My Reflection

Course: EDUC-6712I-1 Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom

Instructor: Susan Krauss

The most striking revelation I had while taking this course was that I needed to continue to change how I prepare my students for their future. Information is changing so rapidly that I need to help my students learn how to obtain valid information while sifting through mounds of different resources. I need to continue modeling for my students “how to learn” and break the habit of teaching at them. Another revelation I had during this course was that “it’s not about the technology” (Laurate Education, Inc. 2009). I also heard this statement during a training seminar attended. My analysis of this statement is that if your lesson is bad the technology is not going to make it meaningful. As an educator I need to be aware of how the lesson is delivered and the connection students make with the information.

The knowledge and experience I have gained over the last eight weeks will give me the foundation to teach my students the literacy skills they will need to be successful in their future. Students need to be inspired and engaged in their learning. I want them to “Think outside of the box” (Laurate Education, Inc. 2009). By infusing the different skills into my lessons I will give my students the strategies needed to be creative problem solvers.

One professional goal I have is to continue learning about different information literacy and technology skills. There are many steps I will take to continue this journey. I will attend a variety of inservices and trainings related to technology. I also will keep up to date on any changes by reading different educational blog sites. Along with learning this information I will provide mini trainings for my colleagues to keep them “Tech Savvy.”

Another goal I have is to model different ways to connect with people. I want to open up the classroom doors and become connected with others. I will do this by having my students share information on a class blog or create a wiki page with another classroom. I also would like my students to participate in a Skype conference with another classroom outside of my school. The project would be a follow up on our social studies unit “Trekking Across Alaska.” Each class would give the students clues about their state to determine what state they are from. This would create a connection to the curriculum as well as communicating information through a different multimedia format.

I believe educators needs to step out of the confines of the classroom and embrace the digital world we live in. As educators we may need to educate the administration to reevaluate how information is being taught to our students. If our classrooms do not become forward thinking our students will not be prepared for their future and be behind in this digital age of information.

References

Millard, David. (2009). The hoos-foos muse. Retrived October 24, 2009 from

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pqvfYJ1yp4/Sds23ZJlV7I/AAAAAAAAAkg/HEis4qf2eX8/s400/webbookshelf.jpg

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program three. Essential Questions in Inquiry Projects [Motion picture]. Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program thirteen. It’s Not About The Technology [Motion picture]. Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom. Baltimore: Author.

Evaluating Research

Week 7: Evaluating Research Methods

EDUC – 6653I-2 Introduction to Educational Research

Instructor: Kathryn Arnold

The world of education is constantly changing. Along with those changes educational research has evolved to include a variety of different methods. Some researchers will manipulate the data in order to have a desired result. It is the role of the teacher to be knowledgeable of the key points of each form of research. Teachers need to look at research in a critical manner and determine if the data is valid. Prior to this course I did not know the difference between qualitative and quantitative research design. I now feel confident that I can determine the type of method needed with certain forms of research. I will evaluate the scenarios below and decipher what method I would use to conduct the study.

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.

• Scenario 1 represents a qualitative research plan. A key factor to qualitative research is the type of data that is collect and typically it is interactive and uses a “face-to face” technique subjects (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008). In this study the researcher will conduct an in-depth interview with each of the students.

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.

• Scenario 2 represents a quantitative research plan. Within quantitative research there are 2 different subclassifications experimental and nonexperimental designs. This study would fall under the experimental design. The researcher will compare two different groups to determine the cause and effect of a predetermined set of question(s). Within an experimental design the researcher has control over the subjects (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008).

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.

• Scenario 3 represents an action research plan. In this scenario the school counselor is trying to determine a behavior that is pertinent to the local setting, which is different than a traditional research. Most likely the researcher would use a descriptive data analysis to determine the findings. The end results from this study would have a changing effect in the action of students (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.

• Scenario 4 represents a mixed-method research design. This type of research combines both quantitative and qualitative method of gathering data. In this scenario the researcher is using a survey as a pre and post test to the study. Surveys are used to determine attitude, belief or opinions in a quantitative design subjects (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008). The bi-monthly interviews would produce data that is in the form of words instead of numbers subjects (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008).

Good research allows educators to better their teaching practices, which in turn provides an enriched learning environment for children. It is important to educate students on how to evaluate research. By being able to comprehend different studies students, will have a deeper awareness of the world around them.

Resources

McMillian, J. H., & Schumacher, S. (2006). Research in Education: Evidence-based inquiry (6th Ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson Education, Inc.

The Research Question

Week 3: Research Question
EDUC-6653I-2 Introduction to Educational Research
Instructor: Kathryn Arnold

In this weeks DVD Dr. Canipe explains that in order to write research questions I needed to dissect my problem statement (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008). At first this task was a little confusing. I was over analyzing the different questions. After further investigation I realized my questions were very specific and researchable (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008).

The research design of my problem statement is Quantitative. The main feature of quantitative research design is to analysis numerical data using structure and a controlled environment (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008, p. 23). My questions fall under experimental and nonexperimental subcategories. For the majority of my question I will use a true experimental design. A true experimental design uses random assignments. Each of my test groups will have an opportunity to participate in both experiments (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008, p. 24). I will use surveys for my motivational questions, which is a feature of the nonexperimental category.

My problem statement is:
I plan to determine if elementary students’ writing abilities and motivation would increase if they were allowed to use a word processor instead of pencil and paper application?

My research questions:
1. Will the length of the writing assignment increase by using a word processor? (Quantitative - True Experimental)
2. Will using a word processor increase my students time on task?(Quantitative - True Experimental)
3. Do keyboarding skills influence my students’ ability to use a word processor? (Quantitative - correlational)
4. Does the form of writing assignment increase or decrease my students motivation to use a word processor over pencil/paper? (Quantitative - survey)
5. How will I measure my student’s motivation towards using a word process instead of pencil/paper application?(Quantitative - survey)
6. How does the teacher’s knowledge and comfort level towards using technology influence her students?(Quantitative - survey)
7. Do the features in word processors help or hinder a student’s writing ability (i.e. spellcheck, etc.)? (Quantitative - True Experimental)
8. Do the features in word processors increase or decrease the teacher's level of participation in the course? (Quantitative - survey)

I would like to thank Cesar for suggesting question number nine and ten. I believe those questions helped to round out my set of research questions.
I look forward to your feed back and any suggestions you may have regarding my research questions of problem statement.

Reference:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program three. Research Questions [Motion picture]. Introduction to educational research. Baltimore: Author.
McMillan, J., & Schumacher, S. (2008) Research in education: Evidence-based inquiry (Laureate custom edition). Boston: Pearson.

Problem Statement

Week 2: Purpose/Problem Statements
EDUC-6653I-2 Introduction to Educational Research
Instructor: Kathryn Arnold

I plan to determine if elementary students writing abilities and motivation would increase if they were allowed to use word processor instead of pencil and paper application?

Who: elementary students
What: use word processors
Why: have higher writing abilities and motivation