What changed after Summer Faculty Academy 2018 (Course Redesign):
1. Revised course objectives by using more action verbs that are based on the Bloom's taxonomy; added an overview (see the schematic diagram on the first page of the revised syllabus) of methods of instruction for students' information; 2. Organized course contents/disparate topics by common threads and in the form of Learning Modules; added guidelines for each Modules, specifying the connections among different Learning Modules and the main objectives of each Learning Module; 3. Incorporated a dozen multimedia video clips to enhance the written contents; 4. Created new assignment types (i.e., article critiques and annotated bibliography); incorporated a greater number of discussion board threads; added additional explanations of the expectations of the new assignment types and the grading policy (rubrics copied and pasted below).
What has not changed: 1. The logical progression of course topics; 2. The other major components of course requirements; 3. The majority of the topics covered.
EDPS 640 - Research Methods (Elements of "Course Redesign")
Align Learning Goal with Proficiencies and with Learning Experiences *taken from: Building a Pathway for Student Learning: A How-to-Guide for Course Design Learning goal: Sequence of Proficiency Learning Experience
Early (Basic and Lower Level): Familiarity with research ethics. Completing an online CITI training module through the IRB website that was designed specifically for researchers in the social sciences.
Middle 1 (Intermediate): Familiarity and hands-on experience with the underlying process of a literature review. Conducting literature searches using online databases such as Academic Search Premiers, PsycInfo, Web of Sciences, and Google Scholar; producing an annotated bibliography that will later be further developed into a literature review.
Middle 2 (Late Intermediate): Applying knowledge of the structure of empirical articles, research design, and statistical analysis to dissect and analyze empirical articles; critically evaluating the merits and limitations of the selected articles. Critiquing two contemporary empirical articles featuring research designs learned in this course.
Late (Advanced): Critically evaluating selected references and synthesizing various threads to build a coherent argument for a literature review paper. Creating a short literature review synopsis that conforms to the standard of a published journal article (e.g., in the fields of psychology and education) and is properly formatted according to the APA 6th standard.
Student Testimonials
Evidence of Teaching Effectiveness (EDPS 640 Research Methods) What I have learned from EDPS 640 this semester: 1. The concrete evidence that I thought was found through a research study, is not so concrete. Many studies are unable to be replicated and/or provide different results than the first try. This was evident in the first reading we did. 2. I would love to perform a real causal-comparative research study. Of all the types we learned about, this is one that could most benefit me as a teacher, and hopefully, sometime, as an administrator. 3. Lastly, having never written a literature review before, this was enormously helpful for my personal growth as a student. I had never amerced myself that deep into numerous research studies revolving around the same topic before. Although so much reading, the studies were interesting and opened my eyes to the difference between fact and the unknown. This type of learning and writing style would come in handy if I want to continue my education further.
The first concept I think was a major theme of the course, and very important in regards to advising my college students on educational research is methodology. How does a researcher determine what methodology to utilize when conducting a study? For example, would a qualitative or quantitative research approach work better given the purpose of the research conducted-case study (qualitative) clinical treatment (quantitative). This requires the researcher to create a checklist of the characteristics of each methodology, and then critically evaluate which research paradigm could be employed to answer research questions or to formulate a general research hypothesis. An important lesson learned about research methodology this semester is that it benefits novice researchers to explore the internal & external threats to validity when certain research designs are chosen for a specific type of research study (examples: cross-sectional vs longitudinal). By knowing the strengths & weaknesses of each research design in advance researchers can account for them in their research findings and conclusions. Another concept that caught my attention this semester was statistical analysis. When to use Pearson r, Spearman rho, or a multiple regression equation is particularly useful when conducting a quantitative or mixed methods research study. For example, when testing for the correlation between two research variables Pearson r provides the researcher with a valid coefficient to measure (+1.00to-1.00) to test for the correlation between the two variables (i.e.: intelligence levels (IQ) and academic achievement via test scores). In essence, the researcher must attempt to quantify the relationships found in their research data, and statistical analysis is the most reliable approach to testing these relationships or lack of relationships amongst variables. A third concept of interest to me professionally was the ethics of research. I like that we were required to take CITI training at the start of the semester to better understand the history of ethical conflicts in regards to the social & behavioral sciences. I completely understand why it is absolutely critical for researchers to protect the confidentiality of research participants. First, it protects the human rights of each research participant which is the most important ethical consideration (do no harm), and second an ethical approach to research often increases the validity of the responses from the research participants. All of the public laws & policies passed in the past half century are providing researchers & research participants with more civil rights protections (National Research Act of 1974, FERPA, HIPPA, etc.) which is a net gain for all individuals involved with professional quality empirical research studies. The last concept and perhaps the most valuable concept is the acquired skill of interpreting research data more critically. Understanding why a researcher selects a particular research design or leaves out critical data from their research results assisted me in becoming more proficient at noticing biases in quantitative & qualitative research studies. Many of our class assignments required us to identify the type of research methodology used by a researcher, and to explain why these particular research methods were either a good or bad fit for their research study.
The first key concept which struck me during the course of the semester was from the first discussion, the reaction to the NPR interview Scientific Findings Often Fail To Be Replicated. The interview annoyed me somewhat, because the implication was that such studies had no value. I remember stating that if evidence is fabricated, that would be enough to consider such a study as untrustworthy, but uncertainty was not the same as untrustworthy. This discussion was a reminder to me that true research could be a complex matter and the failure to replicate does not automatically invalidate the reasons for conducting the study, I also found the task of trying to create my own experiment helpful, as I will eventually be using that same skill to provide support research for my dissertation. I am reminded that such a process is complex, and it will require a great deal of planning, though I have great teachers to guide me.
Lastly, the process of writing the critique of the first article, though just completed, was a positive experience. I have written literature reviews before, but I have not had experience in writing such critiques. The experience stretched me to think about the article differently and to write about something I am not ordinarily accustomed to writing about.
Some of the concepts I felt the most relevant to my advancement and applications in this course are:
#1 Creating my own experiment The assignment to create my own experiment and describe the elements within the experiment was very helpful as I move forward in my internship next year. I am sure my leadership internship will require some form of experimental research using a manipulation and control. Having to create a real world experiment and label all the primary components and apply my knowledge was very useful in this regard.
#2 Annotated Bibliography The whole process of the annotated bibliography was very helpful to someone who does not regularly read or evaluate research articles. This got my mind wrapped around critiquing a research article and learning about the different types of methodology that are used. I don’t know that I will have to do much with annotated bibliographies in the future but I feel more comfortable with using the research databases and all the elements involved in the annotated bibliography process.
#3 Research methodology I learned a lot about the differences of qualitative and quantitative research approaches. I was not familiar with the differences and I feel a better understanding of how researchers determine which research method is best depending upon the type of study.
Research Designs: At the beginning of the semester we learned much about selecting and designing research studies that fit the situation. I found this to be very relevant professionally because as a teacher I am always asked to use data and research-based methods. I feel even more confident now that I could participate and help guide research within an entire school or district. I have actually just started a new part-time job at a specialized learning center. During training they made huge presentations about how their methods are research validated (not just based). They also detailed what research is constantly taking place in partnerships with large universities. They did not shy either in going over their research designs and all the intricate quantitative data. It was a great feeling to really understand it all and appreciate all their hard work. Quantitative vs. Qualitative Data: We discussed these two types of data mostly within their roles in MMR. I appreciated the focus on this aspect, as I had not had much exposure to it my other coursework. It also gave me a better perspective on the type of research that should be conducted with students. Quantitative data can be remarkably informative when done well. But in the end, it is just numbers and we are working with people. To understand the full picture of a research study in a school setting, I believe there must be some aspect of qualitative data considered. Reporting Research: I found the literature review assignment to be an eye-opening challenge. The clear formatting structure gave me an objective way to concisely share what I learned. I think the same format could easily be used to research and inform all kinds of decisions within schools. Too often we fall back on “what has always been done” or we jump on bandwagon of the latest, greatest research-based study. I look forward to being able to use my new research skills to help schools make better decisions and help teachers be more effective.
Concepts that I will take from this class: I gained a better understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the use of observation for researchers to obtain data. I tend to focus on advantages so looking at disadvantages is important for me to do. One of the disadvantages is that observation may affect the behavior of participants. This struck me because I often wonder if this is true when administrators are observing teachers. Do teachers change what they would typically do knowing that they are being observed? Do students change their behaviors to “help the teacher out” knowing that the teacher is being observed. Another disadvantage is the selective perception of observer may distort the data. Is this also true for administrators when observing teachers. The administrator often go into the classroom with a perceived idea of that teacher. Just learning the advantages of observation with research purposes made me also think that these advantages and disadvantages also correlate with observations of staff. The activity in which we had to develop a hypothesis was also very beneficial. We were required to make sure that our hypothesis met the four primary criteria. I think understanding how to write and support a hypothesis is important. In my current position, I have used creating a hypothesis and supporting this hypothesis to help have our Algebra II students scheduled with the math teacher during their Basic Skills time. Since doing this, we have not had a single student fail Algebra II. Learning to do a Literature Review and Article Critiques was an important skill that I gained in this class. Knowing how to collect pertinent information from various resources to write a review has helped me in many ways. I have a better understanding of ways that I can support an idea or thought. Finally, I think the most important thing I learned is the need to encourage people to research ideas/studies/concepts that have already been researched. It is important to see if another will get the same results.
Concepts that I will take from this class:
I gained a better understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the use of observation for researchers to obtain data. I tend to focus on advantages so looking at disadvantages is important for me to do. One of the disadvantages is that observation may affect the behavior of participants. This struck me because I often wonder if this is true when administrators are observing teachers. Do teachers change what they would typically do knowing that they are being observed? Do students change their behaviors to “help the teacher out” knowing that the teacher is being observed. Another disadvantage is the selective perception of observer may distort the data. Is this also true for administrators when observing teachers. The administrator often go into the classroom with a perceived idea of that teacher. Just learning the advantages of observation with research purposes made me also think that these advantages and disadvantages also correlate with observations of staff. The activity in which we had to develop a hypothesis was also very beneficial. We were required to make sure that our hypothesis met the four primary criteria. I think understanding how to write and support a hypothesis is important. In my current position, I have used creating a hypothesis and supporting this hypothesis to help have our Algebra II students scheduled with the math teacher during their Basic Skills time. Since doing this, we have not had a single student fail Algebra II. Learning to do a Literature Review and Article Critiques was an important skill that I gained in this class. Knowing how to collect pertinent information from various resources to write a review has helped me in many ways. I have a better understanding of ways that I can support an idea or thought. Finally, I think the most important thing I learned is the need to encourage people to research ideas/studies/concepts that have already been researched. It is important to see if another will get the same results.
The survey method is a key concept that stood out to me during this course. When reading research articles and journals I would often see that surveys were used/mentioned. However, I overlooked how frequently used and their importance to many research projects. This course has also opened my eyes to the different types of surveys used including sample, census, cross-sectional and longitudinal. Surveys allow for hypotheses to be tested and data to be collected. I believe that I will be able to apply this method when engaging in future research projects. I feel like surveys and questionnaires can be a good way to gain information and insight for individuals who do not always like face to face interactions about personal items. Another key concept that allowed me to gain further knowledge was regarding sample groups and sizes. While previous courses discussed sample groups, this course further expanded on this for me. I think that through the discussion posts and assignments it has allowed me to learn how to analyze and question sample groups. I have learned that sample groups can have a major effect on the research being conducted, as well as one’s view on the researcher’s validity. I believe that I will be able to use the knowledge by being mindful and careful when choosing sample groups in future research projects. I believe that it is important to insure a sample group that is reflective of a random sample (for most projects). This allows for a wide range of data with minimal bias effects. Lastly, mixed method research stood out to me. In previous research classes I remember hearing a lot of qualitative and quantitative methods. Yet I do not remember learning a lot about mixed methods. I have gained knowledge that quantitative is more geared toward what is factual and data driven, while qualitative is reflective of perspectives and developing a representation of understanding as a whole. I believe that a mixed methods approach can allow for the best of both methods. Though this may not be ideal for every study and topic it may allow for us to expand knowledge on previous studies. I believe the integration of these methods can assist me professionally when both facts and data is needed, while expanding and opening up new ideas to further expand our knowledge though research.
Research planning preparation, development and execution is something I can see using in my career because of the concepts of the steps taken are very similar when you are putting together a marketing analytics report for your client. As a marketing analyst, it is important to conduct a hypothesis to what you are looking for and then utilizing existing data or even finding data that is relevant to what you are trying to tell a story about. A literature review can translate to the sources you use in data you receive from other subject matter experts and as an analyst you are explaining what you found and how was it analyzed to articulate their results with even follow up material.
Some of the sampling principles are also things that I learned and will find valuable as we try to segment audiences when doing marketing reporting. Especially when it comes to deciding on choosing sampling methods based on a business problem, we are trying to analyze based on the outcome we are looking for (Users of a website using non-proportional stratified sampling vs. proportional stratified sampling). We could choose random sampling from user data that might not be as clearly defined in demographics to understand certain themes in researching usability of a website or generically, what marketing channels they are coming in from. Rarely, do I participate in user focus groups, I believe that the Mixed modeling of quantitative and qualitative are also things that will benefit especially when answering questions that are vital to understanding how a project can be improved or things that users are looking for (e.g., better accessible ways to register or receive information from brand reps regarding discounts or product information for their needs). I believe there are things you can do like ratings or lining of questioning that will help show correlations while quantitative data can help see themes in people’s attitudes or understand in detail of something that is confusing or frustrating to their user experience. Even something as simple as understanding the concept of independent and dependent variables help when trying to answer a business question. Understanding where you can modify independently or understanding if you are looking at how specific tactics or economic factors affect consumer behavior or how a brand’s product or service is being interacted with. This in the project planning process of measuring success I can see understanding in breaking out the predicted outcomes while evaluating performance can be very valuable.
This semester I think I have taken away a couple of different perspectives about how to approach research questions. Ironically, I am paid to do research professionally and there are things I had never considered. 1. Mixed Method Research: As a chemist and being trained in research geared toward hard science, I have always worked with quantative research. I knew what qualitative research was (is) of course, but it is not something we work with much in my line of work. As the semester progressed I have thought a lot about why using MMR bridges the gaps that either quantative or qualitative research leave behind. I think this is probably the strongest take away for me this semester. 2. Casual Comparative Reserarch: This is a type of research that I find very interesting and would like to use more formally moving forward. For me this research is a great way to apply practices of MMR. 3. Surveying: I personally see considerable issue with using surveys as the primary means of gathering information. With this said, throughout this course I have learned to look at survey responses a little less critically however, I am still skeptical. I would like to say, more than anything else this course has forced me to better understand qualitative research and the benefits of using these methodologies rather than just reading the information.
1. I think one of the major concepts I am walking away with is that there are many ways to conduct research and that in all methods there are potential flaws and margins of error. I think this is important to realize since we are in a world that inundated with research and sometimes it’s easy to buy into everything we hear researchers say without really doing our own research into how they conducted research and what they did to come up with their findings. I think research is a huge force that drives a lot of beliefs, thoughts and decision making in our society. It seems that we all tend to think one way until research tells us we need to think about something differently. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely think that research is important but I think we all need to be educated consumers of research and know how to evaluate the validity and reliability of research so that as a society we can make more informed decisions, especially in the field of education where teachers are constantly being given new curriculum, different teaching methods and philosophies to follow based on what the latest research says. Being educated in the research process will serve me in being able to determine what research is more reliable and therefore what research findings I should use to better myself as an educator. 2. Another key concept was how to interpret data and what is the most appropriate way to interpret data. As a special education teacher I am so data-driven in my job but this helped me to understand even more why we use certain test scores to measure performance and also helped me to better understand what these scores mean. I think that this is important for all educators to understand since we use data all the time to accurately level students and plan appropriate instruction. 3. The concept of qualitative research also stood out to me since much of the educational research that is done is more qualitative in nature since it is hard to study students in a lab setting. I think knowing the differences between qualitative and quantitate research is important to understand so that as a educator I can be aware of what limitations the research has since there are many things outside the control of the researcher in qualitative research.
Personally, I feel that the content in this class has truly helped me develop a better understanding on the research process. Currently, I work in the field of applied behavior analysis as a program supervisor. It is important for professionals in this field to stay up to date with current research on evidence-based practices to ensure that they are implementing effective services for families and children with disabilities and/or developmental delays. In fact, behavior analysts are expected to follow this practice as it is part of their ethical guidelines. Through my experiences, thus far, I realized how important it is to have some sort of background in research or at minimum, adequate skills in conducting research. The concepts taught in this course, specifically the basic research designs used by qualitative researchers and collection, analysis, and interpretation, are relevant to me. Many of the research articles I have been exposed to focus on these designs, and it has been beneficial to learn more about them. Additionally, behavior analysts have the responsibility in analyzing and interpreting data- the information presented has given me the knowledge to understand the different components of a research plan to make an effective analysis on various issues.
I learned many things in EDPS 640 over the course of this semester. Some are true “content” but some are larger concepts. Types of Statistics – Being an English teacher, I have limited experience with higher level math concepts. I had no idea there were different types of statistics. I now know there are descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. It is important I know and understand the difference as I continue my education as these numbers are a part of standardized test reports and scholarly journals. Qualitative vs Quantitative Studies – Prior to the course, I had a very nominal knowledge of different types of research studies. Now, however, I see just how different these are. I also now know that Mixed Methods Research exists which can blur the lines between qualitative and quantitative studies. While knowing these distinctions will not impact my daily teaching life, it will be valuable as I continue my studies at Ball State. Appreciation for the Field of Research – This is not content or a concept, but I feel it deserves the space here. Prior to the class, I had often dismissed the importance and involvement of research. I was blasé when thinking about the role research could play in improving my teaching as well as how much time and effort quality research takes. I now see the importance of utilizing scholarly journals to improve the background research I do when writing. I also see how these studies can play a role in improving my teaching. Increased Comfort – This is also not a “key concept,” but it might be the most important take-away for me. Thanks to the annotated bibliography, literature review, and article critiques, I am now less intimidated by scholarly research. I am more comfortable reading and writing about studies. This is a large and critical step as I continue down the path of higher education.
The things I have learned from this class have been numerous. First, selecting a sample is a prime example. The amount of thought, organization, and technique is crucial for the outcome of the study. The room for error or bias and a chance of variation or sampling error. Second, the annotated bibliography was a challenge for me at first and then, it was an ahah moment! Format and precision is challenging, but rewarding once completed and obtained. Third, discussion 8 comes to mind. Reading, analyzing, comparing, and exploring the studies and dissecting them using the knowledge from this course. That was for sure challenging and interesting how my peers had different viewpoints and explanations. Furthermore, it was intriguing how we all offered support for our answers that allowed for other explanations or possibilities. Lastly, quantitative vs qualitative vs MMR was very educational. The need or interest in each of these is essential to the studies and research process. What motivates the researcher to chose their method of research and their hypothesis. Also, the evolution of research and the demand for each of these.
This course was overall challenging, but I learned much!
This has been a challenging course for me and one that (I will admit) I put off taking until the end of my program. I really wish I had not done that based on the things that I learned this semester. Research has always been intimidating to me and reading some of the articles in my past courses has left me confused and overwhelmed. One of the main things I have learned is the breakdown of the research process and how it relates to your topic of interest. Understanding more clearly the way the articles are written and the components and procedures makes this daunting task much less intimidating for me.
Another part I enjoyed was the citi courses in the beginning of the course. For me, never before doing any research of my own, it was helpful to have those tests and outlines to follow so I could learn what is expected in research in general. That was a great learning experience for me and helped me to define this process through the subtests. And finally, the biggest take away I have from this class is that the discussions provided so much to offer and I always felt that I learned something more from my peers. I find that terminology is confusing and sometimes I could easily get lost in the verbage of a discussion. The bonus of having peers in a discussion group is that they can often times put into words I better understand to fully grasp the concept we were learning. One of the major examples of this was when we had to label the research based on a question. I think in that thread I read everyone's comments because it was so interesting how we can all have different perspectives on the same material. It made me widen my thought process and take a look at each design in a new way. This has by far been the most challenging masters level course I have taken, but I wish I would have done it sooner in my program. The steps and procedures I have learned in this class would have been extremely helpful in other research projects and assignments in other courses.
I have taken research classes before, but I had many ah-ha moments this semester. Generality is important!- In my undergrad studies I performed a few research studies, all of which were with samples of opportunity (college students attending my university). While some findings, such as the effects of social media on depression, were interesting, but not likely to translate to the public due to a limited sample. Controlling for internal variance is difficult, but important. In reference to the above study on social media, if I did not control for certain personal characteristics the findings would be skewed. Question everything. One of the discussions we did was on validity of older research since the studies could not be duplicated. I know well enough to question social media and. Was sources, but had a sort of blind trust for research articles before this course. Each of these concepts will help me to be a better researcher in later studies. It will also help me to decipher important concepts from previous studies and whether they can be trusted.
Before I started this class, there was a lot about research I had no clue about. When it came to research and experiments I thought, you had a question and you did things to try to answer/solve the question. So there was a lot that I learned. The first thing I learned was how to read a research article critically. Not just to understand the topic, and go straight to the results, but to ask if the research was credible. Was the research question a necessary question that needed to be asked? How would it effect the scope of education/ or that particular topic? Another I learned was the importance of the participants. It seems like this would be a no brainer, but how important it is to critically look at the participants based on class, race, sex, age. There are so many factors that can impact how a participant behaves/reacts/answers questions that can skew results, or possibly bring another question to light. Also sample size is important. The biggest obstacle I had to overcome was to understand the differences between the research types. I had just assumed all research was labeled as experimental research. Having a clearer idea of what each type of research should potentially look like suddenly made a lot of sense. This was biggest “aha” moment.
This course has taught me many different concepts, but a few of the key items are surveying methods, types of experiments, and reviewing studies. I knew there are different surveying methods (interviews, questionnaires, online rating scales etc), but to study the different types and understand their varying uses was new to me. I feel that this is a great way to collect data that is only going to become more popular with technology growing so quickly and studying this topic helps me understand how, when, and what type of information I need to make a well-constructed survey that fits my purposes. The types of experiments were also very interesting to read and then apply when reading the studies for my literature review and other posts. It helps me understand more about the purpose of the study as well before I read them to improve my overall understanding of the research. Reviewing studies is brand new to me as I have tried to steer clear of them purely out of intimidation of the scientific factor. This area of education is a whole new world to me and mixing of scientific terms and data analysis was not something I was comfortable doing. But by studying different components like the plans, instruments used, and methods has helped me feel more comfortable reading studies and being able to comprehend the subject matter along with the scientific terms that go along with it.
This class has been interesting and I have learned more than I thought I would learn. Of all the topics we have covered over these past few months, only a few will stick with me longer than the rest and will be used in the future. The first is establishing a quality hypothesis. I thought a hypothesis was just a simple educated guess. But, I have learned that it is a little more complex. These are relevant to me because with all studies, a solid hypothesis can determine the outcome of the study. A good hypothesis can greatly assist the study. In my professional practices I will use this information to establish a valid and solid hypothesis that is both clear to understand and read. The second is how to develop a true experiment. I know that I can use a true experiment to establish the relationship between a cause and effect. With this information I can further develop a study that will help me understand the relationship of how things work. Knowing the components of a true experiment will help me to establish a good study. The last area that I found important and will definitely use in the future is the area of literature reviews. During this class, I have read and critiqued more scholarly articles than I have ever read and critiqued. After reading some many articles and understanding what a solid article is supposed to be composed of, I feel that I know how to conduct a study in which contains the correct components that will explain to the reader what the experiment is about and what was found.
I have learned quite a few key concepts during this course. One would be the differences in types of research. Qualitative and quantitative research, their purposes and outcomes, being a couple. I also learned quite a bit about casual-comparative research and when to use that approach. The second concept that I will take with me is how truly important it is to follow each step of the research process closely and ethically. For example, I believe that a researcher should place just as much emphasis on finding and establishing the correct sample group as he or she places on performing the actual experiment. I also learned a lot about validity. This is so important in order to make the results of the experiment and research acceptable. There is so much emphasis nowadays, and rightfully so, on scientific findings being credible. Therefore, every source of validity must be examined for each experiment. I think all of these concepts will help me throughout my career to be a better researcher.
This class was a challenge for me this semester. I think more than anything this class was challenging because I began the course during a very difficult time of transition for me personally and professionally. On August 1 my Dad passed away unexpectedly and on August 7th I began a new position as the Assistant Principal at my school. Trying to help my mother out with the estate, learn a new position, and finish up my studies has been extremely challenging. Looking back this semester, I've realized I have an amazing support group with my wife, family, and school collegues. (I taught here for 10 years and I am now the AP). I say all of this because to be honest I have really struggled through this course because of these factors. Looking back, I really feel like I've grown in so many ways and this class has pushed me to persevere. I really think the Literature Review was very good for me professionally. As a teacher I was the co leader of our PBIS team, and now as an administrator I am the leader of our school Wide PBIS team. After reviewing the literature, I have been able to bring to my team read the research articles I read and discuss potential next steps as we aim to improve our school wide PBIS to meet the needs of the 15-20% of students who typically have discipline problems. I call these kids my "frequent flyers" :) Currently we are working on Tier 2 interventions to help with the students I typically see daily. We are moving in the right direction. Another concept that I learned is that research can be short, quick, and to the point. I think the point that was being addressed in one of the DB posts is that too often researchers try to validate their studies with long writings and difficult to understand verbiage and statistics. While research should be detailed, it does not have to be long and difficult to understand to be effective. While I've always shyed away from reading scholarly articles, I think having a healthy mix between research articles and other means of research (blogs, twitter, ect) is essential in my professional development as a builder leader. I can certainly use both. The last key concept that I learned is that is important to control as many variables as possible when conducting research. While this is very difficult to do at times, it is crucial for the validity of the entire study. I could see this being important if I was trying to implement a new program here at my school. I want the results of my study to be accurate, trustworthy, and helpful.
I found the focus on critically evaluating articles in this course to be the most significant aspect of the course. As I looked for articles for the annotated bibliography assignment, I was able to begin to develop a critical eye for finding recent and relevant research articles from trustworthy sources. Then, synthesizing all these sources for the literature review helped me understand the importance of finding and reviewing all the current studies and views that are relevant to the subject. Another concept that I found significant was looking more deeply at different types of research designs. I was aware of internal and external validity, though this class went more in depth into the various types of threats to validity in research. I found that understanding the types of threats to internal and external validity faced by the different designs helped me increase my comprehension of the research process. The importance of forming a good hypothesis really stuck with me as well. Going over characteristics of a good hypothesis helped me look at other hypotheses in articles critically and ensured that I have a firm footing in creating good hypotheses in the future. Making sure that you have sound reasoning, reasonable explanations, directionality, and testability are all important in making sure that you have a sound hypothesis to base your research off. Overall, I found this course to be challenging, but rewarding and I believe that much of this course will be relevant to me professionally as I hope to work on research in the future. I also think that many of these skills are applicable to any field as understanding how to critically examine the information you receive and questioning the validity of it, are valuable skills to have.
I appreciated the format of our course, we essentially were given the tools that we needed to work and given the space to produce assignments. I think two of the things that were very important for me to experience and complete this semester was the annotated bibliography and the literature review. I am at a place in my studies that I my assignments that come from my courses must fit into my overall doctoral research and these two assignments did a great job of doing that for me. At the beginning of the semester we discussed an NPR interview concerning reproducing findings. Being that this is a research methods course, I like the idea of replicating earlier published studies. I recently found a study that I would be interested in replicating, so as to get tangible and hands-on research experience and going through the process of attempting to publish using a study whose methodology has been accepted before. As was mentioned early in the semester, hands on experience can really anchor research methods competencies in graduate-level students. I appreciate that this course had some ambiguity to it on certain things. The research process can often be ambiguous, and researchers have to be ok with persisting anyway.
I will admit I intentionally waited until my last semester to take this course. It has been a bit difficult, but most new things are for me. Through the difficult, mixed up feelings, I did learn throughout the semester. Through the Literature Review, I learned I can have a voice. When I believe in something or want to learn something, the research is out there for me to read, learn from, and use as data to back up my thoughts and feelings. Or to prove me completely wrong. My literature review was about logical and natural consequences being better for students than punitive consequences. I believe this more than I can express in this discussion, but thought the research I learned, realized I am just one of many who believe this way, and I have data to support this as well. Research is not always correct. It can look important and produce data, but that does not mean it is valid. Sometimes it is necessary to research the research. Now I know how to do this, such as by looking for how the participants are chosen, and the way the data was collected. Developing a strong, direct, straight forward hypotheses. Not only the hypotheses but what type, such as direct, non-directional. After critiquing and learning how to develop a hypotheses, I learned the steps to take when researching. I have started a new classroom, called the Boost Classroom in my school. My students are having trouble either with education, behavior, or both. Being able to research what is going on with my students or ways to help them is one way I can use what I have learned. With appropriate data from the research I can fight to use what is best for my students and have the data to back it up.
This course has taught me not only the importance of questioning and exploring more into research papers. It has also taught me what to look for when questioning other works, when checking the validity, and how to understand what I am reading. Learning about the many different research methods, how they differ from each other, and when they are used was a great way to learn the differences between studies. The Lit Review to me was a great concept to use to question research. I learned how to accurately verify a research article, to check multiple studies, provide information from multiple sources, and use that to deepen my understanding. A lot of times research is given to us at and we are expected to accept it without really understanding or knowing if it is really effective. The Lit Review and this course taught me how to really find the information needed to check a hypothesis. When creating a hypothesis, it is important to be clear and concise. A confusing hypothesis will cause many problems along the research process. When writing a research paper often times they can be confusing due to wording, knowledge, or information left out due to different research methods used. It is important to be clear and concise.
This is the first class where I have had to submit an annotated bibliography and I learned a lot from the project. I feel this concept is relevant to me because I may be asked to create one for another course in the future and now I am prepared for its requirements. I could apply this to my professional setting, by having my students create one when they are completing research. It is an easy way for me to know that the students read the information from their resource, and did not just copy information word-for-word. I like how an annotated bibliography is organized also; it makes the information easy to read and understand. Another thing I learned was how to critically analyze research. There are so many different parts to a research project or experiment to examine when deciding if the source is credible. I not know how to look into each separate piece to determine the content validity. This is useful when examining theories on educational practices. I believe because of this course I am better equipped to judge and critique theories and experiments. My final take away from this course was how to critically critique scholarly articles. I have had to do this in the past, but I feel the analysis was more in-depth in this course. I feel after this course, I have mastered critiquing articles and understanding what to look for in an educational research article. This will be helpful to my profession as I assist my students in their own research and writing of articles.
The first concept I found important was learning the steps of research. I had learned about the 6 steps previously, but never in as much detail. I think it is valuable to take time when going through the steps so that you are not forgetting anything important. I tend to rush through things, but have these 6 steps laid out forces me to think through each one before moving onto the next. This will be especially helpful to me when I have to design assessments to evaluate program or measure students’ engagement. Another concept I found interesting was the mixed methods research. I had read research articles before with mixed research methods, but did not understand the complexity of them until this course. With three different types, at first glance I always assumed mixed methods was a popular choice for researchers. However, I did not realize how challenging it can be to use, mainly because qualitative and quantitative researchers conceptualize validity in different ways. The textbook recommended having an expert in mixed methods research review the experimental design and critique it. I now have a better understanding of mixed methods research. The last point is not so much of a concept, but rather an aspect of the course I found helpful. I appreciated the many assignments given to us with research articles. During my undergraduate career, I never cared for research articles, and usually skimmed over the analysis section to read the results. This class forced me to read and understand the analysis portion. This is be helpful in the future when I read research reports about best practices for higher education/ student affairs programs.
Learning the steps to research and the research process. I think this was interesting and helpful as a developing scholar and researcher. I think these skills are also important because you need to have a foundation of the research process before developing and engaging in research. This will add to my experience as a professional and an academic, as many student affairs practitioners also conduct and analyze research and programs. Learning about different types of research methods and mixed method research is also helpful. Learning new research methods helps me understand and analyze research to a higher degree. These methods also provide me with new ways to think about and critique research and methodologies. This is helpful as a researcher because there are new ideas and strategies available from learning about different methods to use and approach your research topic. The structure of the article critiques has also been helpful. As a grad student this is something I have been presented with before in assignments, however, there has not been a clear structure or approach. I think using the outline as guidance and a method to approach the assignment taught me more about analyzing and critiquing research. This method will be helpful in the future as I will have a new strategy and understanding of not only the components of research but a way to outline and discuss different aspects of the current research.
1. I really enjoyed identifying different research studies. I think this helped me really narrow in on the different characteristics of research and how they help determine what type of researching you are observing. I think this is important because it expressed the different procedures in research that have a lot to do with the experimental method. In applied behavior analysis, the majority of research came from live subjects and rats in a lab which has proven to be the most scientific way to produce results. I think by understanding the differences between research I use in my field of work, I can have a deeper understanding of where the principles of ABA come from and future ideas for research. 2. The literature review was extremely difficult for me to do because of the page limit. I had so many great articles in the field of ABA, but I think what separates undergrad and graduates are definitely page numbers requirements. I really had to look through each and every article and identify the main ideas, but then matching those to my overall subheadings within my paper. This took a great deal of planning and preparing before I sat down to begin writing the analysis. I think this really helped me learn how to narrow down my knowledge or area of expertise in many ways. Behavioral data can get really overwhelming for parents to hear, especially if it is partial interval data tracking which is what I use amongst all my programs. During IEP meetings, I have now set out an outline similar to the literature review so I am able to highlight the most significant behaviors and information I want to convey to parents in a much simpler way. 3. The annotated bibliography was one of my favorite assignments. I am pretty familiar with research coming from the University of Illinois at Chicago as an undergrad a very large research institution. It was not my first time looking up research articles, however, I found this task to be challenging when I took that second step of developing an argument. I then created the subheadings for my literature review and found articles that matched and flowed together. This is so helpful to me working in the field of ABA to be able to find specific articles in areas I need more information on during perhaps a functional behavior assessment. I feel very confident now in identifying useful articles and being able to grab out the specific information I need.
There were so many take aways from this semester so it's hard to narrow down only a few key concepts. I enjoyed reading chapter 11. I enjoyed reading about internal validity and the 8 threats to internal validity (history, maturation, testing, instrumentation, statistical regression, differential selection of participants, mortality, selection-maturation interaction) as well as external validity and threats to external validity (pre-test-treatment interaction, selection-treatment interference, specifity of variables, treatment diffusion, experimenter effects, reactive arrangements). I also enjoyed the article critiques. I've been going to school for over 5 years now and I'm nearly half way done with my graduate program and I've never had to do any of these critiques before. So the critiques helped me really understand the importance of the journal articles. I enjoyed broadening my understanding of the concepts of the peer reviewed articles. The critiques forced me to go a bit further than my comfort zone and helped me expand my understanding of the scholarly reviewed articles. I also liked writing the literature review, The effort that went into writing that paper and the amount of time spent formulating a very organized review over something I am pretty passionate about proved to be one of the most rewarding papers I've had the opportunity to write. I'm passionate about my daughter, and the fact that I got to piece together so many important aspects of research pertaining to concepts related to children's learning was pretty inspirational. I took research methods in my undergraduate program and learned a lot about the different types of research. However, this book seemed to assist in understanding the differences a little bit better for me and I have more to take away from this course because of that. I don't want to discredit my undergraduate course, perhaps it helped that I was exposed to the literature previously and then having some of the information reiterated to me likely helped. Eventually I would like to work with children. So I think my biggest take away was the literature review, I learned a lot of different variables that effect a child's ability to learn and understand academia. So my goal is to build off of that and always take that information into consideration before making any judgement calls related to any of my student's learning.
This course has really helped me develop an understanding of what Data Planning, Supportive Research, and Administrative Leadership means for me. I know these may not necessarily be “key concepts” from the course, but these are the key concepts I established for myself built from this course. This course forced me to dig into these areas in ways I had not yet explored. I choose the term Data Planning based on various readings throughout our text. We explored ways in which to examine and observe areas in which we may be able to develop a plan to reach students, staff, or even ourselves. We needed to identify the best way to collect the necessary data to plan our study implementation. As future Administrators we will need to examine and observe to develop and implement techniques to improve our students, school, district, and perhaps community. Supportive Research is when we seek research development that will support that data planning that we have completed. For me this was during out Annotated Bibliography. I searched through so many peer reviewed journals to find journals that examined the area I am most interested in, Alternative Education implementation and effectiveness. This assignment really helped me identify areas needing to be improved upon and examined further. The term Administrative Leadership has now taken a bit of a different meaning to me. Now I look at this term as more of a way to examine the people around us, as well as ourselves, and look for ways in which we can improve or deepen understanding in our educational worlds. Always being mindful of the things in which we do not see or understand. We must always being mindful of the people who paved the road ahead of us so we may lead with guidance, and understanding.
For me, the biggest take away from the course is a greater understanding of how to critically evaluate research. Before this course I tended to skim through research articles whenever I came across them or were assigned to read because I got too bogged down with the methodology sections and did not have a solid understanding about methodologies or the statistical analysis associated with them. This class has helped me to develop more confidence in these areas to the point that I am no longer ‘afraid’ of these sections of research articles and have come to recognize how crucial these sections are to truly understand what a study is saying and whether or not their claims are credible. The major assignments for the course, the annotated bibliography, lit review and article critiques have reinforced this view and allowed me to practice analyzing research. Another essential component was the differences between the types of studies. While I was familiar with the basic differences between qualitative and quantitative studies, this class helped outline the nuances of each and introduced me to mixed-methods research as well. Going beyond this, the class has helped me learn the differences between the types of studies (experimental, causal-comparative, and comparative). Each of these types have unique benefits and characteristics and can be utilized based on the research question you are seeking to answer. At a more basic level the class has shown me the importance of conducting sound research by choosing appropriate methods, populations, samples, instruments, controlling for internal and external validity and conducting proper statistical analysis to verify one’s findings. I have not taken many classes in the sciences or research fields; although, I have read many studies, I had never taken the time to realize that all of these factors contributed to the study and needed to be accounted for. It’s no wonder that research articles tend to get lengthy and littered with scientific jargon, there is a lot that needs to be explained, proved, and verified. As a whole this class has given me a greater appreciation for research studies and has helped me improve my skills at critically evaluating the research articles I encounter and will be useful and I continue my studies and grow in my teaching practice.
Student Testimonials
EDPS 390 - Student Testimonial (1): What I Learned from EDPS 390
Applying Educational Psychology into the Classroom When analyzing the material covered in the second half of EDPS 390, there were a number of important topics covered that can be easily applied to the traditional secondary education classroom. The first main topic discussed was the educational psychology thought of constructivism. This thought focused on how learners built their knowledge and understanding. The two main figures in this theory of constructivism were Piaget and Vygotsky. Piaget focused on knowledge being built in more biological terms. This meant as children grew older, they went through stages of development in which their knowledge and understanding of the world grew. The first stage is called the semimotor stage, which Piaget believe occurred during ages 0-2 where the child is learning different things by interacting and reacting to their environment. The next stage was the pre-operational stage (2-7 years old) which is where the child begins to understand the world in more symbolic terms, however does not understand the concept of conservation (which is their ability to understand conversation of different liquids and their masses and volumes). The third stage is called the concrete stage, where students are able to understand conservation and begin to develop concrete understandings of the world around them. The final stage that Piaget created was the Formal Operational Change in which hypothetical and deductive reasoning occurs in students’ minds. Piaget identified that this would occur when students are twelve years old and through all of adulthood. Piaget’s developmental stages of gaining knowledge is important for me to know as a teacher because depending on the age level of students that I teach, the difficulty and tasks I have them do need to be age appropriate for their level of ability. I would argue that Piaget’s stages are a great basis to start with when teachers are first learning their students and what levels each student is at, however they should not be used after the first few weeks of school. I argue that Piaget’s stages should be used as a baseline in the classroom because all students are different, and these stages generalize students. This generalization could be dangerous because tasks could be too easy or challenging for students at that age level. Every student is different therefore some students may be entering a middle school classroom with the ability to think in abstract concepts; thus, it is important to get to know one’s students on an individualized basis. Either way, I believe that Piaget’s stages can be used as a great baseline for teachers at the beginning of the year when they don’t know just yet where their students are at academically. The other theory in the concept of constructivism is Vygotsky’s theory, which emphasizes students gaining knowledge from their environment as well. Vygotsky argued that humans do not grow up in their own isolated bubble, therefore their environment influences their development and understanding of the world. This theory of constructivism is extremely important for teachers to know. Students are influenced by their environment and learn best when information is meaningful and related to them. This concept has been taught to future teachers for years now and directly relates back to Vygotsky’s theory of how students learn best. Therefore, teachers need to know where their students come from as well as connect that information to the classroom in a way that is meaningful for students. In addition, if teachers understand the environments students live in, they will be able to relate the information to students in a manner that is meaningful for them and engaging. I will use this information as a basis for when I have my own classroom and students. The next major concept that was covered in this EDPS course was under the theory of behaviorism which emphasized that people learn how to respond to stimuli through conditioning. The first major thought under behaviorism is classical conditioning well known through the works of Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov argued that our behaviors are often conditioned based off of the repeated pairings that occur. The best example of this was Pavlov being able to condition dogs to salivate at the sound of a tuning fork. The unconditional stimulus was the food that scientists would give dogs, which in turn caused them to salivate, which was the unconditioned response. Pavlov found that he could condition dogs to salivate at the sound of a tuning fork (called a neutral stimulus) if he presented the neutral stimulus before the dog food (unconditioned stimulus) a repeated number of times. This caused the tuning fork to eventually become a conditioned stimulus the dog associated with food, thus inducing the salivation. Classical conditioning can often be seen as a challenging topic to connect to teaching within the classroom because of its often unethical implications, however classical conditioning doesn’t always have to be changing students behavior. Classical conditioning can be seen as something as easy as the tone a teacher has for their classroom on the day to day. If the teacher sets the classroom tone as one that is engaging and fun, overtime students are going to be more interested and wanting to come to the classroom because that it what they expect and commonly get. Therefore, as a teacher, I will focus on conditioning my students to create an inviting atmosphere where it is encouraged to learn and be open to new ideas and different opinions. Another major thought under behaviorism is operant conditioning. This is a known theory under B.F. Skinner who identified that consequences are the methods to modify behavior. Under operant conditioning reinforcements (stimuli that increase behavior) can be either positive (add something) or negative (remove something). The same goes with punishments which are stimuli that decrease behavior. Skinner’s concept of operant conditioning follows the understanding that desired behavior can be modeled as long as the reinforcement of punishment is consistent and its followed through as the behavior occurs overtime. This concept of behavior correction is something that I will definitely use in my own classroom. I believe that I will use the idea of positive reinforcement, therefore I will reward good behavior in the classroom with things instead of constantly condoning bad behavior. This concept of rewarding and reinforcing desired behavior is called shaping and has been extremely successful within the classroom. I believe that this is a successful method of classroom management because it is proactive and stops bad behavior before it starts. I will do this by identifying the expectations for students in the first few days of class and then being consistent and specific in making sure students follow the expectations laid out for them. It is also extremely important that a structure and routine is kept for students when doing this because reinforcement only works when behaviors are continually followed. Skinner’s theory is important for teachers to know because there are a number of different ways to condition students to behave in your classroom without always punishing and being negative. Therefore, by having teachers know about the different types of operant conditioning, they can be diverse in how they interact with students as well as how they discipline and direct good behavior. Another major concept that was taught in EDPS was the Social Learning Theory. This is well known under the ideas of Albert Bandura who believed that children learn behaviors by watching the behaviors of others, more specifically adults in their lives. This was demonstrated through his Bobo doll experiment where he found that children were more aggressive with the doll when they watched adults be aggressive with the doll first. In contrast, when adults were gentle with the doll, children were gentle as well. This theory is important because it demonstrated that students also learn from watching the behaviors of those who are older and are role models. With this said, it is extremely important that teachers watch their behaviors in the classroom and how they act around the schools. When specifically discussing in the classroom, teachers need to make sure they are following their own expectations and their attitude is one that reflects an environment that encourages learning. Through the social learning theory, teachers need to understand that their behaviors are constantly observed by students and if teachers are not engaged and interested, their students are going to reflect that mood. Nonetheless, being that I am going to be a role model to my future students I will make sure that I am engaged and excited about the content we are covering because this enthusiasm will reflect in my student’s behavior and how they approach class as a whole. The fourth major topic that EDPS discussed in regard to educational psychology was the Informational Processing Theory. This is how someone remembers and retains information within their head. The Information Processing Model of Memory encompasses how individuals remember certain things. First, information is brought into the conscience through the senses. A person must be paying attention and listening to the information they are bringing in. This information will then go into the short-term memory where individuals will work this information into what they already know and be able to work with it in the moment. Through the processes of elaboration, organization, and contextualization, individuals can then cement the information into their long-term memory. When teaching, it is important that teachers get students to the point where they know the content, and have it stored into their long-term memory to be used later on in the class. With this identified, it is important that teachers focus on this concept of having students understand the material and then elaborating, organizing, and contextualizing the information so that students can retain it in the future easier. As a history teacher myself, I am going to focus on having my students contextualize the information into a larger narrative so that it is easier for students to remember material. I am also going to focus on having students organize important information into analysis guides and graphs so that they are able to build connections easier among the different material. Finally, I am going to work on having students elaborate upon the material they learned through writing assignments so that they can express their knowledge and have a deeper, in-depth understanding of the material they are going over. By focusing on these three goals within my history classroom, I hope to use information processing theory in a way that students will find it fairly easy to remember material for tests and pull the material from their long-term memory into their short-term memory. The final major concept discussed in EDPS was in regard to research. Under this concept, a major topic that was discussed was measurements in regard to testing. Two key concepts under this category of measurements were reliability and validity. These are huge concepts to know in teaching because these two concepts are important for teachers to keep in mind when creating tests. First, teachers must make sure that their tests are reliable, which means that no matter how many times students take the test they will get around the same results each time. Therefore, the test gives an accurate representation of the students’ knowledge of the material and results don’t fluctuate. Teachers should then make sure that their tests are valid. Validity means that the test measures what it says it measures. Therefore, if the goal of a teacher’s test is to measure students understanding of the Civil War, it asks questions about the Civil War. Another important concept of this is for English Language Learners, this may mean that my Civil War test may need to be given in Spanish if that is the better-known language for a student. This would demonstrate that students understanding of the Civil War and not their understanding of English as a language. Nonetheless, as an educator myself, I am going to focus on making sure that my tests are consistent as well as testing what students are actually supposed to know for the test. This may mean I have to have other teachers preview my tests before I give them to students, however I feel like it is extremely important that my tests follow this standard. Therefore, after analyzing what I learned from EDPS, I believe that I am more prepared for my experience as a student teacher. I will focus on making sure my classroom is an open environment where students are comfortable to learn and challenge their preconceived understandings of the world. I also hope to incorporate what I have learned from operant and classical conditioning into my classroom management plan so that students know what is expected of you and there are few discipline problems to take care of. Nonetheless, EDPS has been a great class and I can’t wait to apply the knowledge I have gained into my student teaching experience next semester.
Student Testimonial (2) - What I Learned from EDPS 390
Application of Knowledge to the Classroom ... The mantra that “anyone can be a teacher” is a false belief of American society. Sure, most people can stand in front of a room of people and talk about a given subject of interest. However, that is not the reality with teaching in America today. In order to be a teacher and not simply just a warm body that stands in front of the classroom, an individual must understand the complexities that exist in the teaching profession. While these complexities range amongst a multitude of factors, one item remains the same. In order to be an effective teacher, an individual must understand how the students develop. In my own practicum experience, I have taken the knowledge discerned from the points in this class to speak to students already. With these experiences in the application of the knowledge provided in the second half of EDPSY 390, I have begun to formulate my teaching philosophy heading into my teaching career. ...