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Class Topics and Assignments
Due Date
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Readings Assignments Due Date
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Week 1
Jan.23rd |
Overview (PPT1)
- Learning Community Building
- Course Overview
- For next week
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Week 2 Jan.30th
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Library Time & WebCT
Training
Class in the Memorial Library (Interactive Reference
Area, 2nd Floor)
HW:
- Find one “good” (in your own opinion)
published article of your own interest (make a hard
copy) to share with the class (for Week 3).
- What seems to be your area of interest?
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2.1 Text book, Mills, Chapter 1. Understanding Action Research
2.2 Text book: Mills, Chapter 2. Deciding on an area of interest. |
Week 3
Feb.06th |
The Scientific Approach
in Education (PPT3)
-A Big Picture
- Types of research
- Stages/Steps of doing research
HW: think about your own teaching, about
your own research – identify
a research focus.
Hot Topic 1: Should School Homework be Abolished or not?
Hot Topics Signed up - Check when you/your group
are going to lead the class discussion. Sign-up Sheet in WORD;
in PDF
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3.1 Introduction to Educational
Research – Types of Research, Gay, Mills, Airasian, (2006).
Chapter I, p.2-19
3.2 What is research? How does the process of
research look like?
3.3 Typical stages in Research.
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Week 4
Feb.13th |
Introduction to Action
Research (PPT4)
Developing your Research Questions (I)
- Using Action Research to Solve a Problem: develop
your research questions.
- Format of a research proposal/report
- Action research proposal - Course project: a big
picture + Draft #1 (rubric and format)
- Group work: brainstorming area of interest from your
own teaching.
HW:
Observe your own teaching or other’s teaching
for a day - for reasonable hours and write 1-page reflections “Things
I learned …” (Remember the purpose of doing this:
to identify an area of interest and to frame your research
questions)
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4.1 Living the questions
4.1.1 Why Teacher Research?
4.1.2 Little r and Big R 4.1.3 Celebrating “ Things
I learned last week”
4.2 Strategies for working toward a research question, Hubbard & Power,
(1999), p31-34.
4.3 Mills, Chapter 1. Understanding Action Research (Textbook)
4.4 Action Research – Example#1: The Inherent
Desire to Learn: Intrinsically Motivating First Grade Students.
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Week 5
Feb.20th |
Developing your research
questions (II)
(PPT 5)
- Share “what I’ve learned last week about
teaching” – what
research questions have you developed from your
observation (& lit rev)?
- Good/researchable research questions
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Qualities of good research question (PDF) (developed
by Shufang's Class)
- Refine your research questions
- Outlining a quantitative or qualitative research
proposal.
Research Topics by EDU651 Fall05
Class (WORD)
Research
Topics by EDU651 Spr06 Class
(WORD)
Research
Topics by other classes
(WORD)
Hot Topic 2: Is Full Inclusion
of Disabled Students Desirable?
Discussion Leaders:
Jessica Carvel;
Katie Dougherty;
Brain Radcliffe &
Megan Kappauf |
5.1 The Research Problem (Characteristics
of good research questions), Fraenkel & Wallen, 2006, p26-33.
5.2 How to refine a research question,
Hubbard & Power, (1999), p28-29.
5.3 Steps in doing a research study – preparing a research
proposal, Gall et all (2005), p17-21; p523-525.
5.4 Outlining
action research master’s thesis (PDF)
5.5 Action
research examples - Networks - an on-line journal for teacher
research (PDF)
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Week 6
Feb.27th |
Literature review (I)
(PPT 6)
- Definition, purpose & guidelines
- Examples and analysis
- Literature Review Draft #2 Rubric
- Types of Research Articles
- Anatomy of a published study
- APA
Research Proposal Draft #1 Introduction
due
Hot Topic 3: Do High-Stakes
Assessments Improve Learning?
Discussion Leaders:
Julie Bennett
Rachel Storti
Paula Harns
Kathy McGowan
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6.1 Literature Review-
An Overview: Handout. WORD ; PDF
6.2
Writing Literature Review, Galvan, 2006,
6.2.1 Analyzing Qualitative
Research Literature (Chapter 6)
6.2.2 Guidelines for writing a first draft (Chapter 7)
6.2.3
Guidelines for developing a coherent essay (Chapter 8)
The
Literature Review: A Few Tips On Conducting It
Some
tips on literature review
So
why are literature reviews often called ‘Critical Reviews’?
Some
sample literature review; and
More examples of student literature review with teacher's comments
A
very simple action research report
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Week 7 Mar.6th |
Library Time
- Literature Review Search
- CITI Pointers
- Individual Meeting with Instructor (I)
LITERATURE REVIEW Rubric: WORD; PDF
LITERATURE REVIEW
Format: WORD |
7.1 Textbook: Mills, Appendix A:
A Case Study of Curtis Elementary.
7.2 Action Research – Example#2.
7.3 Literature Review Examples.
7.5 Types of Research
Articles
7.6 Text Book: Concise Rules of APA (constantly
consulted)
7.7 APA handouts
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Week 8 Mar.13th
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Spring Break - no class
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Week 9 Mar.20
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Literature Review (II)
(PPT 9)
Research Proposal Draft #2 Literature Review due
HW: Observation of your own teaching – looking for
potential data sources.
Hot Topic 4: Is Home Schooling
a Danger to American Society?
Discussion Leaders:
Joe Marzullo
Gretchen Obrist
Melissa Powers
Steve Riggs
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9.1 Text Book: Concise Rules of APA (constantly consulted)
9.2 Action Research – Example#3: Using
Reading Response Journals for Reading Comprehension
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Week 10
Mar.27th |
Methodology (I) (PPT
10)
- Revisit qualitative method – a general picture
- Elements of methodology (draft #3)
Hot Topic 6: Does School Violence
Warrant a Zero-Tolerance Policy?
Discussion Leaders:
Samantha Schneider
Rebecca Hansen
Christine Medicis
METHODOLOGY Rubric: WORD; PDF
METHODOLOGY Format: WORD
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10.1 Revisit Qualitative Approach
10.2 Text book: Mills, Chapter 3. Data collection techniques,
p50-79. |
Week 11 Apr. 3rd
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Methodology (II)
- Each group practices designing one study
- Strategies for Data Collection – role play
- Interview
- Artifacts
- Observation
Hot Topic 7: Are online
courses good or bad?
Discussion Leaders:
Alissa Bardy
Crystal Wall
Antoniette Manino
Howara Marko
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11.1 Text book: Mills, Chapter 4. Data collection considerations:
Validity, Reliability, and Generalizability.
11.2 Text book: Mills, Chapter 5. Ethical issues
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Week 12 Apr.10th |
Methodology (III) Meet
Online
- Strategies for Data Analysis
- Ethical Issues
Timeline Example by Shi Dissert (JPG)
Timeline Example by Shi Spencer (JPG)
Post Draft #3 on line; Peer Review
online |
12.1 Text book: Mills, Chapter 6. Data Analysis and Interpretation.
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Week 13 Apr.17th
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Wrap up the Action
Research (PPT)
Relating your research to you teaching: action plans
Research
Proposal Draft #3 Methodology due
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13.1 Abstract
13.2 Evaluating Discussion Sections
13.3 Revisiting research proposal and research report
13.4 Text book: Mills, Textbook, Chapter 8.
Writing up Action Research |
Week 14 Apr.24th
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Research Presentation
Workshop
Individual Meeting with the Instructor (I)
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Week 15 May 1st
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Grow up as a professional (PPT)
Research Critique: Critique your own research
Individual Meeting with the Instructor (II)
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15.1 Ten Rules for
Keeping Your Audience Awake During Conferences
15.2 Making academic presentations effectively
15.3 Understanding and evaluating educational
research: research critiques.
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Week 16
May 8th |
Final Presentation (I)
Research Proposal
Final Submission due
Action Research Proposal Final Project Outline & Rubric
in WORD;
in PDF
Action Research Proposal Final Project Format in WORD;
in PDF
Action Research Final Presentation
in WORD;
in PDF
Final Submission: What to submit? In Word; in PDF
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Final Presentation - what to focus on?
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Title of the study with your name
- Study purpose in a nutshell
- Major research questions
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Research site & participants in brief
(how many classes/students/teachers/parents? How are
you related to them - for instance, do you teach there
or substitue or else?)
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Data sources to answer your research
questions - highlight one of the sources to answer
one of your questions
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How will you increase the validity, reliability
and credibility of your study? What critical ethical
issues could there be (or not)?
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Show one of your instruments from appendix
and explain, for instance, did you design the instrucment?
Is it valid - can it answer your question?
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Timeline and justify your timeline (only focus
on the total length of data collection process)
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Significance – what will you learn
from doing this research? How will this improve (or
not) your teaching?
Each presenter will have about 7-8 minutes
(no more than 8 minutes).
Each presentation will be followed by a live discussion.
Please take this as another chance to self-critique and to
invite critiques from your peers and the instructor so as
to improve your research (and therefore to be better prepared
for your Master's Thesis in EDU652)
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Week
17
May 15th
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Final presentation (II)
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