The Proposal Template
The Proposal Template
Ten sections
Problem statement, research question, objective, population and sample, variables, data tools, intervention plan, ethics plan, timeline, reflection plan.
Each section
One short paragraph or a small table. No long prose.
When you have filled all ten
You have a proposal you can defend.
The Proposal Template
Copy this template into a new document. Replace every bracketed placeholder with your own content. Keep the headings.
1. Problem statement
In my [grade and section] classroom, [describe the specific problem in one or two sentences]. I know this because [baseline evidence: a recent test score, an attendance pattern, an observation count].
2. Research question
How does [the intervention you will introduce] affect [the outcome you will measure] among [the group you will study] over [the time you will study them]?
3. Research objective
To [examine / evaluate / investigate / identify / compare] the effect of [the intervention] on [the outcome] among [the group] over [the time].
4. Population and sample
Population: [the full group your findings should speak about]. Sample: [the smaller group you will actually study, with the count]. Sampling method: [convenience / purposive], chosen because [reason that ties to the question].
5. Variables
Independent variable: [the change the teacher will introduce]. Dependent variable: [the outcome being measured]. Measurement of the DV: [the exact tool and scale]. Constants: [things kept fixed: teacher, time of day, room, textbook, etc.]. Known confounding variables: [two or three you cannot control, with a one-line plan for each].
6. Data collection tools
Tool 1: [name and what it measures, with frequency]. Tool 2: [name and what it measures, with frequency]. Tool 3 (optional): [name and what it measures, with frequency].
Pre-intervention data will be collected using [tools to be used as baseline] in week 0.
7. Intervention plan
For [number] weeks, [describe the intervention in concrete steps]. Frequency: [per day / per week]. Duration of each session: [minutes].
A short note for someone replicating this: [the smallest detail that matters and that would be lost in a one-line description].
8. Ethics plan
Consent: [from whom, in what form, when]. Assent: [how the students will be informed in age-appropriate language]. Do no harm: [what you will watch for, and what you will adjust if you see it]. No disadvantage: the intervention will be [whole-class / time-staggered] so no student is left out. Privacy: student names will be replaced with pseudonyms in any report; raw data will be stored [where, for how long]. Right to withdraw: any student or parent may decline specific data collection without affecting grades or treatment.
9. Timeline
Week Activity 0 Baseline data, consent letters out and back 1 to [N] Action stage with parallel observation Mid-cycle Short student questionnaire End of cycle Post-test and group interview Cycle close Reflection writeup
10. Reflection plan
I will sit with the data within [number] days of the action stage ending. The reflection will answer four questions: what worked, what did not, why, and what should change in cycle 2. I will share a draft with a critical friend, [name or role], before finalizing.
Critical-friend review checklist
Before the action stage starts, hand the proposal to a colleague and ask:
- Is the problem statement specific enough that a stranger could spot it in my classroom?
- Can the research question be answered in one term?
- Is the dependent variable measurable, not just describable?
- Are there at least two data tools?
- Is the intervention written in repeatable steps?
- Is consent in place where the study goes beyond ordinary teaching?
- Is the timeline realistic for the school calendar?
If any answer is no, rewrite that section before week 1.
A second card for the part students forget most often.
