Here are some of my posts on this topic:
Date Posted: March 7, 2013 7:32 AM
Subject: Feedback please
Clayton,
I am pretty sure it is 1250 words. I think I got it from the course modules section. Let me know If you can’t find it; I am off to work and will look later if you are unsuccessful.
Don
Date Posted: March 6, 2013 10:36 PM
Subject: Feedback please
Clayton,
Great work. I appreciate how you jumped in to your work, set a purpose, and wove your description and analysis together. I think the separation of your response into sections corresponding to the assignment’s outline, really worked in your case. You managed to do this and maintain the flow of your discussion. It avoided a Q & A sound and I enjoyed reading it. My only concern is your word count. I wonder if some section can be combined, especially when a methodological feature addresses more than one issue. For example, I am thinking about how the use of detailed description in a qualitative study addresses issues in topic development, participant selection, data collection, data reporting, data analysis and reporting. Just a thought. Be careful, though, I think your draft is first rate!
Don
Date Posted: March 6, 2013 10:11 PM
Subjects: Methodological Critique
Ben,
I faced the same issue and resolved it by focus on analysis and application when describing the studies. I tried to discuss patterns and relationships in the papers and what their example meant for my project. I think a little less description allows room for more application and trust that my analysis and application are evidence of my having read and understood the articles. Running the mantra “So what does this mean?” helped. Hope this is helpful….
Don
Date Posted: March 6, 2013 9:58 PM
Subject: Research Methodology, Reliability and Validity
Michael,
Thanks for the advice it pushed me to do my proofreading a bit earlier than planned. I wasn’t sure about bolding my title; the sample papers and apa guide I use said no. Am I missing something?
Don
Date Posted: March 6, 2013 9:49 PM
Subject: Part Two: First or Third Person
Caitlin,
I went with 3rd person. No real reason… only it sounded so much more scholarly and important! Even then I stuck to talking about my project design so only referenced my self a couple of times. Got to watch it… might have trouble getting my head through the door!
Don
Date Posted: March 6, 2013 9:46 PM
Subject: Draft of Critique
Jhodi,
I treated the articles as representative samples of qualitative and quantitative research and so made general comparisions with examples from the papers. I also set it all in the context of a discussion of reliability and validity since I believe they are the key features of all research and were a good frame on which to construct my discussion. Good luck… I found this assignment required more analysis and reflection than any course work I have completed thus far in the program.
Don
Date Posted: March 6, 2013 9:30 PM
Subject: Research Methodology, Reliability and Validity
Caitlin,
Oops and thanks 🙂
Don
Date Posted: March 5, 2013 8:19 PM
Subject: Draft of Critique
Sarah,
I particularly enjoyed the second half of your paper as it resonated with my own work on this assignment. I wonder if you might consider less description of the studies and more reflection on the patterns observed and the insights reached about qualitative and quantitative research. I do find a concrete example helpful and in this assignment it challenged me to apply the readings and what I had learned to creating something new which I thought was the subtext of the assignment. I like how you discussed the competing yet complimentary natures of qualitative and quantitative research. Well done… and I’d like to know more about your application of this idea.
Don
Date Posted: March 5, 2013 7:55 PM
Subject: Research Methodology, Reliability and Validity
Sarah,
Thanks for your observations and critique. You are bang on! In addressing the second half of the assignment I swayed between being too general and too specific and failed to make my point. I realized this early this morning after posting last night. I decided to get more specific and concrete about my future research as it illustrates and contextualizes my choices, preferences, and thoughts about educational research. I want to avoid discussing “I like X best because of Y” when it is not relevant to my actual project. I took your advice and moved some parts of my paper around and added a transition between the first and second sections to make it clear how I was approaching the latter half of the assignment.
Methodological Critique.docx
Now its time to let the assignment sit before a good proofread and running it through the APA filter. Thanks once again for your help.
Don
Date Posted: March 5, 2013
Subject: Research Methodology, Reliability and Validity
Osayma,
Good luck with your assignment. I found it a real challenge and still have a few questions to answer. It did stimulate some serious reflection on my own research proposal. I’ll have to rework this section a bit before submitting my final draft.
Don
Date Published: March 2, 2013
Subject: Research Methodology, Reliability and Validity
Hi Folks,
It is the end (beginning?) of a long week. Report cards are done and school is winding down in preparation for Spring Break. February has to go down as one of my busiest months in a long time so please excuse my lack of participation in discussions last week.
I have managed to complete a draft of my methodological critique. It is attached to this message. I would appreciate your feedback. Completing this assignment, seemed to make my research project more real as I considered my plan and the steps I would take to provide for its reliability and validity.
Thanks, in advance, for sharing your insight and ideas.
Don
Posted Date: February 27, 2013 7:52 PM
Subject: Technology Survey Questions
Sarah,
Interesting comment about student access to the Smartboard. We just our 10th board installed in our school. It is in the library on a motorized bracket that moves the board up and down so everyone can access it. Damage to our Smartboards is not an issue; if fact our biggest issue at the moment is keeping the surface clean (you can tell a kid to wash their hands a million times and …..) Not allowing kids access is a little like building a library, filling it with books, but only allowing the librarian to read the books to the students. I agree…its not really the point. To quote the great philosopher Horton (not to be confused with Homer): A person’s a person, no matter how small!
Don
Posted Date: February 21, 2013 9:26 PM
Subject: Jhodi’s Research Questions
Jhodi,
My reply is not to your survey specifically but to all of us who included survey responses grouped according to age, years of teaching experience, comfort with technology, use of technology, etc. I wonder about the tie between these groupings and the survey question being asked. Are the cut-off point between groups significant? How do they tie to the survey question and do they fit with the research on the variables related to the research question.
I am planning a survey as part of my research project. The questions, scales, and grouping of responses should reflect the research question; I don’t want to “make it up on my own” and miss something significant or something that would better reflect the body of reserach and understanding on my topic. I keep coming back to that pesky literature review and really knowing a topic before engaging in my project.
Don
Posted Date: February 21, 2013 9:09 PM
Subject: Adam’s General Tech Survey
Deanna,
I agree with your interest in reading all of the survey questions. I realize how important it is to carefully define our research questions and determine the information needed to answer them completely and objectively. This is somewhat analogous to setting a teaching goal, determining how it should be measured, and then collecting the data. We don’t predetermine the outcome but we need to know what we are looking for. Thanks for sparkin’ this idea and making things a bit clearer.
Don
Date Posted: February 21, 2013 4:35 AM
Subject: Survey Questions
Author: Sunah Cho
Vivian,
On top of Ben’s comment, I would switch around the order of the two questions, Q3 and Q4. You have to make sure your survey questions are asked in a logical order. The order in which questions are asked is important. Normally opening questions should be easy to answer to increase participant trust and more sensitive and complex questions are introduced later. Please re-read the two questions and the order of them.
>>>Q3: Write a brief explanation of how capable you feel you are at using technology available to you compared to other teachers in your school.
>>>Q4: Please provide a list of all the technology you use in your classroom.
Sunah
Author: Donald Adams Date: Tuesday, February 19, 2013 9:01:32 PM PST Subject: RE: survey questions
Ben,
I think your suggestion is pretty sound. It may depend on Vivian’s interest in having teachers rate their use of specific resources; this would depend upon the research question. I like the idea of a trial run of a survey. It would address the issue of missing or unconsidered resources and provide information to ensure the quality, completness, suitability, and usefulness of the information collected.
Don
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Subject: Survey Questions
Caitlin,
Great questions. I like the feeling of personal responsibility and accountability in your questions: a strong, professional tone. You might consider breaking your second question into one about the type of learning environments the teacher has accessed and a second asking the teacher to rate their perception of preparedness resulting from their participation. Great fun this activity…revealing our areas of interest and coaching each other along the way.
Don
Posted Date: February 19, 2013 9:53 PM
Subject: Survey Questions
Sarah,
Great questions. I like the balance of questions that indicate change over time with those that provide information for leading the change. In my survey sample post, Elan pointed out that the word “concerns” like “obstacles” may not be neutral. I agreed with his observation but made some points about my reason for including this kind of question. I’d appreciate your thoughts….
Don
Posted Date: February 19, 2013 9:48 PM
Subject: Questionnaire for Teachers
Ben,
I find the option for a scaled response in a structured survey item appealing. I wonder about the significance of the numbering and labeling of the scale…I understand they will differ according to the information being elicited…Do you think their structure would differ according to the topic of the research being conducted? Kind of like choosing the right tool for measuring student achievement in a quantitative study…is there a recognized, accepted, well used, valid, reliable, “gold standard” survey format or question for subject X? Is this part of the literature review and methodological design for a research study using survey? I think so but just asking the question is too much at this time of night. I’d appreciate your thoughts….
Don
Date Posted: February 19, 2013 9:33 PM
Subject: mPortfolio Survey Sample
Elan,
Thanks for the feedback… especially regarding some of the language you thought might be unclear or abiguous. In preparing my questions, I skipped through my ideas for a potential survey, missing out explanations to introduce them and questions that might connect them. I do like the idea of balancing sturtured items specifically related to my research question and unstructured items that allow for unexpected or expanded responses. I agree that the word “concerns” is not neutral and would balance this item with one about “benefits” or “positive aspects” but I think it useful to encourage critique by asking for it. I also think it important to balance and solicit both points of view. I put students in my survey to remind me that their voice matters, especially when it comes to evaluating their performance with mPortfolios. I may need to adjust the form of my survey but I think their take on the issues should be included. A survey designed with them in mind might just be clear enough for everyone to understand. They are great little cheerleaders and critics.
And thanks Elan for your response to my research project proposal. You identified the issues I face in developing it really well and I’ll respond over a cup of coffee in the next few days. Just wanted to pass along my thanks. I appreciate your informed “uninformed” response 🙂
Don
Date Posted: February 19, 2013 9:01 PM
Subject: Survey Questions
Ben,
I think your suggestion is pretty sound. It may depend on Vivian’s interest in having teachers rate their use of specific resources; this would depend upon the research question. I like the idea of a trial run of a survey. It would address the issue of missing or unconsidered resources and provide information to ensure the quality, completness, suitability, and usefulness of the information collected.
Don
Date Posted: February 18, 2013 10:18 PM
Subject: mPortfolio Survey Sample
Survey Questions
Topic: The Use of mPortfolios for Reporting Student Progress
Description: a longitudinal survey administered before and after the implementation phase of an action research project.
Terms to define in the covering letter and the explanation of the survey are underlined.
Structured Items
- Please indicate your role.
| | | | | |
| Student | Parent | Teacher | Administrator |
- I have a good understanding of mPortfolios.
| | | | | |
| Strongly Agree | Agree | Unsure | Disagree | Strongly Disagree |
- mPortfolios should replace report cards.
| | | | | |
| Strongly Agree | Agree | Unsure | Disagree | Strongly Disagree |
Unstructured items
- What are your concerns regarding the use of mPortfolios for reporting student progress?
Please describe
- How can the use of mPortfolios for reporting student progress be improved?
Please describe