Weekly Outline
&
Practical Assignments

This is a dynamic document. Any printed copy may be obsolete. Check the online version regularly.

Overview of Course Requirements

Participation in this course is broken down into several requirements for successful completion of the course:

  1. Submit a questionnaire.
  2. Activate your sparky e-mail account. This is necessary for the web page but you can use any e-mail account for day-to-day communication.
  3. Read the required text and article(s).
  4. Collaborate with colleagues
  5. Notify the class when posting an assignment to your webpage/webfolio
  6. Generate four (4) Practical Assignemnts employing the constructivist principles posited in the required text.
  7. Actively participate in blackboard discussions

    The course text, How People Learn Brain, Mind, Experience and School is to be used as a resource for your research. You are to incorporate these principles into your assignments.

    Click here for a Theoretical reference/background on the new education (E-learning).

    An ancient Chinese proverb:
    Sophocles:
    I hear and I forget
    I see and I remember
    I do and I understand
    One must learn by doing the thing
    For though you think you know it
    You have no certainty until you try
    Whatever knnowledge children gain they create themselves;
    whatever character they develop they create themselves

    Nobody Can Teach Anybody Anything
    by Willard Wees

    Over the course of the semester, you will be required, using the available technology and software, to generate four (4) practical assignments for use either in the classroom or on the web. These assignments must reflect your understanding of constructivist theory as explicated in the required text. You will post these projects to your webpage on the University server by the stipulated due dates.

    Practical Assignments

    1. Intial Assignement - Due - October 6.

    Please don't make too big a deal out of this assignment... it is meant to prime the pump. Just do it to get your feet wet. I mean, do it seriously, but surf through it.

    Do one pilot mini-project in your classroom. This will involve introducing, on a very small scale ( like just one day!!!), some "new element" involving technology, into your classroomm observing and documenting what happens and then reporting it back to the class. A "new element" can be interpreted flexibly as something involving technology and some not yet even seen in your classroom. New element could be doing something in a different way, or using something different.

    Here is the gist: bring something new (related to technology in some way) into your classroom for one day (or more) and bring a notebook too. OBSERVE, OBERVE, OBSERVE and take notes. Type up those notes and post them on your website. This might also be a good time to look at John Stilgoe's Outside Lies Magic.

    Was this new innovation effective? Does it need more time? Please elaborate. Note that this is sort of an informal gathering of data, just designed to get your feet wet. It committs you to nothing. Don't think too much, just DO IT!

    2. Research Questions - Due - November 3.

    Please read chapters 7, 8 and 9 before tackling this assignment. This will give you an enormous amount of food for thought for research questions!

    This assignment has two parts

    Part I.
    Post three short descriptions of research ideas: These should be research ideas that you are considering as class projects for this class!

    Each short description should include:

    1. What would you investigate? What is the research question?
    2. Why is this important?
    3. How would you investigate it? What would your methodology be?

    Please keep this brief and to the point. Please post this component to your web page.

    Part II.
    React to one member in your team ( selection will be worked out by your team), via e-mail to each other's 3 research ideas (Part 1) and give feedback about practical issues, suggestions, which idea you think is the best. Give constructive feedback.

    Here are some things other students in the class should respond to:

    1. What kind of data would you have to collect to answer this question.
    2. To what extent would it be practical to investigate within the time constraints of one semester. A semester project is really what you would call a "pilot" study.
    3. Is the importance of this study supported by the literature with which you are familiar.

    3. Research Proposal Assignment - Due - December 1.

    Select one of the three research ideas you presented in class. Write a proposal and post it to your web page.   

    Format and sections for proposal ( See Sample Proposal ):

    1. Introduction: Introduce the general research problem/topic/question: In one paragraph, describe, in general terms, your research question and problem. The first sentence should give the reader a general idea about what you are going to do. The rest of the paragraph should provide some more details. Don't worry too much if it is in general terms. The concepts you provide in the literature search will later allow the reader to understand a little more specifically what you are doing.

    2. Literature search: Summarize the major influences that motivate the current study. Remember, you should be looking from the shoulders of giants. If your library search only uncovered midgets, search again. If it turns out there really is little or only weak articles in your chosen area, you can go a little multi-disciplinary and get some articles from a related field. Major influences deserve a paragraph. More minor influences should be summarized in a sentence or two. Try to just give the major result and include the reference. Don't say "Research indicates that high-school Chemistry students benefit from video presentations (Karchland, 97)". Instead say "High-school Chemistry students benefit from video presentations (Karchland, 97)". Organize your literature search in some logical way, such as from more theoretical to more applied and close to your study. Chronological is another possible approach. Literature may range approximately from about two to four pages depending on a number of factors.

    3. Research question: Transition and refined, precise description of your research question: The end of your literature search should lead, via a graceful transition, into your research question. Describe your research question more specifically, in light of the concepts you have elucidated to your reader.

    4. Method: Describe in objective, just the facts & terms, how you will investigate your research question, i.e., divide your method section into subsections as appropriate (Participants, apparatus (or materials), and procedure). In these sub-sections put who your participants are (age, grade, the number of them etc.), a description of the setting, what equipment you will use, how you will gather data (by observing them and take notes, interviewing, audio-taping, video-taping, questionnaire). Note: Remember, if you audio-tape, videotape, interview or even do questionnaires, you may have to get parental permission and/or permission of a principal.

    5. Why is this method appropriate for investigating your research question? What other methodologies would be appropriate for investigating your research question?

    6. References: Include a list of your references used in this proposal. Here is the beginning of a references section:

    References
    Anderson, J. R., Boyle, C. F., & Reiser, B. J. (1985). Intelligent tutoring systems. Science, 228(3), 456-462.

    Anderson, J. R. (1987). Skill acquisition: Compilation of weak-method problem solutions. Psychological Review, 94(2), 192-210.

    Battista, M. T. (1990). Spatial visualization and gender differences in high school geometry. Journal of Research in Mathematics Education, 21(11), 47-60.

    Evaluation:
    Evaluation will be on the presence of each of the sections described above, the quality of your literature search, what you are trying to do and how you are proposing to do it and the quality of your writing.

    4. Final Written Proposal - Due - Dec 14th.

    Overview:  

    Basically this final assignment involves three things. One of which is large (#2) and the other two (#1 & #3) are small, easy and fun:

    1. Write a one page summary of your project, sort of a long abstract. Post it to your web page.
    2. Write your final write-up of your project (See sample) . Post it to your web page.
    3. Discuss and comment on each other's summaries... as you see fit... a virtual open house...
      More details on these things are below.

    The first two are due May 1, 2004 that way students can read and react to each other's summaries... an important issue for psychological closure and a sense of community.

    Some comments about being late.

    On the final project... we do have get course grades in.... so your final write-up has to be in no later than May 1, 2004 

    Instructions for Final Write up! Part A  

    Your final write-up has to be posted no later than December 1st, 2004

    You can think of the final write up as where art and science merge. The science is your data and how you analysed it. The art is how you write about it Quality prose counts. Your job is to make the reader want to red waht you have to say.

    Your final write up should have the following parts:

    Part A.

    PART B  

    Please include your data as an appendix, if possible. You may noticed that you have already written the rough draft of Part A. All you have to do is re-write it to address criticisms on your submitted research proposal and plug it in. PLUS, THE ARTICULATIONS AND REFINEMENTS YOU MADE ON YOUR METHOD IN THE "PRELIMINARY DATA AND ANALYSIS MODULE in Blackboard SHOULD BE ADDED TO THE METHOD SECTION in the final paper. And obviously, as you gather data, all kinds of things emerge, so you might end up refining your research question, who knows. There should be prose transitions, i.e., the paper should flow logically. Outline form is not appropriate, even for the method section.

    Results:
    Present the results of your data and the analysis of your data. Present measures of central tendency, such as means, modes, and percentages if appropriate.

    If your data is more qualitative, give interview excerpts that are typical of trends. Illustrating examples and anecdotes are GREAT! These make things more understandable, they make the research come alive... and they provide examples that readers can learn from.

    If your method has a qualitative component use "thick" description. Describe in detail the point of view of the participants in your study. Inductively discuss trends. It is also good, if appropriate, to supply some kind of graphs to communicate the data in a visual way. You can easily make graphs in Excel.

    Discussion:
    Discuss the meaning of your results. Interpret your results. Try to be as honest as you can about interpreting your results. If your data could speak, what would it say? Of course it is impossible to entirely transcend your personal prejudices and point of view, but avoid propaganda at all costs! But on the other hand, this is your opportunity for interpretation.

    How do your results connect to the rest of the world. Either to papers cited in the literature search or issues that are important to education. Tie your discussion back to your results, but don't introduce new results in this section.

    Watch out for over-generalizing your results and hastily inferring causation. You have just conducted one small study. It is a little tricky. All you can state with 100% confidence is what happened in your data. Nevertheless you must make a stab at supplying meaning to the results.

    If your results strongly warrant it, make some recommendations for the classroom or other setting.
    How could your study have been improved upon? Discuss how confounding factors impacted your study.
    If you were going to continue your research, what would you do?

    Conclusion:
    Write a one or two paragraph recap of your results and discussion.

    Grading criteria and general considerations:

    Major consideration for grading will be inclusion and development of all parts described in this handout.
    Integrity of scientific work is also a major consideration. Have you thought things through? Have you done a thorough and honest job of gathering data? Have you analyzed your data in a realistic and meaningful way? Does your discussion flow logically from your results? Do you discuss intelligently?

    How much work have you done? If you have two, three or four people on your team, have you done, respectively, two, three or four times the amount of work that "single" students have done on their projects.
    Quality of writing is a grading consideration. Writing that brings across its point compactly and artfully will be rewarded. Logical flow and transition is important. Writing that unnecessarily calls attention to itself is frowned upon. Your goal is to make folks want to read what you have to say. Mistakes of usage, grammar or spelling are a poor reflection upon your professional persona.

    Checklist for Self-Evaluation - Final Write up  

    Student Name ____________________________________

    Inclusion of major parts Development of major parts
    Yes/no Rate each A, B, C
    Intro ______ _______
    Literature search ______ _______
    Research Question ______ _______
    Method ______ _______
    Results ______ _______
    Comprensible graphs ______ _______
    If qualitative, quotes or anecdotes, thick description
    ______ _______
    Discussion ______ _______
    Tied to lit search issues_______ _______
    Conclusion ______ _______
    References in appropriate format ______ _______
    Number of references: ______
    Integrity of scientific work: A, B, C_______
    Uniqueness of project: A, B, C _______
    How many people Worked on the project? _______
    How many participants?________
    How much work invested? A, B, C _______
    Quality of writing: A, B, C _______
    Mistakes of usage, spelling, grammar, consistency and appropriateness of voice (1st person discouraged):
    Other: ______________________
     

    Blackboard - Questions/Discussion Responses (See Due Dates)

    You are also required to access a series of general discussions located on Blackboard. There are thirteen sections which attempt to both generate ideas and assist with your research. You must be responsive on a weekly basis to the questions posted on Blackboard. These are a series of thirteen modules that must be followed in sequence. Of course you may go ahead, but you cannot return once the particular question module is closed; once closed, it will not be re-opened.

    I will monitor and occasionally junp in these discussions. Your responses must be more than "I agree," but need not be a full blown researched response. I want you to think about the issue and not fire off an 'off-the-hip' response. You will be evaluated on the quality of your response.