Action Research Plan

Goals and Objectives: Blended learning is being used in corporate education to reach a the maximum number of participants with the least amount of disruption to their work and to reduce travel costs. The strategy is to provide basic information online either through synchronous or asynchronous channels and then to provide instructor led courses to build skills and provide experiential learning. A major hurdle over the implementation of blended learning is the low completion rates of online or web based material prior to the instructor led portions of the curriculum. The objective is to determine why online pre-work is not being completed prior to the instructor led coursework and then to look at the results to determine what the learning and development group can remedy to increase the completion of pre-course online instruction.

The action plan template below details the action research plan

Action Planning Template
Goal: Determine barriers to online learning in blended learning courses
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Determine population to be surveyed	Max Windham	Nov 1 – Nov 20	Reports from LMS to review rosters for past and future classes
Develop survey for population	Max Windham	Nov 15 – Nov 30	Work with Sharepoint administrator to set up access to my personal Sharepoint site so that participants can be invited to take survey
Review any research using Google search and through Training and Development ASTD website	Max Windham	Nov 20 – Dec 20
Tabulate survey, follow up with survey population if needed and research and report findings	Max Windham	Dec 20- Jan 30

As we examine the online pre and post work for the Engineering development program and the completion rates, it will allow the global learning and development team to determine are the right online activities being utilized and do the participants see value in the online pre and post work. We may also find if the just in time delivery of this online work is indeed “just in time” or is more or less time needed.

Data will be gathered primarily in online survey tools due to the fact that most of the population is spread out across the globe, primarily in North America. The surveys will be followed up with interviews either by teleconference or webinar. The primary questions that will be analyzed will deal with access to resources, time management, and the validity of the online pre and post work as viewed by the participants.

Self assessments will be done with the learning and development team including myself as the team leader to determine how the choices of pre and post work were determined and if the most advantageous online activities are really being utilized.

We can also utilize this data and possibly compare them with other newly established blended learning curriculum that was recently introduced in the Human Resources group for the Gulf of Mexico geomarket. Once the data is collected and analyzed we can then determine if we need to revisit the instructional design of some of the components, lower the amount of pre and post work or change the deadlines for the pre and post work.

If in the end changes are made to the curriculum, the global learning and development team must perform follow up surveys to ensure the information being delivered is topical, value added and timely for the engineers at the various stages of the their career.