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Single-subject designs (SSD) and action research (AR)
Single-subject designs enable practitioners to measure the effectiveness of interventions
on specific students while controlling the irrelevant variables. SSD can be effective in identifying
the most effective interventions for individual students and help educators make particular
decisions to nurture the learning process of those students. It can also help improve the overall
outcomes of the individual students as the specific intervention will cater to their specific needs
directly. On the other hand, action research enables educators to thoroughly examine and analyze
their areas of practice that fall short and may want to improve. The study involves collaborating
with others, re-examining, continuously reflecting, and analyzing your work as an educator. The
benefit of using AR is identifying and attending to educators' weaknesses that may hinder
effective student learning. It also helps the practitioners further their expertise for positive results
and career advancement.
SSD and AR are practical tools that allow practitioners to devise target inventions and
systemic approaches to tackle specific needs and problems for individual students (Check &
Schutt, 2017). SSD directly pertains to the student's needs and allows the teacher to tailor
interventions for specific students' needs and issues. More personalized interventions can
increase student participation in class discussions, thus improving learning outcomes. AR
pertains to educators and assessing their teaching practices. It enables the teacher to identify
recurring classroom problems and devise the most effective learning practices that have been
proven to yield positive solutions.
Examples of recurring classroom problems an educator can use SSD and AR to solve are
students slow on tasks and poor cooperation of backbenchers. The educator can employ an SSD
to track the student's behavior in class, particularly how they behave during specific tasks and
when they lose focus. The teacher can also implement interventions like scaffolding and peer
tutoring to keep the student on their toes while recording the outcomes (Forbes et al., 2011). The
educator can improve the student's concentration by shuffling the classroom sitting environment
to keep the backbenchers active. They can pick one or two students at the back to sit at the front
or ask them to answer questions regularly. After the keen observation, the teacher can use AR to
reflect on the outcomes and identify the most effective intervention methods for promoting on-
task behavior and keeping the student focused. The process can improve the student's
confidence, and class participation, thus learning outcomes and the educator's teaching practices
while maintaining and enhancing a good learning environment.
References
Check, J., & Schutt, R. (2012). Research methods in education. (Vols. 1-0). SAGE
Publications, Inc., https://doi.org/10.4135/9781544307725
Forbes, S. A., Ross, M. E., & Chesser, S. S. (2011). Single-subject designs and action
research in the K-12 setting. Educational Research and Evaluation, 17(3), 161-173.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13803611.2011.599555
Reply 1
I enjoyed your discussion on the benefits of single-subject designs and action research. Both
approaches benefit students and educators by improving performance and learning practices
(Forbes et al., 2011). I learned from your discussion that AR is based on the whole group, unlike
SSD, which works on specific interventions for individual students. SSD is highly flexible
because of its simplicity and ease of implementation. On the other hand, AR is more complex as
Single-subject designs (SSD) and action research (AR)
Single-subject designs enable practitioners to measure the effectiveness of interventions
on specific students while controlling the irrelevant variables. SSD can be effective in identifying
the most effective interventions for individual students and help educators make particular
decisions to nurture the learning process of those students. It can also help improve the overall
outcomes of the individual students as the specific intervention will cater to their specific needs
directly. On the other hand, action research enables educators to thoroughly examine and analyze
their areas of practice that fall short and may want to improve. The study involves collaborating
with others, re-examining, continuously reflecting, and analyzing your work as an educator. The
benefit of using AR is identifying and attending to educators' weaknesses that may hinder
effective student learning. It also helps the practitioners further their expertise for positive results
and career advancement.
SSD and AR are practical tools that allow practitioners to devise target inventions and
systemic approaches to tackle specific needs and problems for individual students (Check &
Schutt, 2017). SSD directly pertains to the student's needs and allows the teacher to tailor
interventions for specific students' needs and issues. More personalized interventions can
increase student participation in class discussions, thus improving learning outcomes. AR
pertains to educators and assessing their teaching practices. It enables the teacher to identify
recurring classroom problems and devise the most effective learning practices that have been
proven to yield positive solutions.
Examples of recurring classroom problems an educator can use SSD and AR to solve are
students slow on tasks and poor cooperation of backbenchers. The educator can employ an SSD
to track the student's behavior in class, particularly how they behave during specific tasks and
when they lose focus. The teacher can also implement interventions like scaffolding and peer
tutoring to keep the student on their toes while recording the outcomes (Forbes et al., 2011). The
educator can improve the student's concentration by shuffling the classroom sitting environment
to keep the backbenchers active. They can pick one or two students at the back to sit at the front
or ask them to answer questions regularly. After the keen observation, the teacher can use AR to
reflect on the outcomes and identify the most effective intervention methods for promoting on-
task behavior and keeping the student focused. The process can improve the student's
confidence, and class participation, thus learning outcomes and the educator's teaching practices
while maintaining and enhancing a good learning environment.
References
Check, J., & Schutt, R. (2012). Research methods in education. (Vols. 1-0). SAGE
Publications, Inc., https://doi.org/10.4135/9781544307725
Forbes, S. A., Ross, M. E., & Chesser, S. S. (2011). Single-subject designs and action
research in the K-12 setting. Educational Research and Evaluation, 17(3), 161-173.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13803611.2011.599555
Reply 1
I enjoyed your discussion on the benefits of single-subject designs and action research. Both
approaches benefit students and educators by improving performance and learning practices
(Forbes et al., 2011). I learned from your discussion that AR is based on the whole group, unlike
SSD, which works on specific interventions for individual students. SSD is highly flexible
because of its simplicity and ease of implementation. On the other hand, AR is more complex as
