- Module 1
Dipping my toe in the water...
Where do I stand?
-Module 2
Do you see what I see?
The art of question making
-Module 3
Politics with a capital 'P'
Quality Educational Research Fact or Fallacy?
-Module 4
A question of Ethics
Codes of Conduct
-Reflection
...and what of all of this?
-References
Who said what?
Monday, January 18, 2010
Module 1: What is Educational Inquiry?
Activity 1: Dipping my toe in the water 
Activity 1 was all about being introduced to Educational Inquiry. Chapter 1 of the set text –The basics of social research (Babbie, 2008) Is all about introducing the idea of Human Inquiry and Science.
I really enjoy Babbie’s style of writing. He has a dry sense of humor that is apparent throughout the book. I found his discussion on how we know what we know to be very interesting. I’d never labeled the fact that most of what I know, has come through what I’ve been told or what is sociably agreeable. As humans we are very trusting, probably a good thing too, otherwise each of us would spend most of our lives trying to discover things that were already ‘known’.
Babbie (2008) Discusses and defines variables, attributes as well as qualitative and quantitative data. My task was to answer a couple of questions relating to these definitions.
https://mylo.utas.edu.au/webct/urw/lc20934.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct
Identify a social problem that you feel ought to be addressed and solved. What are the variables represented in your description of the problem? Which of those variables would you monitor in determining whether the problem was solved?
I chose an educational issue: Students that don't reach literacy benchmarks in grade 5/7
The variables involved could be:
-Gender-Socio Economic Status
-Occupation of parents
-Being read to in the home
-School
-Teaching pedagogy
-School Attendance
-Age child first attended school/play group/pre kinder etc.
I would find it interesting to measure the Occupation of the Parents and see if this impacted on literacy levels. Whether the child was read to in the home would be another interesting variable to consider, however a much harder one to measure or quantify.
Question 3: Suppose you were interested in studying the quality of life among elderly people, what quantitative and qualitative indicators might you examine?
Quantitative indicators:
-Number of persons on a pension/self funded
-Number of visits from family/friends
-Number of social activites
-Number of Elderly in homes/independant/living with family
- Compare results on physical/Mental health against this data
Qualitative:
-Social Life
-Friendships
-Relationships
-Well-being - all areas
-Thoughts on quality of life
My Quantitative data collection and analysis would involve close questioned surveys and responses that could be counted and graphed. The qualitative data would consist of open-ended interview questions, or other such methods that would extract more opinion and feeling rather than data and numbers.
Activity 1 was all about being introduced to Educational Inquiry. Chapter 1 of the set text –The basics of social research (Babbie, 2008) Is all about introducing the idea of Human Inquiry and Science.
I really enjoy Babbie’s style of writing. He has a dry sense of humor that is apparent throughout the book. I found his discussion on how we know what we know to be very interesting. I’d never labeled the fact that most of what I know, has come through what I’ve been told or what is sociably agreeable. As humans we are very trusting, probably a good thing too, otherwise each of us would spend most of our lives trying to discover things that were already ‘known’.
Babbie (2008) Discusses and defines variables, attributes as well as qualitative and quantitative data. My task was to answer a couple of questions relating to these definitions.
https://mylo.utas.edu.au/webct/urw/lc20934.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct
Identify a social problem that you feel ought to be addressed and solved. What are the variables represented in your description of the problem? Which of those variables would you monitor in determining whether the problem was solved?
I chose an educational issue: Students that don't reach literacy benchmarks in grade 5/7
The variables involved could be:
-Gender-Socio Economic Status
-Occupation of parents
-Being read to in the home
-School
-Teaching pedagogy
-School Attendance
-Age child first attended school/play group/pre kinder etc.
I would find it interesting to measure the Occupation of the Parents and see if this impacted on literacy levels. Whether the child was read to in the home would be another interesting variable to consider, however a much harder one to measure or quantify.
Question 3: Suppose you were interested in studying the quality of life among elderly people, what quantitative and qualitative indicators might you examine?
Quantitative indicators:
-Number of persons on a pension/self funded
-Number of visits from family/friends
-Number of social activites
-Number of Elderly in homes/independant/living with family
- Compare results on physical/Mental health against this data
Qualitative:
-Social Life
-Friendships
-Relationships
-Well-being - all areas
-Thoughts on quality of life
My Quantitative data collection and analysis would involve close questioned surveys and responses that could be counted and graphed. The qualitative data would consist of open-ended interview questions, or other such methods that would extract more opinion and feeling rather than data and numbers.
Module 1: What is Educational Inquiry? - Cont.
Activity 2: Where do I stand? 
Task: Read some Educational Research papers- think about your own perspective-
Although very interesting, the ‘post modern’ view on reality is all a little too ‘airy fairy’ for my liking. Nothing is really there? Because everything is based on what we perceive? If I think long and hard I can see how this may be the case. However, the realist in me much prefers the Modern view, yes we all have different perspectives, and yes they all may vary greatly, but what’s there is there!
In looking at the different paradigms of social science a couple really stood out to me. Having quite a competitive personality I found the Conflict Paradigm very interesting…’Dominate or be Dominated’ It is interesting to observe that even when a hierarchy isn’t forced onto a group of humans they will naturally form their relationships in this anyway. Watching a group of children the ‘top dog’ is identified very quickly with the others falling ‘in line’ you can often identify who has more or less ‘power’ in the group through observation.
Structural Functionalism is another paradigm I could connect with, society being made up of many parts and contributors. This appeals to my sense of family, and community. That when all parts function and contribute, society on the whole benefits greatly.
The third paradigm appealed to the antagonistic self, that being Ethnomethodology, the study of social structure on human behavior. Going against the ‘norm’ to gauge reaction. There are so many ‘unspoken rules’ in our society, and these rules often vary depending on the context and even social standing of those involved. In my own lifetime I’ve found myself in many situations where things are expected and not explained and then disapproving looks are given when these expectations are not met. It’s all a learning process. The study of uncovering these ‘rules’ or ‘a social norm’ intentionally, sounds fascinating!
I myself am only an amateur in the field of research. I don’t consider myself ready to critic or pull apart the research of others. They have been doing this for a lot longer than me! I can, however, see the benefit of many forms of research and also recognize that different approaches to research would be required for different endeavors.
Task: Read some Educational Research papers- think about your own perspective-
Although very interesting, the ‘post modern’ view on reality is all a little too ‘airy fairy’ for my liking. Nothing is really there? Because everything is based on what we perceive? If I think long and hard I can see how this may be the case. However, the realist in me much prefers the Modern view, yes we all have different perspectives, and yes they all may vary greatly, but what’s there is there!
In looking at the different paradigms of social science a couple really stood out to me. Having quite a competitive personality I found the Conflict Paradigm very interesting…’Dominate or be Dominated’ It is interesting to observe that even when a hierarchy isn’t forced onto a group of humans they will naturally form their relationships in this anyway. Watching a group of children the ‘top dog’ is identified very quickly with the others falling ‘in line’ you can often identify who has more or less ‘power’ in the group through observation.
Structural Functionalism is another paradigm I could connect with, society being made up of many parts and contributors. This appeals to my sense of family, and community. That when all parts function and contribute, society on the whole benefits greatly.
The third paradigm appealed to the antagonistic self, that being Ethnomethodology, the study of social structure on human behavior. Going against the ‘norm’ to gauge reaction. There are so many ‘unspoken rules’ in our society, and these rules often vary depending on the context and even social standing of those involved. In my own lifetime I’ve found myself in many situations where things are expected and not explained and then disapproving looks are given when these expectations are not met. It’s all a learning process. The study of uncovering these ‘rules’ or ‘a social norm’ intentionally, sounds fascinating!
I myself am only an amateur in the field of research. I don’t consider myself ready to critic or pull apart the research of others. They have been doing this for a lot longer than me! I can, however, see the benefit of many forms of research and also recognize that different approaches to research would be required for different endeavors.
Module 2: Practicalities of Educational Research
Activity 1: Do you see what I see?
Observation of an Eating Situation:
Dinner at the Gibson’s:
Fork in right hand, bowl of salad on lap-
Conversation flows
Waits till mouth is empty to speak
Slurps in piece of coldslaw, wipes mouth with hand
Eats with mouth open
Talks with mouth full
Licks teeth
Puts potato salad closest to her as she eats it
Burps – Laughs (Because she knows I’m observing)
Mum refuses to eat
Dessert:
Debate – What’s the difference between – “Can I have some ice cream?” and “Can you get me some ice cream?”
Loud slurping noises – sigh
Mum – (Finally can’t resist eating dessert simply because I’m observing) Blows icecream to moderate temperature (as if it’s too hot and she’s cooling it down) – Does this subconsciously then laughs at herself.
Sister – Drops spoon on belly “Dam it” Scrapes off residue.
Spoon of dessert lingers in mouth longer than spoon of salad – indicating enjoyment.
Being asked to simply observe, without direction, I found myself subconsciously looking for things that mattered to me. While growing up, etiquette whilst eating was drilled into us, hence my observations mainly consist of when this etiquette is followed or otherwise. I am very close with my sister and my mother; we’d already talked about my day at school and what my ‘homework’ was. They knew that I would be writing observations as they ate and changed their behaviour accordingly. Mum refused to eat, my sister ‘played to the audience’ so to speak, and modified her behaviour in a negative way in order to be funny!
Relating this to an educational setting you often find that children can change their behaviour when they know you are observing them. In a simple walk around the room it’s easy to see those that suddenly pick up the pace of their writing or put their heads down when you are drawing closer. When taking running records during reading sessions, children often are more concerned with what you are doing than what they are reading. I have also changed my teaching behaviour based on the presence of other adults in the room. Thus it is a delicate balance between simply getting ‘observations’ and getting ‘true observations’ – when you can monitor behaviour in its truest setting.
Observation of an Eating Situation:
Dinner at the Gibson’s:
Fork in right hand, bowl of salad on lap-
Conversation flows
Waits till mouth is empty to speak
Slurps in piece of coldslaw, wipes mouth with hand
Eats with mouth open
Talks with mouth full
Licks teeth
Puts potato salad closest to her as she eats it
Burps – Laughs (Because she knows I’m observing)
Mum refuses to eat
Dessert:
Debate – What’s the difference between – “Can I have some ice cream?” and “Can you get me some ice cream?”
Loud slurping noises – sigh
Mum – (Finally can’t resist eating dessert simply because I’m observing) Blows icecream to moderate temperature (as if it’s too hot and she’s cooling it down) – Does this subconsciously then laughs at herself.
Sister – Drops spoon on belly “Dam it” Scrapes off residue.
Spoon of dessert lingers in mouth longer than spoon of salad – indicating enjoyment.
Being asked to simply observe, without direction, I found myself subconsciously looking for things that mattered to me. While growing up, etiquette whilst eating was drilled into us, hence my observations mainly consist of when this etiquette is followed or otherwise. I am very close with my sister and my mother; we’d already talked about my day at school and what my ‘homework’ was. They knew that I would be writing observations as they ate and changed their behaviour accordingly. Mum refused to eat, my sister ‘played to the audience’ so to speak, and modified her behaviour in a negative way in order to be funny!
Relating this to an educational setting you often find that children can change their behaviour when they know you are observing them. In a simple walk around the room it’s easy to see those that suddenly pick up the pace of their writing or put their heads down when you are drawing closer. When taking running records during reading sessions, children often are more concerned with what you are doing than what they are reading. I have also changed my teaching behaviour based on the presence of other adults in the room. Thus it is a delicate balance between simply getting ‘observations’ and getting ‘true observations’ – when you can monitor behaviour in its truest setting.
Module 2: Practicalities of Educational Research - Cont.
Activity 2: The art of question making.
How do you get the information you need? By asking the right questions!
The task:
Design a 3 part Likert scale questionnaire that will uncover what people consider to be the most important parts of a healthy lifestyle.
My Likert scale gave five choices for response:
-Strongly Disagree
-Disagree
-Neutral
-Agree
-Strongly Agree
My three statements were:
1) A balanced diet is an essential
part of a healthy lifestyle.
2) Good Social wellbeing is essential
to a healthy lifestyle.
3) Physical health is the most
important part of a healthy
lifestlye.
Design two open ended questions on a healthy lifestyle:
Is a healthy lifestyle all about balance or are some things more essential than others?
What component of a healthy lifestyle would you view as essential? Explain.
I found it challenging to create questions that would elicit the type of information I needed. I spent a good part of the morning coming up with three questions! Playing with words, and ideas, constantly changing word order, imagine trying to design a whole survey! I’d never realized the amount of work that needs to go into the questions we pose.
Remember:
- Stay positive
- Be clear
- One idea per question
In the Likert scale I tried to give the respondent the opportunity to consider all areas of wellbeing and consider whether they found them essential. The more questions you are allowed to ask the better the information you would elicit, however you don’t want a 100 question survey, so being concise is a challenge.
Module 3: Quality in Educational Research
Activity 1: Politics with a capital ‘P’
As Babbie (2008) pointed out education research will continue regardless of ‘politics’ ‘science proceeds in the midst of political controversy and hostility’ (p. 87) however it still has a major influence. Politicians of course are concerned about remaining elected and keeping the public happy, if they want to start an ‘education revolution’ in order to do this, they are going to want research and results to support their policies. ‘Teachers as professionals’ and ‘the credibility of curriculum and pedagogy’ are always hot topics. The media often reports how BAD we are doing and rarely paints Australia’s education system in a good light. Politicians are there to offer a ‘quick fix’.
This however all seems to happen at a systems level. I believe the feeling of many teachers is that ‘I’ll just keep teaching, what I know works, in a way that I’m comfortable with, no matter what’s going on ‘above me’.’ This however, is just my own assumption, not based on any research, but simple observations of discussions in school staff rooms. The lack of consistency in expectations from a systems level can be frustrating; this is essentially based on a three year turn around, that of one political term. This in itself is an indicator of the political influence on education and educational research.
Module 3: Quality in Educational Research - Cont.
Activity 2: Quality Educational Research Fact or Fallacy?
Read :
Burkhardt, H. & Schoenfeld, A.H. (2003). Improving educational research: Toward a more useful, more influential, and better funded enterprise. Educational Researcher 32(9), 3-14.
Pollard, A. (2006). Pollard, A. (2006). Challenges facing educational research. Educational Review guest lecture 2005. Educational Review, 58(3), 251-267.
Hartley, D. (2006)
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the writers' points of view?
Given the very wide range of approaches to education research, what do you consider are the essential ingredients of a good quality research study?
Burckhardt and Schoenfeld’s diagnosis of Educational Research in America is very thorough. Their discussion on how educational research links to practice was insightful and I agree with many of their claims. I can only speak for myself in admitting I don’t have time to read copious amounts of research and critic it then decide which initiative would be best implemented in my classroom. Professional development often inspires me right up until the time when I enter the classroom again and realize all the ‘routine’ things I have to get done to ‘survive’, so my new inspired direction is often left by the wayside for a time, if not totally forgotten. I do often rely on leaders of the school or ‘experts’ to summarize and disseminate the latest research initiative, if it seems plausible I’m quite happy to give it a go in my classroom.
Pollard and Hartley also paint an interesting picture of Educational Research. Pollard had highlighted many similar issues to Burkhardt and Schoenfeld, But I’m throwing my support behind Hartley’s opinion that “…much of the criticisms made of educational research could apply equally to the social sciences in general.” (Hartley, 2006, p. 269)
Burkhardt and Schoenfeld spend a lot of their discussion comparing Educational Research to Medical Research or Research in Engineering, although a similar process can be followed I think that’s where the comparisons need to stop. One example of the effective use of research in other fields is the concept of ‘Robust Mechanisms-for Taking Ideas From Laboratory Scale to Widely Used Practice.’ Medical researchers and Engineering researchers have mechanisms in place for transferring their research from the small scale laboratory to a larger scale implementation. This is much harder in educational research because Social Sciences deal with people, ‘…there could be no truth; only truths for-the-moment, contingent, relative and provisional’ (Hartley, 2006, p. 270) Research that can be effectively applied to one school setting and group of students, can often be ineffective for another schools setting or student group.
This is just one example of how social science, and therefore educational research, differs from traditional science or research that is used for medical and engineering purposes.
In my opinion quality educational research is research that has practical implications for everyday teaching and learning. It contains easily understood and thoroughly researched information, that when applied, will improve education for the stakeholders it involves. More amounts of credible research, producing results that work, is essential to boosting the credibility of educational research and how it is viewed by society.
Read :
Burkhardt, H. & Schoenfeld, A.H. (2003). Improving educational research: Toward a more useful, more influential, and better funded enterprise. Educational Researcher 32(9), 3-14.
Pollard, A. (2006). Pollard, A. (2006). Challenges facing educational research. Educational Review guest lecture 2005. Educational Review, 58(3), 251-267.
Hartley, D. (2006)
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the writers' points of view?
Given the very wide range of approaches to education research, what do you consider are the essential ingredients of a good quality research study?
Burckhardt and Schoenfeld’s diagnosis of Educational Research in America is very thorough. Their discussion on how educational research links to practice was insightful and I agree with many of their claims. I can only speak for myself in admitting I don’t have time to read copious amounts of research and critic it then decide which initiative would be best implemented in my classroom. Professional development often inspires me right up until the time when I enter the classroom again and realize all the ‘routine’ things I have to get done to ‘survive’, so my new inspired direction is often left by the wayside for a time, if not totally forgotten. I do often rely on leaders of the school or ‘experts’ to summarize and disseminate the latest research initiative, if it seems plausible I’m quite happy to give it a go in my classroom.
Pollard and Hartley also paint an interesting picture of Educational Research. Pollard had highlighted many similar issues to Burkhardt and Schoenfeld, But I’m throwing my support behind Hartley’s opinion that “…much of the criticisms made of educational research could apply equally to the social sciences in general.” (Hartley, 2006, p. 269)
Burkhardt and Schoenfeld spend a lot of their discussion comparing Educational Research to Medical Research or Research in Engineering, although a similar process can be followed I think that’s where the comparisons need to stop. One example of the effective use of research in other fields is the concept of ‘Robust Mechanisms-for Taking Ideas From Laboratory Scale to Widely Used Practice.’ Medical researchers and Engineering researchers have mechanisms in place for transferring their research from the small scale laboratory to a larger scale implementation. This is much harder in educational research because Social Sciences deal with people, ‘…there could be no truth; only truths for-the-moment, contingent, relative and provisional’ (Hartley, 2006, p. 270) Research that can be effectively applied to one school setting and group of students, can often be ineffective for another schools setting or student group.
This is just one example of how social science, and therefore educational research, differs from traditional science or research that is used for medical and engineering purposes.
In my opinion quality educational research is research that has practical implications for everyday teaching and learning. It contains easily understood and thoroughly researched information, that when applied, will improve education for the stakeholders it involves. More amounts of credible research, producing results that work, is essential to boosting the credibility of educational research and how it is viewed by society.
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