Patterns and Trends

Analyze and synthesize findings from your Week Three assignment, specifically the critical reviews of empirical studies relevant to your research question.  Extract at least three patterns and/or trends from the five studies.  What are some common findings?  Explain how these patterns and/or trends inform your research and how they support learning outcomes for a diverse student population.

Discussion#2

Theoretical Frameworks

Theories give researchers a conceptual framework for understanding problems and/or research questions.  In the discussion forum, state your research question and the problem your research attempts to solve.  Then, identify two to three theories that could be relevant to your study.  Think about theories and theorists you have been studying in the MAED program.  Identify the theorists and at least three major tenets of each theory.  Summarize, in your own words, the main ideas.  Make sure to cite your sources.

The following resources may help you determine relevant theories:

1. Educational Theories
2. Instructional Design
3. Theories of Reading

In addition to the resources above, a Google search will also yield a great deal of information.

Journal

Reflection on Learning

What have you learned about research and practice?  How do you think research will improve your own teaching practice?

Assignment #

Outline

Read the Tillotson article entitled, “Studying the Game: Action Research in Science Education.”Using this article as a model, outline your own action research study according to the author’s explanations. Include the following sections:

1. An analysis of the setting
2. An analysis of the problem formulation
3. A description of data collection
4. A description of data analysis
5. A description of reporting results
6. A description of action planning

Your outline must be two to four pages in length, include two scholarly resources in addition to the course text, and must be in proper APA formatting.