Abstract

This action research project aims to understand whether teachers are

mastering the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct classroom
action research through two courses, Classroom Action Research (CAR)
and Enhancing Teaching Professional Skills (PKP: Pemantapan Kemampuan
Profesional), offered via distance education to Indonesian teachers
and to identify areas for possible improvement of both courses. The
research was conducted in two urban study centers located in the
cities of Bogor and Tangerang in the Indonesian provinces of West Java
and Banten. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews,
classroom observations, questionnaires, and focus group discussions.
All data were analyzed for patterns that might offer insight into the
problems tutors and teacher-learners were facing as they worked
through the Classroom Action Research (PTK: Penelitian Tindakan Kelas)
module and tutorial. The research team from Indonesia Open University
(UT: Universitas Terbuka) identified several problematic aspects of
each course, including excessive lag time between the first and second
courses, insufficient examples of model classroom action research
projects, a lack of supervised practice of action research techniques,
variability of tutorial quality, and a mismatch between course
assessments and the content and purpose of the courses. While the
findings of this study focus primarily on two distance courses offered
by UT, they offer insight into the challenges of providing in-service
teacher development via distance education in the Indonesian context.

Key Words: Distance Learning, Classroom Action Research, Teacher

Professional Skill
The purpose of this study was to examine whether project-based learning would
increase academic achievement for at risk students. The null hypothesis was at-risk
students in an advanced placement psychology class will not have an increase in
academic achievement through the use of the project based learning strategy. The
study used a pre-experimental design method. A 10 multiple choice pre-assessment
was used to determine a base line for how much students’ know before each lesson
started. There were six pre-assessments used in each unit of study; five multiple
choice tests and one constructed response. In order to determine whether academic
achievement occurred after the intervention was administered. The instrument used
was a post-assessment which consisted of 50 multiple choice questions and one
constructed response. The study began on February 1st, 2016 and concluded on
March 11th, 2016. The results of the study were compared to data gathered from
that time period also. There was a significant improvement recorded for the use of
project-based learning on the academic achievement of at-risk students in an
advanced placement psychology setting. Therefore the null hypothesis that at-risk
students in an advanced placement psychology class will not increase academic
achievement after the project-based strategy was implemented was rejected. Since
the study was only over a month and a half time period. Future research on these
areas could involve a much longer time period to obtain more reliable data on the
effects of project-based learning increasing academic achievement.

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect that participation in a

school-based SAT preparation course has on the SAT scores of 11th grade
students compared to the SAT scores of 11th graders who do not participate
in an SAT preparation course. The study uses a causal comparative design
which consisted of an intervention and non-intervention group. 11th grade
students who had a 2.0 GPA and fewer than ten absences in a semester were
in the intervention group, or SAT Prep course. Students in the intervention
group received direct instruction in SAT preparation. SAT scores from both
groups were compared. There were significant gains in test score means for
students in the intervention group; however, further research should be
considered.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of small group instruction using
select reading comprehension strategies on student reading achievement comparing
Measures of Academic Progress (MAPs) assessments from September 2014 to
February 2015. The literature suggests that reading comprehension strategies and
phonetic awareness improvements are only noted in small group instruction, grammar
needs to be taught explicitly, and teachers need to understand individuals backgrounds
and use that knowledge to motivate and encourage their students learning.
This is a teacher action research project. Pretest and posttest quantitative data will be
collected and analyzed. The results indicated that approximately 50% of students who
received explicated small group instruction in reading comprehension performed higher
on their reading section of the MAPs statewide assessment in February 2015