EDU6982 (August 4, Chapter 7)

Vocabulary:

Ex post facto (p202) a type of nonexperimental research that investigates cause-and-effect relationship and the presumed cause has already occurred.  This is different than in a causal-comparative design because in the latter, the cause (the independent variable) is being monitored as the intervention is happening

If we want to compare 1^st graders who went to Head Start to those who didn’t attend Head Start and wanted to complete the study in a short time, then we’d design the study to be ex post facto since we wouldn’t monitor the Head Start intervention itself.

Reflection:

Today I learned that correlation research compares 2 or more variables in one sample and comparative research compares 1 variable with two or more samples.  For example, a correlation study looking at the correlation between hours of sleep and test performance on 9^th graders would have number of hours and test scores as the variables and the 9^th graders as the sample.  A comparative research study would look to have only one variable different between two or more samples.

EDU6982 (August 3, Chapter 6)

Vocabulary:

correlation (p141)  measure of how two or more quantitative variables are related.  It says that one variable varies with the other.  Think “co-relation.” Stronger correlation means it’s closer to 1 or -1, no correlation means closer to 0.  The direction of the correlation can be positive or negative.

We found a strong correlation between number of neckties sold and the duration of a recession.  However, we could not find a cause and effect relationship.

Reflection:

Today we broke up into teams and acted out a skit that was to reflect what one of the correlations (high positive to none to high negative).  It was a good way to make us try to make meaning behind the descriptors.  It had creative and teamwork aspects for the presenters and evaluative aspects for the audience.  I’ll try to use this type of group work activity sometime.  It brought an element of fun to what could have been boring.

Another activity that worked well was to have students line up and use student height data for explaining mean, median, mode, and inter-quartile range. The steps were an easy way to show the break-down without a lot of set up on the instructor’s part.  It also got us moving.

EDU6982 (August 2, Chapter 3)

Vocabulary:

Primary source (p66) articles that report the original research.

The secondary sources review, summarize or discuss findings by reviewing the primary source or sources.  Primary sources can be quickly distinguished from secondary sources because they detail the hypothesis and methods and subjects.

Reflection:

Today I improved my ability to use the ERIC, PsychInfo, and Education Full-Text resources that will let me search for articles.  I’d been exposed to ERIC before, but not the other resources.  The practice in class made today’s library session much more helpful for me than when I’d been in a similar session a year ago.  I also started a test review, and found a test that I’d never heard of but may be useful to me sometime in my math career.  It’s called the Math Level Indicator and I learned about it using the Mental Measurement Yearbook.

EDU 6526 week 5 reflection

This week I learned that the jigsaw model is different than I’d originally thought.  It’s an advanced cooperative learning method, best used after students have learned how to work in cooperative learning groups, have demonstrated ability to work independently, and with a lesson that can be broken up into independently learn-able lessons.  In 3 or 4 “expert groups” students learn the materials.  Then in “home groups” they teach what they learned from their expert groups.  It’s a great way for community building and learning to work with each other.

Cooperative learning is based on the premise that knowledge is socially constructed.  We are social beings, and sense making happens as we interact, discuss, challenge and defend our positions with others.  Giving students a chance to learn together, through a variety of cooperative learning methods, makes sense.  There are 5 essential components of cooperative learning: positive interdependence, face to face interaction, individual accountability, social skills development, and group processing opportunities.   One challenge that online classes like EDU 6526 have is the challenge of creating face to face type of interactions.

EDU6982 (July 29, Chapter 3)

Vocabulary:

Proportional Stratified sampling: (p115) a method of sampling that first divides the sample into groups and then selects subjects in a proportional number to the population.

Because there were 1000 terriers among the 10,000 dogs in the universe, the researchers made sure to have 5 terriers among the 50 subjects they studied.

Reflection:

Today I learned that the word “sample” evokes “free sample” as well as “statistical sample” in the minds of my classmates.  The free samples given by companies are only good if they are representative of a consistent product.  The statistical sample is only good if it re-presents the larger population, which means it needs to represent the variations as well.

EDU6982 (July 28, Chapter 2)

Vocabulary:

Null hypothesis: (p47) a statistical statement that no significant difference or relationship exists. By rejecting a null hypothesis, we can state that there is some relationship for the statistical hypothesis.

The null hypothesis states that there’s no relationship between time and amount of coffee consumed and number of minutes it takes to fall asleep.  The research showed that the null hypothesis is rejected because of a large number of subjects where there was a significant difference.

Reflection:

Today I learned that research has to take a round-about way to state that there’s a statistical relationship.  By rejecting the null hypothesis, we state that there’s a relationship. In other words, it’s like saying that x is not equal to zero, so x is a number that’s either positive or negative.  I don’t understand why this round-about approach is taken, but we’ll learn more about it in chapter 10.

In our group project, we are narrowing down our problem statement. We got off track because of learning about what was available. This temptation of doing do-able research led us down a path that I realized didn’t hold my interest. I was not the only one who spoke up and we are back to the original idea of year-round school.

EDU6982 (July 27, Chapter 2)

Vocabulary:

Confounding variable: (p38) a variable in research that varies systematically with the independent variable. A confounding variable impacts the dependent variable.  It’s best not to have, or to minimize, confounding variables.

Although we were researching the impact of a teaching method, the very different teacher personalities were a confounding variable that had to be considered when looking at the results between the classes.

Reflection:

Today I learned about the differences between quantitative and qualitative research, and perhaps more importantly, I walked away with a teaching model I plan to use. The class, in three groups of approximately 5 students, drew non-linguistic representations to model the relationships between the types of research found on certain pages. We had 30 minutes to draw representations and to take a break.  We then reported out.  I noticed that this was a good way to hear different interpretations, and that the instructor used questions to point out the strong points of each representation.  Hearing multiple explanations and seeing multiple visual representations helped seal the differences in my memory and improved my understanding.  I can see how taking the time to do this exercise with key concepts is valuable. In 2 days, we’ve had 3 chances to work together in our small teams and report out.  This is a good model to consider for sending the message quickly that learning to work in teams is valuable for this class.

EDU6982(July 26, Chapter 1)

Vocabulary:

action research: (p16) research that investigates specific classroom problems.  Action research can be individual, collaborative, or school wide.

Our math department designed an action research study to investigate the impact of the new curriculum in our SLC’s.

Reflection:

Today was our first day of class and the first class at SPU I’ve taken without other math and science co-horts.  There are many who are looking for jobs.  It was an interesting experience to listen to the various research group topics.  My group has Special Ed, Art, Language Arts, and Math teachers and we’ll be looking at research on Year-round School.  Breaking up into groups, we got a feel of our group dynamics as we compared and contrasted different types of knowledge (personal, traditional, authority, and research. )  It was helpful to understand what Dr Kline meant by “read the chapter”– preview the chapter using headings and figures to get the structure, then read the chapter for details.

EDU 6526 week 4 reflection

This week I learned that Advance Organizers are given before a lesson or a unit in order to “set the stage” to prepare the learners for the lesson to be learned.  They are defined by purpose, and can take many forms.  They are good because they provide a conceptual skeleton to attach details or draw a parallel.

I’m not clear on how I’d use an advance organizer that is different than a graphic organizer in math.  In my Algebra class, I used a graphic organizer that the students became familiar with.  By seeing this several times, the students knew multiple representations an algebraic relationship could take.  When I introduced a new relationship (i.e., exponential), the students knew to find the multiple representations of this new relationship.   The key was the familiar format that made it an advance organizer.  However, I’m not 100% confident on this.

My lack of confidence is an example of one of the drawbacks of a constructivist approach.  I think Ausubel had an idea, one that I may be off the mark, and therefore creating my own definition.  I recognize the process of posting, commenting on others’ posts, and engaging in a dialogue on Blackboard is all part of sense making.  The benefit is that I walk away with something that I think I can use.  In this case, I have something that I’ve used and am wondering, “is this a new name for what I used before?”  When I think about how to use advance organizers in Geometry, I am stuck.  This leads me to conclude that I don’t yet understand how to use advance organizers in math.  I’ll keep searching the internet to see if there’s something out there that will help me gain understanding.

EDU 6526 week 3 reflection

This week’s study on Concept Attainment (Models of Teaching, Ch 5) was informative and the online discussion very helpful.  I learned that in this constructivist model, students generate hypotheses and test them.  Teachers provide a list of exemplars and nonexemplars, showing only enough of the list to allow students to make conjectures but not too much to give it away.  The value of this model is in the discussions with students sharing their thinking and making observations.  Students use higher levels of thinking by generating hypothesis and testing against the exemplars and nonexemplars.  Compared to direct instruction, where a teacher tells the students why an exemplar is in one list and why a nonexamplar is in the other list, the students reveal their conceptions and get guidance as they figure out why a hypothesis works or doesn’t.  This model gives the teacher and other students a chance to have insight into where the student is in their understanding of the concept, and shows how to test ideas.