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CHR-8604-020
LOCATION TBD Fall 2007 |
Professor: Dr. Edward Garcia Fierros Phone: 610 519-6969 Edward.fierros@villanova.edu Office: St. Augustine Center for the Liberal Arts Room 353 Office Hours: by appointment – please email me at Edward.fierros@villanova.edu or leave me a phone message URL: http://www.homepage.villanova.edu/Edward.Fierros
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“no natural history can be interpreted in the absence of at least some implicit body of intertwined theoretical and methodological belief that permits selection, evaluation, and criticism.” Kuhn Required Texts: o Readings as assigned.
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Course Description: Analysis of diverse types of educational and counseling research; familiarization with research resources and literature survey procedures; evaluation of educational research; its implications for, and application to, educational practice; emphasis on the scientific methods of investigation; development of competency to conduct a research study and write a research paper.
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Course Overview: The emphasis in this course will be on research that you can use in your future classroom. Each of you will be expected to think about a research topic related to your subject content area. You will then learn how to formulate several possible research hypotheses, decide on an appropriate approach to gathering data to test your hypotheses, analyze the results, and present a final write-up. The overall goal is to expose you to the process of conducting research that will be useful and meaningful to you and your future classroom.
The student will be able to: 1. Demonstrate how the research process can be effectively used to answer educationally relevant questions. 2. Understand the theoretical and practical principles of research; 3. Describe the principles and phases of action research; 4. Develop the skills and understandings for evaluating published educational research studies; 5. Know the requirements of completing a research study. 6. Consider how educational research can be used to meet teacher education standards. 7. To use correct APA style when citing references including pages numbers! 8. Explain the basic principles of educational measurement and the types of educational measures. 9. Articulate at least three criteria that distinguish good research from poor research. 10. Design an appropriate research proposal based on observations of your field placement observations.
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COURSE FORMAT The course will include multiple instructional approaches including: lecture, discussion, small group activities, presentation, engagement with technology and critical reflection activities.
Students will be asked to conduct thoughtful discussion of the material assigned for the day’s reading. The course experience will be cooperative in nature with students working in small groups toward resolution of issues and debates raised in class and in the readings. These are not intended to exhaust the potential themes in the course, only to suggest some possible directions for exploration.
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PRE-COURSE ASSIGNMENT:
1.
Write a personal
response to the following questions. Responses will be collected
on the second day of class, September 10, 2007. A. Where do you get most of your information about the latest “best practices” in education? In other words, what kind of information affects your own practice?
B. If you were faced with a situation in which a research study had shown that one counseling technique was effective, yet you found that the technique did not work for you last year, what would you do? Would you try the technique again? Consider the research faulty? C. What does it take to be a great counselor? How much of counseling is about content? How much about relationships?
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Discussion of responses submission of responses to the pre-course questions. 2. Successful completion and submission of all course activities. 3. Attendance and participation at all classes. 4. Successful completion of a midterm. The exam will be based on information from course readings and class work. 5. Successful completion of a research proposal. The research proposal is due on the last day of class, Monday DUE 12/17
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
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Tentative Calendar – The professor reserves the right to change the syllabus at any time during the semester. It is your responsibility to note these changes.
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Dates |
Topic |
Required Readings (to be read before class) ¿ = Available via WebCT |
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What is Research and Why Should
We Do It?
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Syllabus Review - Questions?
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8/27 |
Paradigms of Research |
Allison, P. & Pomeroy, E. (2000, Fall). How shall we “know?” Epistemological concerns in experiential education. The Journal of Experiential Education, 23. (2). p. 91-98. ¿ “Allison Pomeroy Know” What is Research? Activity |
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9/3 |
No Class |
Labor Day
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9/10 |
Types of Research; Research Terminology |
Fraenkel & Wallen (1993). How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education, 3rd Edition). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Chapters 1-2. ¿ All six Fraenkel & Wallen Files |
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9/17 |
Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research |
An Overview of the Methodological Approach of Action Research http://www.web.net/~robrien/papers/arfinal.html |
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9/24 |
Research problems, variables, and hypotheses. |
Research Design Explained http://www.researchmethods.com/ Hypotheses:http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/hypothes.htm
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10/1 |
Selecting and Refining a Topic |
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10/8
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Content Analysis; Action Research
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McAllister, G. & Irvine, J.J. (2002, Nov/Dec). The role of empathy in teaching culturally diverse students: A qualitative study of teacher’s beliefs. Journal of Teacher Education, 53. (5) p. 433-443. ¿ “McAllister Content” |
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10/15 |
No Class |
Fall Break
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10/22 |
Comparison Groups |
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10/29 |
Quantitative Design – Descriptive, Comparative, Correlational, Causal-Comparative Research |
¿ Porter, A.C. (1997). Comparative Experiments in Education Research in Methods for research in Education 2nd Edition. Washington DC: American Educational Research Association. p. 523-585.
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11/5 |
Data Collection |
Data Collection
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“Part of good planning is anticipating potential problems and then doing what you can to prevent them.” |
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11/12 |
Qualitative Research |
Marie C. Hoepfl, M.C. (1997). Choosing qualitative research: A primer for technology education researchers. Journal of Technology Education, 9. (1).
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v9n1/hoepfl.html
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11/19
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Research in Practice |
¿ McMillan, J.H. (2004). Educational research: Fundamentals for the consumer. 4th Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Allyn& Bacon. p.49-76. “McMillanReviewLiterature”
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11/26 |
Analyzing Statistical Inference |
Elementary Statistics Primer: What are variables? http://www.statsoftinc.com/textbook/esc.html#What%20are%20variables |
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12/3 |
Instrumentation; Survey Research |
Williamson, J.B., Karp, D.A., Dalphin, J.R., & Gray, P.S. (1982). The research craft: An introduction to social research methods. 2nd Edition. p. 125-162. |
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Research Project Draft Due - In developing your Research Project (i.e., rough draft, project introduction/rationale, & literature review) you will explore various approaches for finding out what has been done already in your research area. Your paper will be exchanged with a fellow classmate so that they can critique your work.
Writing Lab – Work on projects.
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12/10 |
Sampling Procedures
Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Research |
Patten, M.L. (2005). Understanding research methods: An overview of the essentials. Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Publishing. IHandouts. You will receive these handouts in class.
Best, J.W. & Kahn, J.V. (2006). Research in education, 10th Edition. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. p. 164-215
Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation. http://pareonline.net/Home.htm |
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12/17 |
Final Project Due |
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Late Assignments:
If you must turn in an assignment late,
you are expected to notify me in advance or to be able to provide some
proof of your trouble. If you do not satisfy these criteria, submit
your assignment! Assignments/papers that are late will be docked 10%
of their value for each day they are late.
Grading: Your course grade will be based upon a standard
conversion of the total points you have earned into a corresponding
letter grade, as follows:
A = 93% and above B+ =
87-89.49% C+ = 77-79% D = 60-69%
A - = 90-92% B = 83-86 C =
73-76 F = 59% and below
B - = 80-82 C
- = 70-72
Writing Guidelines: The course reflection papers will be graded using the following guidelines:
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Exceptional 10 -9 Thoughtful, accurate, and thorough discussion. Answers include analysis or synthesis of the topic(s). |
Adequate 8 –7 Limited but accurate discussion Summary information from texts and resources with limited analysis. |
Inadequate 7 and below Lacks understanding and/or not accurate discussion Limited summary and analysis from text and resources about the topic. |
Academic Integrity: As a community committed to the Augustinian ideals of truth, unity and love, Villanova University prides itself on maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity and does not tolerate any form of academic dishonesty or misconduct. Dishonesty (including plagiarism) in any assignment, test or examination is punishable by the grade of F and is to be reported, through the deans, to the Vice President for Academic Affairs. A second offense will result in the dismissal of the student from Villanova University.
Students with Special Needs
The Office of Learning Support Services, in conjunction with faculty, provides reasonable accommodations for students with various special needs. Often students are hesitant to request support since they have done so well through high school and are now part of a competitive university. However, disabilities are not something that you outgrow - it is something that you learn to master.
In order to obtain accommodations, students must register with the Learning Support Office by submitting current documentation. To ensure confidentiality, students must complete a Request for Accommodation Form each semester at Villanova in order to receive accommodations during that semester. Nothing can be shared with your professors without your permission. Call or email the office for an appointment. Phone: 610-519-5636 E-mail: nancy.mott@villanova.edu
Reading Quizzes
Weekly reading quizzes will be administered via WebCT. You will complete 4 quizzes during the course of the semester.
Mid-Term Examination
Your mid-term examination will include multiple-choice, short-answer constructed response, and extended constructed response items (i.e., questions). The Mid-Term will be available on WebCT.
Final Project - Research Proposal – Due [ 12/17/07 ]
Students will design a small-scale research study and describe it in a research proposal consisting of the following parts:
1) A statement of purpose
2) Selection and defense of research problem (i.e., the significance of the topic; hypothesis); a rationale for why it should be studied
3) Review of the related research literature description of the data collection methods which includes design, selection of subjects, instruments, and procedures
4)
Methods and data analysis;
a. description of proposed data analysis
b. proposals for possible implementation plans and how they would be
evaluated.
5) Description of how the results could be disseminated; specific selection of an outlet for communicating results (e.g. conference presentation, research article, grant proposal, etc.)
Your Research Proposal should be in
American Psychological Association (APA) style, 10-12 pages long, typed
and double-spaced. You are expected to include at least 10 scholarly
references.
Article Critiques
The article critique you write (i.e., qualitative or quantitative) will be determined by the article you choose to evaluate. Your article critique must be drawn from a scholarly journal. You must submit the article citation to me for approval. The article citation must be submitted in the correct APA style. The critique must be at least 2 pages in length and generally follow the guidelines listed below.
Quantitative Research Article Critique Guidelines
Describe problem statement.
Does the problem statement clearly communicate the study's purpose?
Is the hypothesis clearly stated?
Does the author provide operational definitions of the variables?
Sample Section
Is the study's population properly defined, described, and delimited?
Is the method of sampling properly described?
Instrumentation
Does the author describe the types of instruments used to assess the subjects?
Were instrument reliability and validity discussed?
Procedures
Is there a description of the procedures used to administer the instruments?
Does the author identify any of the study's administrative or procedural limitations?
Statistical Techniques and Results
Were appropriate statistical techniques used, and significance levels reported?
Were tables and graphs presented in a clear and understandable fashion?
Is there any evidence that the author took liberties with the generalizability of the findings?
Qualitative Research Article Critique Guidelines
Describe problem statement.
Does the problem statement clearly communicate the study's purpose?
Were the participants properly and completely described?
Was the setting properly and completely described?
Were the circumstances under which the data were collected completely described?
Were the ways in which the themes were developed for analysis described?
Organization of the Data
Was the research question/paradigm described adequately so you knew what is being asked, (i.e., what type of study is it?).
What types of methodological tools were employed? (i.e., case study, interview, observation, document analysis?)
Were the tools adequately described so you knew what the authors measured?
What types of categorical analyses of data were utilized?
Interpretation of the Data
Was sufficient descriptive information given to allow the reader to conclude that the author's interpretations were grounded in the data?
Does the researcher address internal validity through “triangulation”, that is, verification of findings via other documentation / other sources / other researchers?
Does the author acknowledge as a limitation the lack of generalizability of the study's findings, and/or suggest a replication study?
Does the author make suggestions for future research based upon the study's findings and critique the author's own findings in the present study?