Week 7: The Pivot And Results

Hello everyone,
It has been quite an eventful week both in and outside AP Research. This week, I spent much of my time solidifying my methodology and starting to gather my results. Initially, the goal of my project was to look at a couple cases where the implementation of XR was successful in the K-12 space, and a couple cases where the implementation of XR was unsuccessful in the K-12 space to extrapolate common conditions that led to success and failure. Unfortunately, I soon figured out that there weren’t many if any studies published where XR was implemented in the K-12 sphere and it led to a negative impact on student performance. After looking profusely for a couple days, I realized that I needed to pivot and change the direction of my project.

What I pivoted to was to look at eight positive implementations of XR in K-12 settings, and attempt to extrapolate commonalities between each case to understand what conditions are usually leading to success when it comes to the implementation of XR in K-12 settings. I have found eight different cases where XR was implemented in K-12 settings, and I am well on my way collecting and finalizing all of my data. Let me give you a brief overview of what my data collection process looks like. In each case, I will record precisely how XR was applied in the educational setting, and then I will record the respective impact on student performance metrics. In some cases, quantitative data like impact on grades, retention of content, and motivation to study are provided. In some cases, qualitative data like student/teacher testimonials are provided. Regardless of what sort of data is given, that is recorded. Then I will try to look at if there are some commonalities between cases that had profound positive impacts on student performance, particularly when it comes to how XR was applied in a given case. I am nearly finished with my data collection. I would have been done by now, but my pivot forced me to find additional cases where XR was implemented successfully, and essentially restart the data collection process. I expect to finish my data collection in the near future, and finish my data analysis/evaluation by the end of this weekend.

While I am not fully through with my data collection, I have started to see a trend between most of the cases. While I won’t go into detail, I will provide this little tidbit about my results. When XR isn’t entirely replacing the pre-existing K-12 curriculum, it is most effective. Look for more information regarding that in next week’s final blog! Coming up next week, I’ll be presenting my findings officially on Wednesday. My paper is also due on Monday, so this whole process is quickly coming to an end. It has been quite a roller coaster, but it has been a lot of fun, and has given me great insights about an area I know very little about.

It would be a crime if I didn’t mention the NBA playoffs. I don’t know who is or isn’t following the playoffs, but know this: the Kings are going all the way. Go Kings!

I’ll catch up with y’all next week when my presentation is over, and when my data has been fully collected and analyzed. Hopefully, I have some more details I can give y’all next week. See y’all then!

-Rit P