ETEC 500 Research Methodologies in Education
Reflections
ETEC 500 is focused on educational research methods. It is a very intense and comprehensive course that helped me to develop skills in reviewing and conducting educational research using various research methodologies. I found the required textbook, Introduction to Educational Research by Mertler, very useful and easy to understand. I never thought I would really enjoy the research class, but I did.
I learned how to properly conduct qualitative and quantitative research and analyzed various research studies. I also learned various database search strategies and practised finding what I need in electronic databases: UBC library database and ERIC, an online library of education research and information. The course provided an opportunity to practise APA with various types of resources.
This course is valuable for my work as an Instructional Designer as I can now use my skills in reviewing and analysing research findings to provide recommendations on implementing various educational tools or teaching methods while working on designing online courses. During the course I researched a topic on promoting student engagement and critical thinking in online discussions as this is a topic that I often get questions about while consulting the faculty I work with. Often instructors do not believe in any value the asynchronous discussions bring to student engagement, improving their critical thinking and overall learning outcomes. I also receive questions about best practices for facilitation, instructor and peer feedback and assessment of these discussions. I feel the research I conducted during this course helps me to better address questions I receive and present evidence when necessary. In addition to professional interest, I had a personal interest in researching this topic as sometimes I find myself more engaged in online discussions, feel being a part of a learning community and learn a lot from my peers, but this does not happen in all online courses I take. I feel now I can make a difference in online student engagement and their critical thinking skills development, which I hope will will lead to better learning outcomes.
I learned how to properly conduct qualitative and quantitative research and analyzed various research studies. I also learned various database search strategies and practised finding what I need in electronic databases: UBC library database and ERIC, an online library of education research and information. The course provided an opportunity to practise APA with various types of resources.
This course is valuable for my work as an Instructional Designer as I can now use my skills in reviewing and analysing research findings to provide recommendations on implementing various educational tools or teaching methods while working on designing online courses. During the course I researched a topic on promoting student engagement and critical thinking in online discussions as this is a topic that I often get questions about while consulting the faculty I work with. Often instructors do not believe in any value the asynchronous discussions bring to student engagement, improving their critical thinking and overall learning outcomes. I also receive questions about best practices for facilitation, instructor and peer feedback and assessment of these discussions. I feel the research I conducted during this course helps me to better address questions I receive and present evidence when necessary. In addition to professional interest, I had a personal interest in researching this topic as sometimes I find myself more engaged in online discussions, feel being a part of a learning community and learn a lot from my peers, but this does not happen in all online courses I take. I feel now I can make a difference in online student engagement and their critical thinking skills development, which I hope will will lead to better learning outcomes.
Artifacts
Artifact 1: Journal Assignment
In this assignment I analyze two articles: The elephant in the living room: or extending the conversation about the politics of evidence by Denzin and What good is polarizing research into qualitative and quantitative? by Ercikan & Roth and provide arguments why I agree with Ercikan & Roth that the use of polarization in research " tends to limit research inquiry" and that research questions "should determine the modes of inquiry that are used to conduct good research" and that a well-integrated collaborations among researchers with expertise in different modes of inquiry will lead to research that focuses on meaning, implementation and inferences.
Artifact 2: Group Research Proposal: The Effect of Instructor Involvement on the Quality of Asynchronous Discussion Posts
This group project consisted of writing a literature review and research proposal on an area of interest while incorporating the information learned in this class. Our group was interested in a topic of instructor involvement in asynchronous discussions and the effect it has on student learning. We have chosen this topic because we believe that asynchronous online discussion is an essential component of most university-level online learning programs and can have a great impact on the learning experience. Understanding the individual factors that create a high quality discussion board experience for students and their interrelationships is critical to continuous improvement in distance education (Ringler, Schubert, Deem, Flores, Friestad-Tate, & Lockwood, 2015). Although various aspects of the role of the instructor in AOD have been researched, the results were inconclusive or inconsistent (Mazzolini & Maddison, 2007; Guldberg & Pilkington, 2007; Lee, 2012). Our study aimed to provide insights into the effects of instructor involvement on the quality of student responses. I believe we demonstrated our ability to use the research skills we learned in this course while working on this topic.
Resources
Denzin, N. K. (2009). The elephant in the living room: or extending the conversation about the politics of evidence. Qualitative Research, 9(2) 139–160.
Ercikan, K., & Roth, W-M. (2006). What good is polarizing research into qualitative and quantitative? Educational Researcher, 35, 14-23.
Mazzolini, M., & Maddison, S. (2007). When to jump in: The role of the instructor in online discussion forums. Computers & Education, 49(2), 193–213. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2005.06.011
Ringler, I., Schubert, C., Deem, J., Flores, J., Friestad-Tate, J., & Lockwood, R. (2015). Improving the Asynchronous Online Learning Environment Using Discussion Boards. i-Manager's Journal of Educational Technology, 12(1), 15.