Evaluating Research Methods

Scenario 1: Ten students are available for in-depth interviews. Participants will be selected based on their involvement with the peer mediation program. They will be observed over three weeks. Anaysis will attempt to determine issues concerning peer mediation.

This scenario lends itself to qualitative research. Phenomenology interactive method seeks to describe a lived experience and collects data to make sense out of a particular experience or situation (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008). The use of in-depth interviews fits well with the phenomenological study. The three week period of observation is not long enough to be considered as a case study.

Scenario 2: Two classrooms of students are selected. There are 30 students in each class; each group will have similar demographics—age, sex, race, socio-economic background, etc. Classes will be randomly divided into two groups of 15 students. Of these two groups, one randomly selected group will get training on peer mediation and the other group will not. Thus in each classroom there will be one group that is trained in peer mediation and one that is not. Analysis will occur on which groups have the fewest office referrals.

The research method that is appropriate for this scenario is quantitative quasi experimental. The researcher wants to determine the cause and effect relationship between the peer mediation training and the number of office referrals. The quasi-experimental design fits because of the reason that the two classes originally selected were not randomly selected. This is an example of direct manipulation of condition.

Scenario 3: A school counselor is interested in knowing how student attitudes affect the value of peer mediation to decrease the number of office referrals that are being filed for inappropriate interactions.

This scenario includes both the interest in student attitudes (qualitative) and number of office visits (quantitative). Using both research methods in this order qualitative followed by quantitative, is an example of mixed method exploratory design. McMillan and Schumacher state that "qualitative date are gathered first and the quantitative phase follows" (p. 28).

Scenario 4: Peer mediation has become widely used in many schools. The feelings of those involved in the process are little known—either from those doing the mediation or those receiving it. The ZASK-R Acceptance Preference Survey will be given as pre- and post-tests to 40 students participating in mediation. Follow-up interviews will be conducted on a bi-monthly basis.


This scenario also lends itself to mixed-method research design. In this case the quantitative date in the form of the ZASK-R Acceptance Preference Survey. The pre and post-test will attempt to show any cause and effect with any participation in mediation The follow-up interviews will provide the qualitative component of the research. The fact that the interviews will be conducted of over a longer period of time point to the use of a case study during the qualitative part of the research.

References

McMillian, J.H. & Schumacher, S. (2008), Research in Education: Evidence-based inquiry (Laureate custom edition). Boston: Pearson

Which way do I go?

That is the question that I had to ask myself as I began to dig deeper into my problem statement. What would be the most effective way to gain the information that would help clarify this problem statement?

My problem statement is:

I plan to determine the impact, of the integration of Web 2.0 tools, in particular blogs and wikis in classroom instruction, on standardized writing test scores of 3rd-5th grade students.

To be more specific:
Who?: 3rd-5th grade students
What?: integration of Web 2.0 tools particularly blogs and wikis in classroom instruction
Why?: impact.... on standardized writing test scores

The research questions that I developed are the following:

Does the integration of Web 2.0 tools, particularly blogs and wikis, improve standardized writing test scores?
(Quantitative, nonexperimental-secondary data analysis)

Given immediate feedback on writing, is there a difference in writing achievement between students that use Web 2.0 tools and those who do not? (Quantitative, nonexperimental-comparative)

Which Web 2.0 tools do students prefer to use as learning tools? (Quantitative, nonexperimental-survey)

Does having an online writing audience increase writing interest? (Quantitative, nonexperimental-correlational)

Does integration of Web 2.0 tools increase motivation to write? (Quantitative, nonexperimental-survey)

Does participation in collaborative writing on wikis increase writing achievement? (Qualitative, noninteractive- analytical research[concept analysis])

How does the integration of Web 2.0 tools affect students’ grammar skills? (Quantitative, nonexperimental-descriptive)

After going over the research questions that I posed, I noticed that they were mostly quantitative in nature. I feel that the overall approach for my research sould be quantitative, though, a mixed approach(explanatory) would help explain, why Web 2.0 tools impact writing scores for the group of students in question (McMillan, J. H., & Schumacher, 2008).

That takes care of that fork in the road or does it?

References

McMillan, J. H., & Schumacher, S. (2008). Research in education: Evidence-based inquiry (Laureate custom edition). Boston: Pearson

What should we do to improve writing?

I teach in a K-5 school in New Jersey. Every year at our school district's convocation, we hear about the achievement of our students on standardized test. Each year writing is an area of concern. Students are having difficulty writing proficiently on these state mandated tests and in the classroom. Some see texting and participation on social networking websites as a cause for the decline of writing among students today. I tend to focus on the benefits of the integration of technology in the classroom. Students truly enjoy technology, why not use it as a tool.

I usually see students who show a lack of interest in writing or do not see a reason to write. I think that by incorporating the use blogs and wikis in classroom instruction students will have an audience to write to other than just the teacher. Students will take pride in seeing their work "published". They will also get feedback from others that, is not as threatening as a teacher's corrections. Students can also help each other and learn from others mistakes. Cooperative and collaborative learning are seen as truly beneficial for today's students. With this in mind, I move forward with my plan. We can't just keep doing things the same old way because it is not working.

I plan to determine the impact, of the integration of Web 2.0 tools, in particular blogs and wikis in classroom instruction, on standardized writing test scores of 3rd-5th grade students.

To be more specific:
Who?:  3rd-5th grade students
What?:  integration of Web 2.0 tools particularly blogs and wikis in classroom instruction
Why?:   impact.... on standardized writing test scores

I look forward to the journey that I will embark upon. I may be surprised at what I learn, but it will be new knowledge that can only help me become a better educator.

Reflection on EDUC-6711

Eight weeks have come and gone in a flash. What I thought I knew or didn't know is no longer the same, yet some things remain the same. I now move forward with a new set of tools at my disposal. I also leave with a better understanding of some strategies that in the past just made sense to me, such as Paivio's Dual Coding Theory. It only made sense to me to use any tools available that would give a student exposure to images that would strengthen connections made during the learning the experience (Laureate Education Inc., 2008). I did not get to this chapter of my life in the direct route of going to college to study to be an educator, so my experiences have been more of on the job training rather than a classroom setting.

I still feel that I want to focus on helping students build their knowledge through construction of artifacts and concrete experiences. Project-based learning is a strategy that I want to incorporate into my everyday instructional practice. Project=-based learning emphasizes a student-centered learning environment and artifact creation as part of the learning outcome (Orey, 2001). The technology tool that I have learned about during this course, that has inspired me the most is VoiceThread. I can think of some ways to use this tool in the classroom to guide, inspire, educate my students. One of the clear benefits is the ability for struggling writers to share their ideas about a picture prompt verbally. This will help those struggling writers to build confidence in their story telling. This confidence will then lead to confidence writing stories. I first need to explain the benefits of the service to the technology department within my school district, because the site is block by a district wide web filter. The next tool that I will incorporate into my instructional practice is Kidspiration software. The software can bu used by my students to create concept maps to demonstrate knowledge that they have acquire during the learning process.

Two long-term goals that I would like to make to my instructional practice regarding technology integration are the use of cooperative learning through the use of technology with students from around the world and creation and maintenance of a classroom website by my students. First I must learn how to best prepare my students to work with others in the virtual world. This is a skill that they will need to succeed in the fast-paced virtual workplace  (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., 2007).  The skills that are necessary to work cooperatively within a classroom would have to be extended to working with a person or persons in the virtual world. Social skills and communication skills must be developed to interact in an positive and appropriate manner with people that you may never meet physically. My second long term goal would require the creation of an after school or lunchtime program where I could teach students how to create and maintain a website. Students would take ownership of their website and see the need to improve their own writing. When they realize that others will be visiting the classroom website that they are in charge of, they will be more careful to make sure that it is great. After the first group completes their own classroom website they could help to teach the other students that show an interest in web design. The students will become the teachers an truly understand the process of website creation.

All in all I look forward to guiding my students further into the 21st century by engaging them in activities that will help them develop their critical thinking skills, while bringing their own style and creativity to the classroom. 

References

Laureate Education Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program five. Cognitive Learning Theory [Motion Picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Orey, M.(Ed.). Emerging Perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K.(2007) Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, Va. ASCD

Voicethread

Here is the url to my voicethread


http://voicethread.com/share/657813/

Let's Learn From Each Other

How many times have you had to work or play a sport with others. In order for the a project to be successful, those involved must cooperate. Groups or teams must work together with each member responsible for his/her job. The group's success is dependent on the each individual's contribution. Our world today has become smaller because of the ease of communication between geographically far away places. So much work today involves cooperation between groups or individuals that are located in different prts of the world.

The instructional strategy of cooperative learning groups gives students the chance to develop the ability to learn and create cooperatively. One component of cooperative learning that correlates to social learning theory is the building of interpersonal and small group skills such as encouragement and conflict resolution (Pitler, et al, 2007). Dr. Orey also states in this week's media resources, that cooperative learning groups provide encouragement, validation and immediate feedback as ideas bounce back and forth (Laureate,2008). The jigsaw learning strategy motivated learners to become teachers within the group. To be able to teach you must understand the content very well. This is supported by the idea, that the best way to learn is to teach. Technology plays crucial role in facilitating cooperative learning (Pitler, et al,2007). Facebook, blogs, wikis, webquests, voice threads, Google Docs, and Skype allow students to communicate, collaborate, receive and give feedback, even though members of the group are not face-to-face. As educators we must model the social skills necessary for cooperative learning groups to succeed. This something is a fact that is not always the case in our schools today.

As stated in the book, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works, in order to be prepared for the fast-paced global workplace, students need to be able to learn and produce cooperatively (2007).


References
 
Laureate Education Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program eight. Social Learning Theories [Motion Picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K.(2007) Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, Va. ASCD

Take control of Learning

There are some students willing to just listen to a teacher lecture and then robotically repeat the information that was taught but not learned. They think let me just remember just long enough for the test. After that it won't be needed anymore. Their are also teachers who would prefer this scenario over children asking too many questions. What if they don't the answer to a very good question.

Educators can take a cue from coaches. Coaches can draw plays up, model the execution of a play, but they can't do it for them. Also the other team isn't just going to do what you want them to do. Great coaches teach their players to think. They also give options and pose further questions. Players then try out their ideas and learn form their experiences.

Constructivism/constructionism learning theory states that the learner creates his/her own knowledge. The educator then becomes a mentor/facilitator. In the book Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works, an instructional strategy is presented that relates directly to constuctivist/constuctionist learning theory; generating and testing hypotheses is an integral part of project-based and problem-based learning. The authors believe that when students generate and test hypotheses, they engage in complex mental processes (higher order thinking skills), therefore enhancing understanding (Pitler, et al, 2007). As Dr. Orey stated in the this week's video constructionism states that people learn best when they build an artifact (Laureate, 2008). Learners first come up with ideas (generate hypotheses), then they test them. The next step would be to gather and then analyze data. Technology makes these processes less tedious and time consuming. This in turn lets the learner spend more time analyzing what they have learned and compare the hypothesis. Finally the learner can create an artifact, with the help of technology, that will support the hypothesis and allow the learner to make meaningful connections to the content related to the project or problem that is being worked on. By taking control of the learning, the concepts gain more relevance. The learner can finally see how the concepts relate to them and the real world.

References
 
Laureate Education Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program seven. Constructionist and Constructivist Learning Theories [Motion Picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K.(2007) Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, Va. ASCD