Evaluating Research Methods

Based on the Research Methods learned these last three weeks, and having reflected on the four scenarios presented, I suggest the following examples of how a researcher might design a study on the subject of peer mediation:

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.

As ten students will be selected based on their involvement with peer mediation for an in depth study, I suggest a qualitative research method. The research is based on human interaction and is done on a face to face basis. I would say that the research purpose is descriptive explanatory which identifies relationships influencing peer mediation (McMillan & Schumacher, 2006, p. 137).


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.

In this analysis I suggest researchers need a explanatory mixed method approach, firstly the researchers determine the age, sex, race, socio-economic background among others continue pursuing a quantitative research and after the selection of a group of 15 for peer mediation, the research will then become a qualitative research based on students with peer to peer mediation for an in depth 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.

A school counselor is interested in finding out if student attitudes affect the value of peer mediation to decrease the number of referrals for inappropriate interactions. I think I would use an Action Research Method for this study. This research method is the process of using research principals to provide information that educational professionals use to improve aspects of day-to-day practice. This research is conducted in three four phases, first focusing on the topic of study, then collecting the data, analyzing the data, and finally followed by taking action based on the results (McMillan & Schumacher, 2006, p. 174).

Scenario 4:

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 suggest a mixed method; this time I would use an explanatory mixed method research starting with the quantitative data collection (in this case, data from the survey) followed by the qualitative “follow-up interviews on a bi-monthly basis”.. (McMillan & Schumacher, 2006, p. 165).




References

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

Research Questions

Since last week I have build up on my problem statement and questions. Some information given on the discussion board was very important. Thank you. Please give me some more suggestions.

Problem Statement:
I plan to determine the effectiveness of the adult educational training programs which integrate technology, when performed by students who have had different levels of contact with technology throughout their lives.

Who: students in adult educational training programs
What: effectiveness of adult training using technology
Why: Determine to what degree students in the adult educational training programs are able to use technology.

Questions:
1.Is there a difference in student motivation to learn in a traditional learning environment without computers and a learning environment with 1:1 computers? (Difference question)
2.To what degree does student mastery of technology, determine the level of the work produced by the students? (Relationship question)
3.What is the best procedure for a teacher to use with students that are not familiar with technology? (Descriptive question)

I would say that mine is a mixed method research as I have quantative and qualitative questions and the design I am thinking of using is the triangulation design.

Maria

Problem Statement

This year is my first year working in the adult training program. The program was developed by the Ministry of Education and implemented in schools around the country.

The course is integrated in the government´s plan to bring the Portuguese populations’ minimum education level up to twelfth grade.

"The RVCC system has addressed the need for qualification of adults who, having no opportunity to achieve and complete cycles of general school-level, yet having a wide life experience in different fields of action, could recognize and certify their key skills through RVCC processes in appropriate settings working with technical specialists". (1)

In this course the students need to work with information technology as well as search for the information required.

I plan to determine the effectiveness of these adult training programs which integrate technology.
Who: students
What: effectiveness of adult training using technology
Why: extend knowledge in various areas including information technology and certify skills.

I have reoriented my problem statement so that it would be easier for me to do my research for this course because of the lack of research literature for my previous problem statement.

Maria

(1) Ministry of Education, Inc. (Producer). (2006). Operational Guide for secondary level Adult Education and Training. Lisbon. Author.

Reflection

1. My “Personal Theory of Learning”

As I reflect on my “Personal Theory of Learning”. I am taken back to the beginning of my teaching experience. I had studied to be a research chemist, yet when my oldest daughter was born with bilateral cataracts and with severe deafness I decided that the best would be to become a high school teacher, so I studied the educational theories where I came across the constructivist theory which influenced my teaching. It made me remember my Organic Synthesis professor at the university which was a constructivist. We where only four students taking the course as it was the last year of our course. We thought we were really great and when she started asking us to go up to the blackboard and explain how reactions we knew nothing about would happen, we did not find it amusing but when I got my diploma I reflected and realized that the teacher that really forced me to think was this teacher. She had forced the four of us to find the solutions to new situations building up from the knowledge we already had. I have tried to follow this theory and have had success with its use throughout the years.

This course has broadened my view of these learning theories; my personal learning theories are constructivist, social constructivist and connectivist. The students are able to build up upon their prior knowledge alone, and working in a group they are influenced by their peers giving them the ability to better this knowledge. We then com to connectivism where the student connects with others directly and also interacts using technology. I did not realize how vast the importance of connectivism was until listening to George Sieman, as he explained how education is a complex system with multiple impacting factores. (Laureate Education, 2008a). This is really fantastic.

2. Adjustments to instructional practice. Three new technology tools to use with my students.

I am going to orientate the use of the technology in my lessons more to the learning process rather than the teaching process, although I still need this to introduce new concepts and to give guidelines. I intend having my students use the brainstorming software, such as webspiration to organize templates. When starting a lesson I could ask the students what they would like to know about the topic what they have to know and How they will find out (Pitler, 2006, p22). I am going to use Voice thread and Virtual Field Trips with my students. Within a certain lesson I could for example give the students various images and have them prepare voice threads commenting what these images are and explain them. With the virtual field trip we are able to take the students on tours to learn about certain topics that would otherwise be impossible to visit. (Laureate Education, 2008b). These virtual tours have many advantages, they are very instructive, the student is able have his own copy of the tour to go back on when he chooses, and they are free.

3. Two long-term goal changes I would like to make to my instructional practice regarding technology integration and outline a strategy for achieving them.

I will try to use the communication software such as wikis, blogs and emails to provide timely, interactive, and criterion-based feedback to the students (Pitler, 2006, p53). I will start using the concept mapping software to prepare my lessons. For feedback on written work I already use the word processing applications with track changing and inserted comments, but I intend to learn more about data collection tools and the grading software. I have never used this software and am now starting to analyze it so that I may start integrating this software in my daily practice as soon as possible.

Maria

References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008a). Program nine. Connectivism as a Learning Theory [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008b). Program six. Spotlight on Technology: Virtual Field Trips [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.

Connectivism and social learning in practice

Social constructivism emphasizes the importance of culture and context in understanding what occurs in society and constructing knowledge based on this understanding. The social constructivists believe that individuals create meaning through their interactions with each other and with the environment they live I, therefore they also view learning as a social process. Meaningful learning occurs when individuals are engaged in social activities.
According to Siemens, knowledge resides in the patterns of how different concepts are networked together. We can no longer personally experience everything there is to experience as we try to learn something new, therefore it is necessary to create networks of technology and people where learning communities can share their ideas.
According to Siemens, the principles of connectivism are:
Learning and knowledge rest in diversity of opinions.
Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.
Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known.
Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.
Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.
Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities.
Decision-making itself is a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of the information may be considered as shifting reality. Something that may be considered true today may not be so tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate. A complex system is typically modeled as a collection of interacting agents, representing components as diverse as people, cells or molecules. Because of the non-linearity of the interactions, the overall system evolution is unpredictable and uncontrollable.

Maria.

http://voicethread.com/share/656976/

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program nine. Connectivism as a Learning Theory [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Principles of constructivist constructionist learning theories

Generating and testing hypothesis may be approached through a inductive or deductive manner, and the student should clearly explain their hypothesis and conclusions. The teacher should guide the student with a variety of structured tasks such as:

• systems analysis where students study parts of the system;
• problem solving, the students look for various solutions considering the obstacles posed by the problem;
• historical investigation where the students construct hypothesis about historical events;
• invention, examine a need and investigate a solution for the need;
• experimental inquiry, students observe phenomenon and make a hypothesis on why or how the event happened;
• decision making, students define criteria and apply weight to the various criteria to decide which choice makes the most sense.
  

Technology can play an important part in testing hypothesis because with these new inventions students are able to spend more time on interpreting the data rather than gathering it. The technology that may be used are the spreadsheets, data collection tools, web resources.

Constructivism is a philosophical theory of knowledge where each person sees the world and objects based upon their own previous experiences and construct their own meaning among others.

Constructionism is a learning theory based on the experience of building, something. The student is actively involved in their own learning process and the teacher assists instead of transmitting knowledge. The student build external artifacts that they may share with other people.


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.

Cognitive Learning Theory

According to Dr Orey our long term memory is accessed through the processing of the information we receive in diferent steps. First we have the sensory input of this information which goes to the short term memory, with rehearsal this information then accesses the long term memory.
Concept mapping correlates to the instructional strategies and cognitive learning theories by using a key concept and relating it to other information creating a network of information that may be accessed through more than one path. Dual code hypothesis relies on the aspect that images are stored in a different part of the brain to text that goes with it thus creating more than one path for the brain to access this information.
Virtual field trips give the students a full set of images and information, creating even more elaborative paths to access this information.
Cues and questions trigger students’ memories and help them access prior knowledge. Advance organizers help classify and make sense of the content they are to encounter. They also help students focus their learning., Summarizing and note taking are also instructional strategies that help process information into long term memory. They help students' learn to synthesize information.

References:
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program five. Cognitive Learning Theory [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program six. Spotlight on Technology: Virtual Field Trips [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theoryinstruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Behaviorism in Practice

The behaviorist theory definitely has its place in our society. It basically revolves around operate conditioning using two mechanisms:
a) Reinforcement
The instructional strategy of reinforcing effort enhances students’ understanding of the relationship between effort and achievement by addressing their attitudes and beliefs about learning (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., 2007).
Students eventually realize the importance of believing that effort leads to better achievement.
The students are able to achieve better if they review and apply what they have learned and this is one of the main purposes of homework, which should be commented uon by the teacher to reinforce the positive behavior.
To enrich the homework program there are word processing applications, multimédia, spreadsheet applications, web resources, and comunication software.
b) Punishment.
Inadequate behavior has consequences. Some teachers have strategies that involve behavior contracts.



Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program four. Behaviorist Learning Theory [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.

Reflection

My technology skills as a professional teacher have become better during this course. I was used to working with technology in the classroom but never thought of using podcasts, blogs and wikis. (Those were basically for student entertainment and did not have any educational interest). What was most important is the fact that this course opened my eyes to the fact that any technology may be used in the classroom if the teacher is able to find a way of effectively integrating it into the teaching and learning process.

I have deepened my knowledge of the teaching and learning process by having discovered technology that will help me:
§ monitor the student participation when they work in groups (wiki) and give the students a way of working together while each one is at their own home;
§ post student work to be viewed by other students and the public in general (blogs);
§ record important information that may be downloaded to mp3, iPods or computers for students to listen to anywhere (podcasts).

I am a learner-centered teacher and find that the technology I learned to use throughout this course will help me be able to make the learning process a much easier and interesting one for my students.

I aim to keep up with all the changing technology, and with this new changed view of the educational interest of all technology. Using technology has made it easier to increase student achievement as they are digital natives; technology is their mother tongue and the world in which they live since birth.

My first goal for transforming classroom environment has to do with the opportunities the students have to use a computer in their lessons. Many students bring their laptops to school and in that way they are able to overcome the obstacle of computer shortage for all students. The government has been installing computers in each classroom as well as a projector. This is not good because we need one computer per person.

My second goal has to do with student interest level, When we use new technology students will be more interested in their learning.

Maria

Profiling our younsters

Not having students at the moment I interviewed family members. My youngest daughter (Isabel), two nieces (Inez and Maria José) and a nephew (Fransisco). Their ages vary from 12 to 16 and grades vary between 6th and 11th grades. None of these students have learning difficulties, yet we are able to see that the boy loves playing video games with his little sister while the older girls, although being digital natives, also appreciate reading books.
As happens with most of our young generation, they all have their outdoor planned activities.

These are urban students that have English as a second language.


http://www.podcastmachine.com/podcasts/992

Evaluating 21st Century Skills

I really enjoyed exploring this website. http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/.

The founders are truly interested in developing the 21st century teaching skills and adapting them to the classroom setting. I was very impressed by the quantity and quality of the information found on this website.

The various themes are: Learning and Innovation Skills, Core Subjects and 21st Century Themes, Information media and Technology Skills, Life and Career Skills. This site also focuses global issues. It was fascinating to discover that there were videos associated to the site on the YouTube. There was one site that covers the three steps necessary for 21st Century Learning. I really enjoyed exploring this site. These people seem to be truly interested in developing the teaching skills adapting them to the 21st century. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yCB4i7GJuM

3 Steps for 21st Century Learning
Step 1 - Transform the classroom into a creative learning space.
Step 2 - Teach students the skills of competition and collaboration.
Step 3 - Introduce the students to the global peers and provide the opportunity for them to collaborate.

How I might use a blog in my classroom

I have never used blogs in my classroom, but reflecting on the recent information I have received I feel that this means of communication is very efficient and interesting for students, if used wisely. I may start a blog for the class and ask students to study and post information on different topics. The students would have to interact, commenting each other’s work, all via the blog on specific days of the week. This interaction might develop their interest in reading and writing.
I might start with a discussion topic on global warming and ask the students to participate and read as well as comment on other participations' posts. The students would not only depend on their research material and opinions among themselves, they would also receive opinions from around the world. This is something that could be very motivating for the students seeing that they would be able to feel the importance given to this subject all over the world. I think that a lesson taught in this way would be greatly enhanced, giving the students more liberty to write what they feel and the ability to create a forum for collaboration with other students. I would use this with my eleventh grade students.
Maria Dolores Jardim