technology to Support Multicultural Education
You are not required to reflect after each entry. Reflections can address one or more entries in the log.
Just delete the reflection row if you do not use it.

Activity/Amount of Time

Date

(Please total the time after the last entry.)

PSC/ISTE Standards

Read Literature reviews and researched various topics

online to identify a research topic.
(10 hrs)

PSC 1.4/ISTE 1d
PSC 2.1/ISTE 2a
PSC 2.2/ISTE 2b
PSC 2.5/ISTE 2e
PSC 2.6/ISTE 2f
PSC 5.3/ISTE 4c
PSC 6.1/ISTE 6a, 6b
PSC 6.2/ISTE 6c
PSC 6.3

Septembe
r
1-29
2014

Conducted online research using KSUs online library

in order to find 20 research articles.
Read articles and peer reviews on Multicultural
pedagogy and Technology integration.
Created a Literature Review Map using the
information that I found.
(22 hrs)

PSC 1.2/ISTE 1b
PSC 1.4/ISTE 1d
PSC 2.2/ISTE 2b
PSC 2.6/ISTE 2f
PSC 6.1/ISTE 6a, 6b
PSC 6.2/ISTE 6c
PSC 6.3

October
1-27
2014

PSC 1.2/ISTE 1b
PSC 1.4/ISTE 1d
PSC 2.8/ISTE 2h
PSC 4.3/ISTE 5c
PSC 6.1/ISTE 6a, 6b
PSC 6.2/ISTE 6c
PSC 6.3

August
20-25
2014

November
2-28
2014

Using my Literature Review Map as a guideline and

additional research, I created a Literature Review
Draft.
Developed the Initial Introduction in order to state the
problem and the importance of the study.
Revised draft
(15 hrs)
Continued to develop the Initial Introduction in order
to state the problem and the importance of the study.
Developed a Methodology to describe how I would
conduct my study.
Completed the CITI course
Posted feedback to peers.
Revised the draft of my research proposal several
times.
(40 hrs)

PSC 1.1/ISTE 1a
PSC 1.2/ISTE 1b
PSC 1.3/ISTE 1c
PSC 1.4/ISTE 1d
PSC 2.7/ISTE 2g
PSC 2.8/ISTE 2h
PSC 3.6/ISTE 3f
PSC 3.7/ISTE 3g
PSC 4.2/ISTE 5b
PSC 6.1/ISTE 6a, 6b
PSC 6.2/ISTE 6c
PSC 6.3

December
2-8
2014

Continued to revise the draft of my research proposal

several times before submitting the polished draft.
Posted feedback to peers.
(41 hrs)

PSC 1.1/ISTE 1a
PSC 2.1/ISTE 2a
PSC 2.2/ISTE 2b
PSC 2.3/ISTE 2c
PSC 2.4/ISTE 2d
PSC 2.6/ISTE 2f
PSC 2.8/ISTE 2h
PSC 3.7/ISTE 3g
PSC 5.1/ISTE 4a
PSC 5.2/ISTE 4b
PSC 6.1/ISTE 6a, 6b
PSC 6.2/ISTE 6c
PSC 6.3

Reflection:
As a history major and theatre minor, I have conducted a lot of research but not on this level. As I
researched various topics online to identify a research topic, I found myself getting frustrated and
overwhelmed. There are a lot of topics to choose from, however I did not want to choose a random
topic for the sake of choosing a topic. Teaching in a Title 1 school where the majority of the students
are minorities, encouraged me to seek a research topic that would be beneficial to my teaching and
the growth of my students.
I struggled a lot throughout this course. At first, I had difficulties completing the Literature Review
Map. For a brief moment, I could not grasp the concept or the purpose of the Literature Review
Map. However, after conducting additional research, I found that the purpose of a Literature
Review Map is to provide me with a visualize connection to the literature that I have gathered, read,
and analyzed. It also allowed me to see the relationship and connection between each article I read
and how they connect to multicultural education. What I enjoyed most was creating the Literature
map. Using PowerPoint to create the Literature Review Map allowed me to be creative as I made
connections and used critical thinking.
After creating the Literature Review Draft, I wrote my initial introduction in which I stated the
problem and the importance of the study. At this point, I began to feel very passionate about my
research because I believed that it was very important to assist at-risk students in increasing
academic achievement. At this point, I began to understand the important role research plays in
improving teaching practices and increasing student achievement.
As I began working on these assignments, fear and panic set in. I realized that in order to complete
these assignments, I was going to sacrifice a lot of personal time. The amount of time used to
conduct research can be very overwhelming. I constantly found myself revising a lot of my work.
As a result, I had a lot of late nights resulting in illness. As a result, I had to use several of my sick
days. However, I was determined to complete my all of the assignments and my final proposal. If I
had to do it all over again, I would have created a plan in order to minimize time.

Total Time for EDRS 8000

January
8-28
2015

I practiced analyzing qualitative data for my research

project by conducting interviews and an observation.
I analyzing the data collected through coding to
discover themes.
Composed a letter to my principal in order to conduct
research.
Created a research plan.
(8 hrs)

128 hrs
PSC 1.1/ISTE 1a
PSC 1.2/ISTE 1b
PSC 1.3/ISTE 1c
PSC 1.4/ISTE 1d
PSC 2.2/ISTE 2b
PSC 2.7/ISTE 2g
PSC 2.8/ISTE 2h
PSC 6.1/ISTE 6a, 6b
PSC 6.2/ISTE 6c
PSC 6.3

February
2-23
2015

March
1-30
2015

I used convenience sampling to select participants for

the study.
I created a letter in order to gain permission from
students and parents in order for students to participate
in the research study.
I administered a pre-multicultural survey
Posted feedback to peers.
(6 hrs)

April
1-30
2015

Reflection:

I continued to collect data as I

Conducted interviews with participants.
Observed participants as they complete digital
stories on their personal lives and the lives of a
classmate of a different culture.
Administered post multicultural survey to
participants.
Used triangulation to analyze surveys, field notes, and
interviews.
Began writing my draft for my peer review.
(22 hrs)

Completed draft for my peer review

Completed peer review
Completed research presentation
Completed final research paper on Increasing
Cultural Awareness and Identity in At-Risk Students:
Using Technology to Support Multicultural
Education
(99 hrs)

PSC 1.1/ISTE 1a
PSC 1.2/ISTE 1b
PSC 1.3/ISTE 1c
PSC 1.4/ISTE 1d
PSC 2.1/ISTE 2a
PSC 2.2/ISTE 2b
PSC 2.3/ISTE 2c
PSC 2.4/ISTE 2d
PSC 2.5/ISTE 2e
PSC 2.6/ISTE 2f
PSC 2.7/ISTE 2g
PSC 2.8/ISTE 2h
PSC 3.7/ISTE 3g
PSC 6.1/ISTE 6a, 6b
PSC 6.2/ISTE 6c
PSC 6.3
PSC 1.4/ISTE 1d
PSC 2.1/ISTE 2a
PSC 2.2/ISTE 2b
PSC 2.3/ISTE 2c
PSC 2.4/ISTE 2d
PSC 2.5/ISTE 2e
PSC 2.6/ISTE 2f
PSC 2.7/ISTE 2g
PSC 2.8/ISTE 2h
PSC 3.1/ISTE 3a
PSC 3.3/ISTE 3c
PSC 3.5/ISTE 3e
PSC 3.7/ISTE 3g
PSC 4.1/ISTE 5a
PSC 4.2/ISTE 5b
PSC 4.3/ISTE 5c
PSC 6.1/ISTE 6a, 6b
PSC 6.2/ISTE 6c
PSC 6.3
PSC 1.1/ISTE 1a
PSC 1.4/ISTE 1d
PSC 2.1/ISTE 2a
PSC 2.2/ISTE 2b
PSC 2.3/ISTE 2c
PSC 2.4/ISTE 2d
PSC 2.5/ISTE 2e
PSC 2.6/ISTE 2f
PSC 2.7/ISTE 2g
PSC 2.8/ISTE 2h
PSC 3.1/ISTE 3a
PSC 3.3/ISTE 3c
PSC 3.7/ISTE 3g
PSC 4.1/ISTE 5a
PSC 4.3/ISTE 5c
PSC 5.3/ISTE 4c
PSC 6.1/ISTE 6a, 6b
PSC 6.2/ISTE 6c
PSC 6.3

As a result of the EDRS 8900 Applied Field Research Course, I now know the importance of
qualitative research in the educational field. However, at the beginning of the semester, I
was overcome with stress and anxiety. I was unsure of how I would be able to handle
directing a theatrical production and conducting a research study. I also experienced
several roadblocks, as I attempted to get permission from the school system. I was able to
overcome my fear and anxiety through the guidance and support of Dr. Harp. Dr. Harp
guided me through the roadblocks by answering any questions that I had, as well as
provided me with helpful suggestions.
Due to the nature of my research project, Increasing Cultural Awareness and Identity in AtRisk Students: Using Technology to Support Multicultural Education, I dreaded the idea of
conducting research that dealt with race. The issue of race can be a very sensitive subject
for many people. However, as a result of my experiences as an African-American student in
Mississippi, I felt that it was important to conduct this study. Before implementing this
action research study, I increased my research and followed every protocol and procedure
to ensure that it was a success. As a result, I found that technology & multicultural
education as combined strategies have a positive impact on cultural identity, cultural
awareness, and academic achievement. I also learned a great deal about my students
culture, resulting in us establishing a bond.
Despite my reservations about completing this study, I was very pleased with the outcome of
the study as well as my ability to complete it. Completing this study allowed me to gain
insight into the importance of using research to improve my teaching practices. It also
allowed me to learn the value of peer feedback and self-reflections as tools that aided me in
identifying my strengths and weaknesses. Conducting this research study was a valuable
experience that taught me a lot about my ability to persevere despite challenges and
obstacles. As a result of conducting this study, I experienced several areas of growth which
improved my teaching practices.

Total Time for EDRS 8900

135
Total Hours: [263 hours ]:

DIVERSITY
(Place an X in the box representing the race/ethnicity and subgroups involved in this capstone.)

Ethnicity

P-12 Faculty/Staff
P-2

Race/Ethnicity:
Asian
Black
Hispanic

3-5

6-8

P-12 Students
9-12
X

P-2

3-5

6-8

9-12
X
X
X

Native American/Alaskan Native

White
Multiracial
Subgroups:
Students with Disabilities
Limited English Proficiency

X
X

Eligible for Free/Reduced

Meals