a) Correct APA style Bibliographical reference and URL for the study:
Tracing the development of teacher knowledge in a design seminar: Integrating content, pedagogy and technology. By: Koehler, Matthew J.; Mishra, Punya; Yahya, Kurnia. Computers & Education, Nov2007, Vol. 49 Issue 3, p740-762, 23p; DOI: 10.1016/j.compedu.2005.11.012; (AN 25185209)
b) List and Explain the research method
The researchers used an experimental method to hypothesize that the implementation of technology requires a form of knowledge they called “Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge,” or “TPCK.”
c) Explain the research method, any instruments and how they were developed or chosen. Be sure to indicate the type of instrument (survey, interview, focus group etc.)
The researchers, over the few years prior to their report, had been involved in a design experiment to assess the qualities of the teacher knowledge required for technology integration. One of their strategies was to integrate faculty development into “learning technology by design” courses which were part of the existing Masters program in educational technology.
The participants also assessed pedagogical aspects of the courses they were designing including online learning techniques for solving actual problems in an online setting.
d) List the research questions and the answers the study arrived at for those questions.
They were concerned with these questions about “Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge” :
How does TPCK develop over time and through collaborative activity?
How can the evolution of TPCK be represented, tracked and understood?
These questions were answered with the introduction of an “analytic framework” that was developed to study TPCK. Their model was directed at a more subtle understanding of technological-pedagogical-content knowledge, as the “basis for a more integrated perspective on research and pedagogy.”
e) Evaluate the effectiveness of the research design, methods and instrument(s) of this study.
The researchers concept of “Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge” was aimed at the teachers’ professional development, to push past the simple skills of simply utilizing the technology superficially. TPCK was to acknowledge the connections between the technology and the subject-matter content, and especially the pedagogy used to teach that technology.
2. Locate a qualitative study. Then provide the following:
a) Correct APA style Bibliographical reference and URL for the study:
ROADMAP TO MEASURING DISTANCE EDUCATION INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN COMPETENCIES. By: Dooley, Kim E.; Lindner, James R.; Telg, Ricky W.; Irani, Tracy; Moore, Lori; Lundy, Lisa. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, Summer2007, Vol. 8 Issue 2, p151-159, 9p; (AN 26266358)
b) List and Explain the research method
According to the author’s description, and identified by Fraenkel and Wallen (1999) this research studied a phenomenon in a natural setting to directly access the source of data which was collected from the perspective of the participants. The data was analyzed inductively; in order to capture accurately the participants’ behaviors, attitudes, reasons, and motives, which are characteristics of a qualitative research paradigm.
The instruments used in the study included a database for analysis and verification of the results of “stair-step” questionnaires, rather than a Likert-scale approach. The test procedure was administered via WebCT, which then was analyzed using Microsoft Excel spreadsheets for an audit trail.
c) Explain the research method and how it was developed or chosen.
The one week session required that participants complete self-assessment by which they measured their own perception of their competence in 12 core areas (modified from prior studies) The same participants were then asked to assess their perception of their own improved competencies in the tested areas. This was intended as a “reflection tool” for the participants to measure their growth.
d) List any research questions and the answers the study arrived at for those questions.
Rather than specific questions, the test method placed participants in actual teaching situations, that assessed competency in these areas (called “Destinations) :
Destination 1: Learning theory and styles
Destination 2: Instructional design & course development
Destination 3: Delivery strategies for teaching at a distance & instructional technology resources
Destination 4: Advanced interaction methods & accessibility
Destination 5: Planning and conducting evaluation & evaluation analysis and reporting
Destination 6: Administrative issues & training and support
After this research completed, many participants had improved self-perceived competencies (and confidence in those competencies ?) and more importantly, awareness of the need to provide adequate support for technology trainers and teachers using distance education methods.
This survey, which was implemented in both one-week and 15-week semester environments, also revealed the need for further study of evaluation techniques and is this regard, it seems to have been meta-research, since it was the technique that was being researched.
e) Evaluate the effectiveness of the research design, methods and instrument(s) of this study.
The study encompassed a wide area of teaching skills and seemed to be diligent in its approach to the topic, but I feel that the qualitative “self-assessment” is somewhat subjective in its result. I did notice that the female group started with slightly higher competencies and ended with significantly higher competencies, albeit self-perceived, which may have been an artifact of the self-assessment ?
The research also determined that retention of skills learned in the study was not significantly diminished in this study.
3. Describe a quantitative approach to answer the question: What is the effect of using only a podcast for content transmission on student learning in graduate classes?
A quantitative approach would entail testing competencies operationally using test scores that would assess competencies before and after students studied lessons in at least two groups, one of which would study using podcast alone, and the other, using written text. A third group or class may be face-to-face lecture, in a quasi-experimental situation. The operationally quantified results in the form of test scores would be gathered and assessed in a spreadsheet, or a database, which would facilitate the “number crunching” statistical analysis of the data.
4. Describe a qualitative approach to answer the question: What are the effects of using podcasts for content transmission on student learning in graduate classes?
A qualitative approach would likely entail methods that would measure the self-perceived, or better yet, peer-perceived, competencies before and after the research, that would be implemented using Likert –scale questionnaires, or similarly quantified, albeit subjective, assessments of competency.
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