94 research outputs found
On "Literature Reviews of, and for, Educational Research": A Response to the Critique by Joseph Maxwell
Get PDFWe thank Joseph Maxwell (this issue of Educational Researcher, pp. 28–31) for accepting our invitation to examine the roles and expectations of dissertation literature reviews. We agree that most are inadequate but disagree why. Maxwell argues that dissertations should emulate research articles and include a conceptual framework that only discusses relevant literature. Candidates need not present a thorough analysis and synthesis of the scholarship and research, Maxwell argues, or justify claims made about the literature. Finally, he asserts that we misunderstand the relationship between literature and research, leading to an accusation of “foundationalism.” However, these specific disagreements ignore fundamental differences about the purposes of the doctoral dissertation and the relationship between those purposes and doctoral program goals. In this rejoinder, we briefly explore these conceptual and normative differences
Boote, David N., Teachers\u27 Professional Discretion and the Curricula, Teachers and Teaching, 12(August,2006), 461-478.*
No full textPosits three developmental levels of teachers\u27 professional discretion (procedural, substantive, innovative) in making teaching and curriculum decisions and describes the appropriate kinds of professional development required for teachers to move to the highest of these levels of professional discretion; discusses changes in curriculum policies and institutional practices and culture needed to acknowledge and foster teachers\u27 development of innovative professional discretion
Scholars before Researchers: On the Centrality of the Dissertation Literature Review in Research Preparation
Get PDFA thorough, sophisticated literature review is the foundation and inspiration for substantial, useful research. The complex nature of education research demands such thorough, sophisticated reviews. Although doctoral education is a key means for improving education research, the literature has given short shrift to the dissertation literature review. This article suggests criteria to evaluate the quality of dissertation literature reviews and reports a study that examined dissertation at three universities. Acquiring the skills and knowledge required to be education scholars, able to analyze and synthesize the research in a field of specialization, should be the focal, integrative activity of predissertation doctoral education. Such scholarship is a prerequisite for increased methodological sophistication and for improving the usefulness of education research
Teachers’ professional discretion and the curricula
No full textAt the heart of many current debates about curriculum and curriculum policy is an inadequately conceptualized and articulated notion of teachers\u27 professional discretion. This paper begins to detail a normative and descriptive theory of the social and individual conditions required for the development of professional discretion. A better understanding of teachers\u27 professional discretion should enable professional curriculum developers and policy writers to help teachers to adapt to the dynamic, complex social conditions of schooling
Abc Problem In Elementary Mathematics Education: Arithmetic Before Comprehension
No full textMathematical habits of prospective teachers affect problem comprehension and success and expose their beliefs about mathematics. Prospective elementary teachers (PSTs) (n = 121) engaged in a problem solving activity each week in class. Data were collected from PSTs enrolled in an undergraduate elementary mathematics methods course at a Southeastern State University over multiple semesters (six semesters, seven classes). PSTs’ solution methods for one intentionally misleading mathematics problem were analyzed using a convergent parallel mixed methods content analysis. Two-thirds of PSTs misunderstood the problem scenario and directly translated numbers from the problem text. PSTs who answered correctly used a problem model strategy to comprehend the scenario and were more likely to use multiple models, draw a diagram, and draw a diagram before using another model. However, a large number of PSTs who answered incorrectly also used multiple models and drew diagrams. Self-correction was not common (8 of 121), because their equations did not provide feedback or support comprehension. Three kinds of imprecision also affected problem comprehension and were evident in both correct and incorrect solutions. Intentionally misleading problems helped PSTs see consequences of their mathematical habits and highlighted the importance of sense making and precision when creating problem models
Leaping from Discrete to Continuous Independent Variables: Sixth Graders’ Science Line Graph Interpretations
No full textStudents often struggle to interpret graphs correctly, despite emphasis on graphic literacy in U.S. education standards documents. The purpose of this study was to describe challenges sixth graders with varying levels of science and mathematics achievement encounter when transitioning from interpreting graphs having discrete independent variables to graphs having continuous independent variables. Data included think-aloud interviews and written line graph interactions. Data analysis focused on three constituent processes of graph interpretation: (1) encoding salient structures, (2) relating salient structures to each other, and (3) understanding referents in relation to salient structures. Difficulties encoding individual data points influenced interpretations of referents and relationships among data points. Cognitive resources learned for interpreting graphs with discrete independent variables both supported and hindered interpretations of graphs with continuous independent variables. Struggles relating graphs to referents reflected inexperience with data collection and analysis. Recommendations are provided to support students during this transition and to improve their ability to answer different types of graph questions
Assessing Graph Comprehension on Paper and Computer with MBA Students: A Crossover Experimental Study
No full textSeveral decades of research suggesting differences in test performance across paper-based and computer-based assessments have been largely ameliorated through attention to test presentation equivalence, though no studies to date have focused on graph comprehension items. Test items requiring graph comprehension are increasingly common but may be especially prone to format effects. A crossover experimental design was used to compare paper-based (PBT) with computer-based test (CBT) formats in a sample of 28 MBA students answering 6 items requiring comprehension of Venn diagrams, scatterplots, and divided bar charts. Data analysis using a 2x2x2x2 ANOVA revealed that participants’ better performance on CBT, η2 = .07, was not statistically significant, p = .23. While DIF analysis suggested no difference by gender in total score or individual items, interaction analysis between gender and format showed the overall format effect was due mainly to males performing better on CBT, p = .02, d = 0.91. Females performed about the same in both formats. For scatterplot questions, participants also performed better on CBT, p < .005, φ = 0.41. Finally, participants were more likely to answer an easier question requiring attention to fewer graph components correctly after answering a more challenging question that required attention to all graph components, p = .02, φ = 0.5. Interaction analysis also revealed a large carryover effect from the research design (η2 = .48, p = .000), which we interpreted as a learning effect
Learning From The Literature: Some Pedagogies
No full textDaily headlines underscore the challenges managers face in creating and sustaining ethical organizations. Accounts of scandals at companies like AIG, Goldman Sachs, Countrywide Financial, and Lehman Brothers appear alongside equally troubling stories of misdeeds in political, religious, and not-for-pro t settings. Ethics researchers have explored both individual and organizational in uences on ethics, and this research has increased our understanding of ethical behavior in organizations. is chapter seeks to expand our knowledge even further by considering not just the individual and the organization, but the relationship between the two-the employee-organization relationship (EOR)-as an important factor in determining ethical outcomes. In addition, it seeks to enhance our understanding of the EOR by demonstrating how organizational ethics research might inform our thinking about the EOR. In particular, it describes the role that organizational ethics play in creating a powerful contextual in uence, providing both opportunities and constraints on the multiple connections that exist between employees and their organizations
Does the Medium Matter?: A Comparison of a Web-based Tutorial with Face-to-Face Library Instruction on Education Students' Self-Efficacy Levels and Learning Outcomes
No full textThe purpose of this study was to explore if students’ library skills self-efficacy levels and learning outcomes varied based on instructional delivery mode. Groups consisted of an on-campus class with face-to-face instruction, an on-campus class with a Web-based library tutorial, and a Web-based class with a Web-based tutorial. Data were collected immediately prior to instruction and again six weeks after. Analysis indicated self-efficacy levels and learning outcomes significantly increased across all groups after instruction. Groups varied significantly on final self-efficacy levels, but not on final library skills scores. Results are discussed as they relate to the viability of Web-based tutorials for library instruction
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