SYLLABUS
Queens
College/CUNY
Education Unit
Spring 2013
Week 1 FTF |
Week 2 Online |
Week 3 FTF |
Week 4 Online |
Week 5 FTF |
Week 6 Online |
Week 7 FTF |
Week 8 Online |
|
Week 9 FTF |
Week 10 Online |
Week 11 FTF |
Week 12 Online |
Week 13 FTF |
Week 14 FTF |
Week 15 FTF |
Week 16 FTF |
Week 17 FTF |
SEYS 778 – Seminar Research in Science Education II
Wednesday
7:10 to 9:40pm
Kiely
Hall Room 115
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION:
Brian Murfin, Ph.D.,
Office: Powdermaker Hall Room 135C
brian.murfin@qc.cuny.edu
Please submit all course assignments
- By posting them on the discussion board in BlackBoard
- By submitting them using the assignments link in BlackBoard
- Share the Word docs as a Google doc with qcscied@gmail.com
as Google docs with qcscied@gmail.com
Office Hours:
Wednesdays
3 to 5pm
Thursdays from 2 to 4pm
More information on office hours:
Please email me at brian.murfin@qc.cuny.edu
to set up an online appointment.
Students who are enrolled in SEYS 778 this semester can also meet with me online using the BlackBoard Virtual Classroom or Chat tools.
Phone: (631)
223-8311
Email: brian.murfin@qc.cuny.edu
A. COURSE DESCRIPTION
SEYS 778 is the second half of a two-course research requirement in the M.S. in Secondary Education program for secondary science teachers. Science teachers in SEYS 778 complete studies or projects to enhance their professional knowledge in diverse areas such as curriculum, instruction, technology, student achievement, student behavior and addressing diversity in the science classroom. Research practitioners are expected to demonstrate competency in using the tools of research to reach objective conclusions. An approved research proposal and review of the literature paper completed in SEYS 777 are prerequisites for the study or project undertaken in SEYS 778.Queens College Education Unit Core Values* - A Conceptual Framework
The Education Unit seeks to promote the 3 E’s*- Equity, Excellence, and Ethics in urban education and is committed to developing competencies in all teacher preparation and other education professional candidates that will enable them to:
- Hold high expectations for all learners,
- Work as change agents to promote equity and social justice,
- Foster nurturing and challenging democratic learning communities, and
- Respect and honor diversity
*Equity: Building inclusive learning communities that challenge and nurture all students
Excellence: Encouraging professionalism, scholarship, and evidenced-based and reflective practice.
Ethics: Valuing diversity, democracy and social justice
B.
COURSE GOALS/OBJECTIVES
This semester, participants will undertake a significant study in science education. A strict schedule of check-off points is included to help guide research investigations. See “Assignments, Due Dates and Grading.” Final projects will be presented by each investigator in seminar during April and May 2013. An appropriately formatted (APA) research paper of a study or project is due Finals Week. No extensions.
Course objectives aligned with Core Values:
- At the end of this course, students will have demonstrated competency in the following areas:
- Understanding the nature of social/scientific research and the scientific processes applied in research. Excellence, Ethics
- Understanding the ethical and philosophical principles adhered to in research. Equity, Excellence
- Designing a research project. Equity, Excellence, Ethics. Note: Research projects commonly embody more than one Core Value.
- Conducting a research project. Equity, Excellence, Ethics
- Identifying needed data, their sources, and the procedures by which data are collected. Excellence
- Analyzing data appropriately. Excellence
- Answering research questions and testing hypotheses. Equity, Excellence, Ethics
- Stating findings and drawing conclusions. Excellence
- Presenting and defending a research project at a seminar [i.e.“So what?” factor]. Equity, Excellence, Ethics
- Writing an appropriate research report or project. Excellence
C. TEXTBOOK AND SUPPLIES
Text (Required):
Mertler,C.A.and Charles,C.M. (2011). Introduction to Educational Research - 7e. New York: Allyn and Bacon.
hardcover notebook (this will be for your research journal/notebook)
References:
Abell, S.K. , Lederman, N.G. (2007) Handbook of Research on Science Education. Routledge
Burnaford,G.,Fischer,J.,Hobson,D. (1996). Teachers Doing Research: Practical Possibilities. New Jersey: Erlbaum Asso.
Gabel, D.L. (1993). Handbook of Research on Science Teaching and Learning. New York: Macmillan.
Glass, G., Hopkins, K. (1996).
Statistical Methods in Education and Psychology. Boston: Allyn
and Bacon.
Web Resources:
- http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/
- http://wps.ablongman.com/ab_mertler_edresearch_6/62/15938/4080273.cw/index.html
- http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/
- http://excelhelp.org (Excel Help Guides)
- http://people.usd.edu/trio/tut/excel
- http://free-training-tutorial.com/quick-functions-status-bar.html
- http://lca.lehman.cuny.edu/lehman.itr/html/library/Excel
Supplies
and/or tools, hardware: You will need access to a computer
with an Internet connection to do the online
assignments. You should have ear phones that you can
connect to your computer in order to listen to webcasts
and podcasts.
Accounts needed: You must have the following accounts: Your Queens College CAMS account, a CUNY Portal account, a CUNYFirst account, a Google account, and a Science Moodle account.
Optional supplies - digital microphone, digital video camera, smartphone, webcam. These will all be available for use during face to face class meetings. I recommend that you have a USB drive to store backups of your work.
How to get help: I will try to answer all email requests for help sent to brian.murfin@qc.cuny.edu within 24 hours. If you don't hear from me by then, please resend your request. It is helpful if you put a short description of the question in the subject header of the email message. Another way to get help is from your peers by posting a message to our Google group. If you have problems with your Queens College, CUNY Portal, or CUNY First accounts you should contact the OCT Help desk. Here are some places you can get help:
- Online Student Services
- Technical Support for students, faculty and staff is provided via the following:
- Self-service at https://helpdesk.qc.cuny.edu
- Phone at 718-997-4444
-
In person by visiting us in the Dining Hall, Room 151
-
Email to help@qc.cuny.edu
- Fax: 718-997-3198
What to do if BlackBoard and the QC website are down: If BlackBoard is down, please check our QC course website at and also check your QC email If all of these are down, go to our Google group https://groups.google.com/d/forum/seys778-spring2013 and check your gmail email for announcements about alternative arrangements.
Tips and Advice for Students Taking an Online
or Hybrid Course
- Skills needed to succeed in an online or hybrid course
- Time management skills
- Ability to work and learn independently
- General computer skills such as searching the Internet,
sending and receiving email, knowing how to download and
upload files, to login to college accounts and to access
Queens College email.
- Ability to write clearly
- Tips for Students
- Find out what time of day you work best and make that "sacred time" to complete your work for the online or hybrid class
- Keep careful track of deadlines for assignments, set up email reminders
- Understand that online and hybrid courses are very demanding and can take even more time than face to face courses
- Always keep multiple backups of your work. You can use USB drives, dropbox and other tools.
- When typing an assignment, use a word processor to
complete it. Save the file offline and then copy and
paste the assignment or upload the Word doc to
BlackBoard. Do not type an assignment directly into
BlackBoard online as you may lose it if there is a problem
and you will have to do it all over.
- Login to BlackBoard, check your QC email, and the Google
group at least three times per week.
- If you have to read a long paper, download and print out
the file for easier reading.
- Stay in touch with the instructor. Feel free to email questions or set up an online appointment to chat or talk.
- Work as a team. Form a team or support group with
a few classmates. You can set up your own Google
group to keep in touch and help each other during the
course.
- Always be polite and respectful. Computer mediated communication is different than face to face communication and it is easy for misunderstandings to occur since you do not see body language, facial expressions or hear tone of voice.
- First Steps for students in a hybrid or online course
- Read through the entire course outline and assignments
carefully.
- Ask the instructor questions if you aren't sure.
- Get organized. Create a calendar using Google
calendar or 30boxes.com. Put the due dates for
each assignment on your calendar and set up
reminders. Create a folder for all of your
assignments. Give each file a descriptive name and
keep your files organized with multiple backups. If
you are working on a major assignment such as a paper or
project, you can save the project and include the date in
the filename. This way, if you want to go back to an
earlier version you will have it.
- Create good work habits that will make sure that you use your time wisely. For short work sessions, a simple checklist like nowdothis.com can help keep you on task. Lifehacker is a great website that has good advice on how to be productive, especially with technology. Here is a link that describes some useful checklist software.
D.
DISCUSSION TOPICS – TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
- This is a HYBRID course. Odd numbered weeks will meet face to face in Kiely Hall Room 115 and even numbered weeks will meet Online.
- The last four or five sessions of this course will meet
face to face, on campus, in Kiely Hall, room 115.
- All assignments will be submitted electronically using BlackBoard, and Google Docs.
Active class participation in discussions of focus topics expected. Excessive absences may result in a half-letter drop of the final grade.
Chinese New Year 2013! an opportunity for a multicultural science connection
1/30/2013 – Week 1 - FACE TO FACE - Reviews of the Literature and Proposal returned. Spring overview, syllabus; review of deadlines, research needs assessment; professional conference
- Browse and enjoy the following:
- Why the chicken crossed the road according to scientists
- How to Write a Scientific Paper by Eric Schulman
- Gary C. Ramseyer's First Iinternet Gallery of Statistics Jokes
- The Archives Of Statistics Fun by Gary Ramseyer
- Guernsey McPearson's Statistical Menagerie
- Commentaries on Significance Testing Compiled by David F. Parkhurst, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
- Science jokes Science humor collected by Joachim Verhagen
- Hiawatha Designs an Experiment
- the Straight Dope
- The Skeptical
Inquirer
- Bookmark the course web site at http://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/~bmurfin/classes/spring2013/seys778/index.html
- Post your updated introduction on the Discussion Board in
BlackBoard
- Post your Literature review and Research Proposal (from SEYS 777) on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard.
- Post your research topic and questions on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard.
- Join our class Google Group. If you do not have a gmail account, please sign up for a gmail account first, and then join the Google group.
- URL of our group: https://groups.google.com/d/forum/seys778-spring2013
- Send email to our group:
- Queens College library research guides
- Education research guide
- Science education research guide
- Form research groups of 3 to 4 students. Please post the names of the people in your group on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard.
- You should work with the students in your research group on the following activity: Review of a science education research article
- The Next Generation Science Standards
- http://www.nextgenscience.org/case-next-generation-science-standards
- http://www.nextgenscience.org/
- NSTA
Collection of Documents and Supporting Materials to
Study Second Public Draft of NGSS
- Assignment #1 - Post your Proposed Schedule/Timeline for your research project on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard
- Get a hardcover notebook and start your research notebook
2/6/2013 - Week 2 - ONLINE - Clarification of
research question(s),
Discussion of research priorities, including issues related to data and data collection. Data collection procedures
Class activities:
- If you have the newer version of the book, this is Chapter
6
- review the Chapter 7 Lecture Outline
- Use your textbook and work in your research groups to complete the following:
- Work in your research group to complete the Data Collection 1 activity
Assignments Due:
- Assignment #1 - Post your Final
Schedule/Timeline on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard
- Make sure you have developed your data collection instruments. You will need to post them on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard and bring 10 paper copies to class next week.
2/13/2013 - Week 3 - FACE TO FACE- Issues related to the design of a qualitative and quantitative data collection instrument. In groups: Bring 10 copies to class for feedback. e.g. questionnaires, inventories, surveys or unit tests.
Class
activities:
- Assignment #2 - Please post your data collection instruments on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard.
- Work in your research groups to do the following:
- The group should look at each instrument and provide constructive feedback. You can do this orally and then type in your comments on the Discussion Board.
- Quantitative data collection
- http://research-education-edu.blogspot.com/2010/03/methods-of-data-collection.html
- http://nces.ed.gov/pubs92/92022.pdf
- http://people.uwec.edu/piercech/researchmethods/data%20collection%20methods/data%20collection%20methods.htm
- Pre-test and post-test designs
- http://www.wa.gov/esd/training/toolbox/CreatingTestsGuidelines.pdf
- http://www.nationaltechcenter.org/index.php/products/at-research-matters/quasi-experimental-study/
- http://www.csulb.edu/~msaintg/ppa696/696exper.htm
- Survey research
- Qualitative data collection
- http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/1997/nsf97153/chap_3.htm
- http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/10985_Chapter_4.pdf
- http://www.academia.edu/746649/Methods_of_data_collection_in_qualitative_research_interviews_and_focus_groups
- http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR15-3/onwuegbuzie.pdf
- Content analysis
- Discussion of Issues related to data collection in
qualitative and quantitative studies.
- Useful websites related to this topic:
- Work in your research groups to complete the Data Collection 2 activity
- Assignment #2 - Please post your data collection instruments on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard.
- Finish reading Chapter
7. (Chapter 6 in the latest edition)
- Begin Chapter 8 - "Analyzing Research Data and Presenting
Findings" (chapter 7 in the latest edition)
2/20/2013 - Week 4 - ONLINE - NO CLASS - Follow
Monday Schedule
Issues related to data analysis. Discussion of (your) data analysis plans. How will you report the outcome(s) of your study? Measures of central tendency, inferential statistics and tests of significance will be reviewed
Class activities:
- Scientific
visualization challenge 2012
- View
screencast on issues related to data collection
- Overview of some important statistics concepts
- Sign-up for group and individual conference schedule using the Wiki tool in Blackboard; Week 5, and 7 (If you would like to conference online, indicate the week on the wiki)
- review the Chapter 8 Lecture outline
- Read through Basic Applied Statistics Techniques
- Descriptive statistics -decision tree
- Inferential statistics - decision tree
- Use your textbook and work in your research groups to complete the following:
- Complete the "Random assignment assignment"
- Go through the Selecting Statistics site
- Complete the Chapter 8 Developmental Activity - Statistical Analysis Decisions
- IMPORTANT: Post your data analysis plan on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard (check on the Discussion Board for instructions)
- IMPORTANT: Make sure all of your data collection instruments have been posted on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard
- IMPORTANT: Make sure you have posted your Research Proposal and Timeline on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard, and read the instructor's comments.
- Sign up for your individual conference by posting on the Class Wiki in BlackBoard. The current schedule is also in BlackBoard under the Course Documents. If you have not signed up, let me know your preference.
Read:
“Constructing a Questionnaire”:
Chapter
8, Appendix pp. 337-358.
- Experimental design summary
- Random assignment tool
- Quantitative Software
- Qualitative research software - open source
- Weft - for interview data and written text and field notes
- Text analysis software
- Transana - for audio and video
2/27/2013 - Week 5 - FACE TO FACE-
Project updates, Case study discussion: Value Added
Assessment of Teacher Effectiveness in New York City Schools,
Group/Individual conferences (20 minutes each) .
Assignment: Chapter 7; Software
Programs, p. 131, Mertler and Excel tutorials – see web
resources. Appendix pp. 371-389.
Sign-up for group/individual conference schedule using the Wiki tool in Blackboard; Week 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
Class activities:
- Before class, please view the screencasts:
- Issues with data collection (If you have a problem with this link, use the links below)
- Issues part 1
- Issues part 2
- If you can't view the Flash files above for some reason, you can download the very large avi version of this screencast.
- Statistics
overview intro - organizing, describing and summarizing
data (If you have a problem with this link, use the
links below:
- Science news
- Reminders
- Join our Edmodo classroom (sign up for a free account, register as a student and use the following group code: knohpn
- Project updates - What type of data are you collecting and how will you analyze it?
- Discussion of issues with research
- The Journal of Unpublished Results
- The Journal of
Irreproducible Results
- Why Most Published Research Findings Are False
- The
Reproducibility Project
- Value-added updates
- Value Added Activity - Part 2 (Here is a link to the full pdf of the NYC Technical report)
- Two very relevant quotes:
- Useful tools
- Internet
Glossary of Statistical Terms
- Glossary of Statistical Terms
- http://stats.oecd.org/glossary/
- a
construct
- Class discussion - can we draw any conclusions?
What questions would we like answered?
- Begin meeting with groups/individuals. We will spend
a maximum of twenty minutes per each person.
- Be prepared with the following:
- A summary of your project
- Progress report
- Any questions, problems
- Value added news
- Changes in next year's reports
- The Colorado Growth Model
- EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT AWARDS $2.7M CONTRACT TO AMERICAN
INSTITUTES FOR RESEARCH FOR STUDENT GROWTH COMPONENT
OF TEACHER AND PRINCIPAL EVALUATION SYSTEM
- Teachers can respond to their reports
- Schoolbook
- A
Primer on Growth Percentiles
2009-10 Elementary/Middle School Progress Reports
- New evaluation system is madness
- Sample teacher data report
- 12,000
teacher data reports
- While the instructor is meeting with individuals or groups, please start your Master's project paper draft using Google Docs
- Sign up for a Google account if you do not already have one.
- Create a blank Google doc and copy and paste the Final paper template into your new Google doc and save. Rename your paper so that it has your last name and seys778, e.g. YournameSEYS778. Check the following links for information on your research paper:
- Guidelines for writing your final research paper Final research paper rubric
- Share your document with me. My email address is qcscied@gmail.com
- Start working on the draft of your Master's project paper. You can keep a backup of your paper by copying and pasting text from the Google Doc into Microsoft Word.
- Make sure you have posted your data collection instruments and plan on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard.
- Post updates on the progress of your research project on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard
- Pick one of the following online statistics textbooks and go through the introductory chapters:
- HyperStat Online Statistics Book
- OR
- StatSoft - an electronic statistics textbook
- Go through Elementary Concepts and Basic Statistics
3/6/2013 – Week 6 - ONLINE - Entering and
organizing your data
Group/Individual conferences (20 minutes each)
Additional online activities
designed to help you with your research project will take
place while the individual conferences are taking place.
Class
Activities:
View screencast demonstration of creating a database table and form.
Create a simple database table and
form. Next import your database into Calc, a spreadsheet
program and make a simple bar chart. After this, you will
explore a software tool that will enable you to import a
document, add categories and then mark up the document.
- Updates on projects
- Value-added questions, comments, and updates
- Download and install LibreOffice and/or OpenOffice.
- Open up Base
- Go through the video tutorials for Base (http://showmedo.com/videotutorials/video?name=1120000&fromSeriesID=112)
- Create a table (LibreOffice instructions, OpenOffice
instructions) using fields for some of your research
project variables.
- Create a form to enter data into your table and try entering some dummy values.
- Open up Calc
- Go through the Open Office Calc tutorial or
- View the Calc tutorials you are interested in
- Copy and paste your data table into a spreadsheet in Calc.
- Create a simple bar chart.
- You could now easily copy and paste this into a Word
(Writer) document and then format it according to APA
style.
- You can also choose "Save as" in Calc and save your
spreadsheet file in a variety of format so that the data
can easily be imported into SPSS (on the QC computers) or
PSPP (free open source software you can install at home).
4. Another option for data entry is for you to create a form in Google docs. You can then enter the data using the form and it will be available in the form of a spreadsheet that you can download and then import into Libre Office, Open Office, SPSS or PSPP
- View the video tutorial on how to create a form using Google docs
- or Read the tutorial on how to create a form using Google docs
- login to your Google account at docs.google.com
- Create a form using some of the fields for the variables in your research project
- Enter some dummy data
- Install Weft
- Weft User's manual
- Start Weft
- Import a pdf file or .txt file
- add a category
- select text
- mark the text
- A
Review of Software for content analysis
Useful Links:
- Research methodology and statistics
- a gigantic list of statistics tutorials
- Excel tutorial on statistics
- Stats Tutorial Microsoft Excel basics
- Basic statistics
- Excel tutorials and Learning manuals
3/13/2013 – Week 7 - FACE TO FACE - Topic - How will you analyze your data? Brief introduction to SPSS, OpenStat and PSPP, Find a "Model" research paper. Group/ Individual conferences (20 minutes each).
Additional online activities
designed to help you with your research project will take
place while the individual conferences are taking place.
Please make sure to check the course outline online for
updates each week.
Important
note:
- After you have collected and entered your data, I would recommend that you save it as an Excel or Calc spreadsheet. In this format, you can import the data into a statistics application such as SPSS (while on campus), or PSPP or OpenStat for use on your home computer. There are many great SPSS tutorials so you might want to find one that looks good, and work your way through it. You should make sure you know how to run descriptive statistics, correlations and any other statistics needed to analyze your data.
Class activities:
- After everyone starts the activities below, I will start
meeting with individuals to discuss the progress of your
research projects.
1) An introduction to data analysis with SPSS.
- Go through the SPSS tutorial. Check the other tutorials in the useful links below.
- Pick a sample
data file from this link or from
these example datasets and open it in SPSS and
explore. You could do descriptive stats, try
printing a table or graph and explore the statistical
tests you might be using with your own data.
2) Read through the
materials below related to the analysis of your data.
Later in today's class, you will present an overview of how
you plan to analyze your data.
- Survey data analysis
- How
to Analyze Survey Data With SPSS
- For those of you who are collecting survey data, this is a very nice resource on how to analyze survey data
- Univariate
statistics with SPSS
- Using Excel for survey analysis (Don't!)
- PISA
Data Analysis Manual: SPSS, Second Edition
- Pre and post test data analysis
- Pretest-posttest
designs and measurement of
change - Quantifying Student Learning: How to Analyze Assessment Data
- Using
SPSS for Item analysis
- http://www.sahs.utmb.edu/pellinore/intro_to_research/wad/sel_test.htm
- Basic statistics
- Excel
Spreadsheets for Classical Test Analysis
- Using MS Excel to Analyze Data: A Tutorial
- Test
Item Analysis Using Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet
Program
- How to analyze interview data
- Collecting & Analyzing Interview Data
- Interviews:
An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing
- Analyzing interview data
- How to do content analysis of text
- The qualitative content analysis process
- Content analysis
- Qualitative analysis of content
- Qualitative
data analysis
- How to analyze student journals
3) Use Google Scholar
and the Queens College library databases to find a "model"
science education article, that uses a similar research
design and data analysis to your research project.
Post the bibliographic information and pdf of the article on
the discussion board in BlackBoard.
4) At home, download
PSPP and/or OpenStat and explore some of the sample
datasets.
- Free, open source alternatives to SPSS,
- OpenStat (Please note: OpenStat is not available for the Mac so you will need to do this at home if you wish to use OpenStat)
- Using OpenStat
- A statistics and measurement primer
- Sample .tab files for use in OpenStat (These are great learning tools, pick data similar to yours and explore)
- If you are interested,
- Go to data.gov
- Find a dataset similar to the data you will be collection, e.g. TIMMS
- Click on the data extraction button on the right
- Grab some of the raw data. You can then open
this in SPSS or PSPP or OpenStat.
Useful links:
- National Center for
Education Statistics
- SPSS tutorials (descriptive statistics, Chi-Square and t-tests, correlations and regression, ANOVA)
- Guide
to SPSS
- SPSS tutorial
- SPSS resource and tutorial
- Tutorial for SPSS for Windows
- A Beginner's Guide to SPSS
- the Very Basics of SPSS: Useful Resources
3/20/2013
– Week 8 - ONLINE
- SPSS and Data Analysis continued - Group/Individual
conferences (20 minutes each)
Topic - Other: Not
included in above. Individual conferences – sign up using Wiki
Tool in BlackBoard
Additional online activities designed to help you with your research project will take place while the individual conferences are taking place. Please make sure to check the course outline online for updates each week.
Class activities:- View screencast on SPSS and data analysis
- Work through the SPSS tutorials from Week 7
- Continue working on the draft of your paper
- Look at examples of past Master's projects
- post bibliographic information of a "model" research paper
of a study similar to yours (on the discussion board in
BlackBoard)
- Consult APA guides for information on writing results section
- APA formatting and style guide
- APA style
- Tutorial - the basics of APA style
- A Guide for
Writing Research Papers based on Styles Recommended by
The American Psychological Association
- Skim the two articles by a Physicist, Alan Sokal:
- Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity
- A Physicist Experiments With Cultural Studies
- After skimming the Sokal article check out the following link to find out more - Sokal
- Qualitative versus Quantitative research - What's the difference?
- Key points in a classic debate
- Predispositions of Quantitative and Qualitative Modes of Inquiry
- The Qualitative-Quantitative Debate
- Read the following article, Research methodologies in Science Education: The Qualitative-Quantitative Debate
- An introduction to the analysis of qualitative data - read through the materials below:
- Online QDA - Complete Beginner
- Introduction to qualitative analysis
- Go though the following activities:
- Qualitative research
- Beginner's guide to action research
- List of software
- open source software:
- Transana (older version is free)
- Weft QDA
- Express Scribe (interview transcription software)
- ToscanaJ
- TAMS and TAMS Analyzer (Text-Analysis Markup System)
3/27/2013
– Week 9 - NO CLASS - Spring Recess
Updates of all studies/ projects should be posted on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard.
Due next week: Summary of data analysis to date (1-2 pages) Trouble-shooting research seminar.
4/3/2013 - Week 10 - NO CLASS - SESSION REPLACED BY VISIT TO THE SCONYC CONFERENCE ON SATURDAY 4/6/2013
Session replaced by SCONYC Conference April 6, 2013 - Professional Conference Day: SCONYC CONFERENCE –SATURDAY, April 28, 2013. @ Stuyvesant HS (8:00 am -4:00 PM) 345 Chambers St. NYC
Email and post progress reports, questions and answers
CHECKPOINT #1 - YOU SHOULD HAVE FINISHED COLLECTING YOUR DATA!!!!!!
Assignment Due:
Assignment #3
- A "first
review" of raw data or collation of descriptive material (Summary of data analysis to
date) (1-2 pages) is due! Data analysis Summary should be
posted on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard. Sign up
for day and time for your Oral presentation. (The sign
up sheet is in BlackBoard, under Tools, Wiki Tool)
4/10/2013
– Week 11 – FACE TO FACE -
Preparation for oral
presentations, work on data analysis and writing of
papers in class. Set up slideshare.net accounts and
upload PowerPoint or Prezi presentations
Science news:
- Bean Leaves Effective in Trapping Bedbugs
- Researchers: Monkey lip-smacking resembles human speech
- Brains as Clear as Jell-O for Scientists to Explore
- New
Guidelines Call for Broad Changes in Science Education
Updates on research projects, individual
conferences
Browse the materials on the following
presentation tools. Choose one for your final
presentation:
- Powerpoint
- OpenOffice or LibreOffice Impress
- Slideshare
- Zoho Show
- Prezi
- Google Drive
Useful articles:
- Educational Research:The Hardest Science of All
- The
Role of Research on Science Teaching and Learning
- Guiding Principles for Mathematics and Science Education Research Methods: Report of a Workshop
- The Role of Qualitative Research in Science Education
- Educational research on
teaching the nature and process of science
4/17/2013
– Week 12 - ONLINE
- Preparation for oral
presentations, work on data analysis and writing of
papers in class. Set up slideshare.net accounts and
upload PowerPoint or Prezi presentations
Schedule of Presentations (TBA)
4/24/2013 – Week 13 – FACE TO FACE - Assignment #4 - Oral Presentations of research
Assignment #5 due - Please post all visual aids including handouts, slides, on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard and submit using the Digital Dropbox. Post slides on the web using slideshare or Prezi and post URL on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard.
5/1/2013 – Week 14 – FACE TO FACE - Assignment #4 - Oral Presentations of research
- Science news
- 7:15pm to 7:45pm
- 7:45pm to 8:15pm
Work on projects, questions and answers
RESEARCH PAPER WRITING GUIDELINES
Assignment #5 due - Please post all visual aids including handouts, slides, on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard and submit using the Digital Dropbox. Post slides on the web using slideshare or Prezi and post URL on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard.
5/8/2013
– Week 15 – FACE TO FACE
- Assignment
#4 - Oral
Presentations of research
We have
FIVE presentations tonight. Please be on time.
Check out these interesting research sites:
A humorous research journal:
- The Journal of Irreproducible Results
- Click
here to submit your paper to the Journal of Unpublished
Results
Assignment #5 due - Please post all visual aids including handouts, slides, on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard and submit using the Digital Dropbox. Post slides on the web using slideshare and post URL on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard.
5/15/2013 – Week 16 - FACE TO FACE- Assignment #4 - Oral Presentations of research
Assignment #5 due - Please post all visual aids including handouts, slides, on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard and submit using the Digital Dropbox. Post slides on the web using slideshare and post URL on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard.
5/22/2013
– Week 17 - FACE TO
FACE - lPLEASE NOTE TIME
CHANGE: WE WILL MEET FROM 6:30PM TO 8:30PM
Oral Presentations of research :
Two copies of your
completed thesis due. Your thesis should also
be submitted by posting it as a Word Doc on the bulletin board
in BlackBoard, on a CD-ROM, and also using the Digital
Dropbox. Finals Day 5/20: No extensions.
A plagiarized paper (any part) or paper authored by outside sources will result in a final grade of F and noted on your record.
Some variation in the syllabus may occur due to
scheduling changes.
E. ASSIGNMENTS, DUE DATES AND GRADING PLAN
You are responsible for meeting these target dates. A missed deadline for any check-off will result in a grade penalty unless a written request is submitted and approved at least one week prior to the due date.- Assignment #1 (5 points) - A schedule/timetable for conducting and completing your study should be compiled during the first week of the semester. Your final schedule should be posted by February 6th, contingent on proposal approval. Please post your schedule on the Discussion board in BlackBoard and using the Assignments link in Blackboard.
- Requests for extensions must be made in writing with an alternate timeline and justification, subject to approval by Feb. 20th if your proposed schedule differs by more than 2 weeks from the target dates stated in 3, 4 below.
- Assignment #2 (5 points) - Due February 13th, Post copies of your data collection instruments on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard and using the Assignments link, and bring 10 copies to class.
- Assignment
#3 (5 points) - A "first review" of raw data
or collation of descriptive material is due April 3, 2013.
To be submitted using BlackBoard assignments and posted on
the discussion board in BlackBoard.
- For quantitative studies, a small sample of (or description, if data is not yet collated) of the data (in tables, figures or other appropriate form) and a description of how you will analyze your research data/ material. Include the descriptive and inferential statistics you plan to use.
- For qualitative research, non-quantitative case studies, descriptive research papers, and other non-empirical studies: A description of the chapters or sections completed, and a brief description of what remains to be done. The paper should be 1-2 pages, maximum.
- Assignment #4 - Oral Presentation of your research project will take place from April 24th – May 15th. You can use Prezi, PowerPoint, Impress, Zoho Creator or other technology tools to present your project. Before preparing your presentation take a look at this link. You will be required to sign up for a day and time for your presentation. The oral presentations should be 15-20 minutes (approximately 12-15 slides or other equivalent). Have handouts of your study/project.
- Assignment #5 - Slides, visual aids and handouts to go along with Oral Presentations. These should be posted on the Discussion Board in BlackBoard and also submitted using the Assignments link in Blackboard, BEFORE you present in class.
- Assignment #6 - Two bound, paper copies of the research study are due on or before May 22, 2013. You should also submit your project as a Word Doc, shared with qcscied@gmail.com, on a CD-ROM, and using the Assignments in BlackBoard and Bulletin Board in BlackBoard. No extensions.
- The format and style for your project should follow APA guidelines.
- Quotes from primary or secondary sources should not exceed
200 words, properly referenced. Copying of other
people’s ideas and/or work without proper attribution is
plagiarism. Any such infraction will result in a grade
of “F” for the class.
- Each paper should be a
minimum of 20 pages, double-spaced, 12 font, with
standard margins. It should include the following
sections:
- Title
- Table of contents
- Abstract
- Introduction (including purpose, salient portions of lit. review) conceptual framework
- Methods (including how data was collected and analyzed)
- Analysis (including tables, figures)
- Conclusions, reflections and implications
- References
- Appendix (including questionnaires, test instruments,
sample exhibits)
- Individual Conferences
Conferences are
intended to help the researcher complete a blueprint for the
semester and address unresolved questions about the research
being conducted. Conferences will focus on reviewing updates
on: precise wording of the research question, design
(i.e. plan/procedures for the investigation or
“treatment”), the data being collected (sources and quality,
quantity of primary, secondary data) and target dates for each
phase of work.
If you
plan to conduct a study with empirical data or any study
involving quantitative analysis, consider, in
particular: a statement of the hypothesis, problem or
question, treatment plan (if appropriate), precise nature of
data needed, the type and characteristics of
data collection instruments to be used, (tests,
questionnaires...), methods for collecting and recording the
data; sampling, mechanisms for controlling possible
confounding variables, plans for analyzing data and
limitations of the study.
If your study
falls into a domain that does not fit the above categories,
bring proposal outline with timeline for completion and a 5-10
page excerpt (data) of your work in
progress.
Timely completion of required
assignments and checkpoints
above.
25
Quality of
presentation
25
Final written research project
paper
50
Total:
100
Final Research Paper/Curriculum Project and Presentation Information:
- Guidelines for writing your final research paper
- Final research paper rubric
- Oral presentation rubric
- Curriculum project rubric
F. FIELDWORK REQUIREMENTS
A class trip to SCONYC,
a professional science teacher conference, is planned for
Saturday, 4/28/12 from 8am to 4pm at Stuyvesant High School,
345 Chambers Street @ West Street.
G. THE COMMITTEE FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS (IRB)
If you have a question about conducting research projects involving human subjects and need guidance, please visit: CUNY Policy for Student Research with Human Subjects and Human Subjects in Research or contact Ms. Barbara P. Lermand, MA blermand@qc1.qc.edu
H. CUNY POLICY ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Academic dishonesty is prohibited in The City University of New York and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades, suspension, and expulsion as provided at:
http://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/provost/policies/index.html
I. ADA Statement
Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should: (1) register with and provide documentation to the Special Services Office, Kiely 171; (2) bring a letter to the instructor indicating the need for accommodation and what type. This should be done during the first week of class. For more information about services available to Queens students contact: Pratik Patel, Special Services Office; 171 Kiely Hall; 718 997-5870 (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.). E-mail address: pratik_patel@qc.edu
J. USE OF STUDENT WORK
All teacher education programs in New York
State undergo periodic reviews by accreditation agencies and
the state education department. For these purposes,
samples of students’ work are made available to those
professionals conducting the review. Student anonymity
is assured under these circumstances. If you do not wish
to have your work made available for these purposes, please
let the professor know before the start of the second class
meeting. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.