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. Analysis will attempt to determine issues concerning peer mediation.

I think the first scenario employs the survey method of a quantitative research design because the researcher would employ face to face interviews. According to McMillan and Schumacher (2008), “surveys are used frequently in educational research to describe attitudes, beliefs, opinions and, other types of information” (p.25). The participants would be able to provide the issues of focus. Once the participants were selected they will be observed over a three week period with the analysis derived from their experiences. The analysis would serve as a case study also to determine the issues concerning implementing peer mediation.

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.

Since there are 30 students in each class of the same demographics, a mixed method practice could be employed. The quantitative design would cover the comparison between each group based on hours of training and numbers of referrals. The analysis of referrals links it to a qualitative design. Because the researcher is studying a concept like peer mediation, and analyzing referrals, the method could lend itself as a non-interactive method. Again, McMillan and Schumacher (2008) define an explanatory research design of a mixed method approach as collecting data first, then supporting it with qualitative findings, therefore “it is common to use methods sequentially” (p.28). A comparison between trained and untrained groups can be conducted and analyzed, numbers presented, and then research for other studies to be done in the same manner to elaborate or support the study.

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.

I believe that this scenario would be qualitative and interactive by nature because the counselor is analyzing or gathering data on natural occurring phenomena, attitudes. Therefore most of the data collected will be in the form of words and not necessarily numbers. The process is to try to analyze the data collected in order to find a correlation between a particular attitude or mindset and how peer mediation is accepted or applied. The objective is to find what type of personal traits seems to fit best to become a peer mediator. Therefore, by using an interactive qualitative method, the counselor can focus on individual lived experience as seen in a phenomenology or a case study (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008).

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.

I would classify scenario 4 as a mix-method research design because it will be analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data. Since they researcher is issuing a pre- and then a post-test, data would be collected to analyze for further study. The researcher is also then going to conduct interviews on a bi-monthly basis, therefore collecting data to review progress of the study. The best mixed method of research may be a triangulation design for this scenario. Even though the data is not collected at the same time, McMillan & Schumacher (2008) points out that “it uses the strengths of one method to offset the weaknesses of the other” (p.28). Since the study focuses on the how peer-mediation is accepted, surveys will be taken and pre- and post test data surveyed as well as interviews analyzed in order to gain knowledge or reveal the attitude of the students about a program. Again the problem will be to determine validity of the research, but since the tests are providing data, and interviews conducted and analyzed, the stronger the match between the two the greater the validity of the research conducted.

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

Application Week 3: Writing the Research Questions

If a school district implements a Civic Education program into its 8th and 11th grade social studies curriculum throughout the entire year, does that program improve the students’ writing scores on standardized tests.

Who: High school students.
What: Implementing a civic education program in the curriculum throughout the school year.
Why: To evaluate 8th and 11th grade writing scores on standardized tests.

Since I will be evaluating statistical information from a quasi-experimental design, secondary data analysis, a case study, and cause and effect relationships, both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed which seems to point to the mixed method research design. Inexperience is revealed with appropriate knowledge in the area of denoting a mixed-method explanatory approach or the combination of the aforementioned, which is more appropriate?

I plan to also examine:
1. What content does the program introduce?
2. What strategies of instruction are implemented in the program?
3. What role does technology play in the classroom instruction around program?
4. Will teachers need training to implement the program?
5. Will the program offer similar or different writing prompts than previously employed?
6. Does the program develop civic awareness as well as affect student scores on standardized tests?

These are some of the questions that I plan to look for in the research. Please feel free to offer any advice. Since the program is called Civic Education, it is difficult to explain what it does differently than an ordinary social studies curriculum. Basically it augments basic curriculum by learning the processes of government from the local level, through the state level and eventually the federal level through social networking. Students investigate local political issues, local history, Constitutional awareness, as well as civic awareness and conflict mediation. They participate in debates; write editorials, persuasive and informative essays, participate in group projects to promote local historical topics and public events National Constitution Day. There seems to be a movement by the National Council for the Social Studies and the Pennsylvania Council for the Social Studies to promote these programs to districts across Pennsylvania and to other states. I am also interested to see if this is an effective way to increase students writing skills while developing civic responsibility.

Problem Statement

Although integrating technology in the classroom is the main focus of this course, I became interested in a topic that is a current focus for just about all schools in Pennsylvania. Increasing students’ standardize test scores seems to be directing educational curriculum. The use of technology also plays a key role in this paradigm. For this class, I have chosen a topic which interested me because it makes use of technology, secondly, the ultimate goal is to increase standardized test scores, and thirdly it relates to the field of Social Studies education.

My problem statement:
I plan to determine if implementing a civic education program throughout the entire school year will help increase high school students’ writing scores on standardized tests.

Who: High school students.
What: Implementing a civic education program in the curriculum.
Why: To evaluate the students’ scores on standardized tests.

I am looking for help from my peers in brainstorming questions or thoughts for this problem as it is not too late to alter, or even go in a different direction. The reason for my interest in this topic lies with my interest in Social Studies and the wealth of information provided through the use of technology in the classroom.
The well being of any democratic society largely depends on its ability to instill in youth the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for active, informed citizenship. I am not investigating (nor promoting) a program that indoctrinates, but rather, informs students. There are several programs sponsored by the state governments, professional educational organizations, and other corporate professionals that supply a district with materials, and sponsored activities. These programs range from Mock Trials, Constitution Day, Conflict Mediation, and the like. They are usually integrated throughout the entire district from 1st grade through graduation and are integrated primarily in Social Studies, but by design, develop cross curricular into language arts. By teaching students the process of a government, teaching what the Bill of Rights means to them, conducting debates, researching court cases, the students develop a broader understanding of their role in society, not just parroting responses from talk radio or news shows. Students would have to learn to read and analyze newspaper, magazine, and professional journals. They would learn to write opinion editorials, persuasive, and informative essays. Create blogs to reflect on, interact with, and provide information to the community beyond the classroom. Most of the programs I have seen thus far are focused in developing students’ community awareness and involvement.

Course Reflection: Personal Learning Theory

After completing the course on Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology, my teaching style has been altered noticeably. By blending cognitive and behaviorist approaches into my lesson preparation, and more consciously integrating the constructivist theory in my lesson planning, my objectives are more effectively applied. In the past I have always tried to develop lessons from back to front, asking myself the question, “What do I want my students to get from this?” After several articles, videos, and reading the text, I began to see where the question I was asking was fine, but needed altered to, “What do I want my students to produce, make, or do?” That simple adjustment places the lesson squarely in the constructivist zone while I can apply other theories of learning to support the student efforts. Passing a “Nerf” football around the room during football season permits me to use a behaviorist strategy to review vocabulary terms and also provides that kinesthetic element I also seek when possible. One long term goal would be to be able to create a project for each module I teach, in other words one for the Middle East, one for Africa, one when studying India, one that while covering Russia and finally China. The second goal is to have a new technical application for each of those projects. Maybe the first project would implement a VoiceThread as the central focus to convey the objectives, and then the next project would implement a cooperative learning tool like a group wiki to focus on the objectives. By doing so, I can create lessons that are dynamic, authentic, and implement the three theories studied in this course with a pronounced focus on constructivism. It permits me to create a paradigm to create the type of lessons that I want to teach. I also believe there is plenty of room for implementation of other elements from learning theories and build lessons around the units created in each module. Different strategies such as blog use would be implemented early on, and repeated use would hone their skills in writing areas such as editorializing, persuasive, and informatory and serve a dual approach because of the use of technology. Applying word webs through applications such as Webspiration, provide visual organization and conceptual mapping to further develop student growth. Technology plays an integral role in my personal learning philosophy and hopefully will improve my teaching skills with the residual effect on my students learning.

Voice Thread on Dubai

Here is the link to my Voice Thread. I tried to use voice and written comments to pose a problem for my students to work on.

http://voicethread.com/share/655530/

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

In education, simply integrating technology into lessons fails to qualify that lesson as a cooperative learning experience. In order to reach the level of cooperative learning, it takes software and strategies that permit interaction with one another (Orey, 2001). Google Docs provides a means for several students in a group to work on a project, such as a PowerPoint presentation, and have every member in the group be responsible for a particular task such as slide design, topic research, typing and or embedding into a slide. Therefore we could then call the project a cooperative learning experience. If all are working on the same project, but also with different elements to be brought together as a whole, then by my understanding it is a collaborative affair (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). The interaction of individuals as feedback and suggestions to a Voice Thread provides a means to complete a collaborative project if more than one individual shares their slides, text, or voice. The Voice Thread provides a very authentic means of collaborative approach because through investigating the site one could use it during a meeting in a professional setting. The meeting can be run with objectives, notes, and minutes being generated as well. Webspiration is another fine example of a way to work on a project, organize and take minutes, delegate assignments or responsibilities in a classroom or in a corporate boardroom.
With the advent of today’s technological advancements, there are plenty of software applications that educators can use in the classroom that replicate the professional world, therefore not only are we teaching content material, but we are also teach technical and social learning skills where students who continue through with their lives actually have those skills developed and more ready to enter the professional world. Within the confines of the classroom, it also opens the walls to permit outside exposure and collaboration with professionals. The student becomes more responsible and in control of the direction of the project therefore they end up being more motivated.
References:
Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology.
Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with
classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Constructivism in Practice

Constructionist theory provides the students with the power to make choices in tackling a problem or creating a project. After digesting several articles in video on the constructionist/Constructivist theory in education, I found that some of what I do in the classroom could be classified as such. Unfortunately, much of that was not done properly. I have used PowerPoint for instruction, and I have had my students generate PowerPoint presentations, but have failed to have them construct them around Problem Based Instruction but used them somewhat as Project Based. I say that loosely because I failed to have a complete understanding of what to have the students create aside from a set of notes. I happen to be a proponent of PBL and PBI because it seems to be the easiest way to make material relevant to the students. We all like to face a challenge, one that is clear and within our realm of accomplishment. Therefore I plan to have my students work on a project to promote an item at a Suq (marketplace) by using software to create a thirty second commercial. Of course I will have to organize the project, provide necessary resources, both challenges that I have been properly trained for, but a particular problem I will have to address, and it will take some practice on my part (back to behaviorism) is being able to utilize and facilitate the use of the software that edits video. It is one of the natural barriers for teachers like me who are “digital immigrants.” I have to learn how to use the resource first, or at least well enough to work with the students. There are times when the students show me shortcuts to technology, but the majority of the students may find it just alien as I do. So if it is new to the majority, then I have to have some understanding of it. But the bottom line, and this is what I really like about this approach, it is highly rewarding because students really like to work on something malleable. As I spent time reading about Problem Based Instruction, I thought of another project to pose to my students in order to convey hardships faced by many African nations. How can we find a way to provide clean water to villages that have no resource other than manpower or a few cattle? I began thinking about the problem and recognized the need for some type of pump that could run without electricity. After searching for a bit on the net, I noticed many devices that still exist that implement the use of manual pumps. Then I ran across an individual who beat all the engineers because he came up with a way to do so by using common playground devices, a merry-go-round and the teeter totter. He established a non-profit company that provides the equipment to be used but implemented pumps that pull water from shallow wells to fill large water towers. The children play on the equipment and it fills the towers with fresh water. I want to pose the problem to my students and hope they can brainstorm a workable solution. Then introduce them as a reflection to that gentleman. I think they can have fun working the problem, sort of reverse engineering a problem, and also learn about some of the issues faced by modern African villagers. If not for a more clear understanding of this theory, I do not think I would have concentrated on that issue.

Cognitivism in Practice

There are many different ways to learn content material but when we are given an opportunity to interact with the material we are trying to digest we tend to be able to draw on the experience of learning as well as the process itself. As an instructor, I can lecture to my students and have them take notes on the content material. I may be very good at commanding the attention of most of the class, but there will be those who just tune out and write the notes without much of it sinking in. The experience is what their minds make it, some will be able to gain knowledge from the information, but for the most part it will require more on task time with a notebook and possibly flashcards or some sort of strategy to memorize the content material.
Using technology to interact with the material will peak their interest, stimulate their minds, and provide a visual montage to keep their brain engaged. Using concept maps provide a way to organize a lesson around the subject material and perhaps even permits collaboration with group interaction. With the different sites available today, teachers have a much broader toolbox to implement their objectives. So many of the sites are interactive and permit the user to convey their interpretation of the topic or subject material. Students are able to create projects such as creating animated snapshots they can set to music, PowerPoint presentations, stationary cartoons, review games, and now I am working on a new site that permits students to create their own animated cartoons with a multitude of characters. The possibilities seem endless for the creative instructor. However, I must confess that I am a better thief than an innovator and because of my being a digital immigrant; I tend to be behind the curve a bit.
Lastly, one of the interesting things about introducing concept mapping, virtual field trips and other visuals, is that it gives the students more control of the content material and permits them to think about it while they are thinking about how to share it with everyone else (and their teacher). Again it provides a skill that will be used beyond the classroom as well, that is to say, more authentic than just reading it from the text, or listening to a lecture.

Behaviorism in Practice

Many of today's education websites include activities and and games for students to peruse while studying or completing homework. Just as the sites are informative, they are also heavily grounded in a reward or punishment (as not moving on to the next level, or page) system. While education is ever changing, some things remain a constant. Human behavior is intrinsic and has to be molded as the individual matures. Students also mature at different times. Some students learn very quickly that completing a project that was difficult is very rewarding. Others will stray from a challenge, or procrastinate until the very last, or they will only do the absolute minimum. With today's technology, a teacher has a tool to level the playing field. Students can be stimulated to peak their interest, or they can reinforce areas where they struggle. In this week's course resources, there were several sites that offered a tremendous amount of help for a student as well as a teacher. It became apparent that with the proper planning, many of the sites can be used in class, or implemented as homework. They can be used in conjunction with a lesson, or they can be an addition to or reinforcement of the lesson. In the content area I teach, homework assignments are limited, yet there are a number of different paths to take to build the Social Studies skills such as recognizing bias, or cause and effect relationship. Even though it is a bit more abstract than conducting a scientific experiment where one can actually see the process, the sites provided, one in particular, was able to address a very abstract concept and produce a visual of it. For a student who is trying to grasp the concept, it is an extremely valuable tool. Therefore I found exploring the sites very interesting and at least I felt I had a more clear understanding of the philosophy behind the development of the sites.