LAKE SUPERIOR STATE UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
EDUC 602
REFLECTION AND INQUIRY IN TEACHING PRACTICE
FALL 2007
Instructor: Paulette Z. Attie, Ph.D.
Crawford Hall, Room 330
School of Education, Lake Superior State University
E-mail: pattie@lssu.edu
Phone: 906-635-2028
TE 602, Reflection and Inquiry in Teaching Practice, is a 3-hour graduate class. Its successful completion is required for initial certification in the teacher preparation program and as part of the required coursework in the Curriculum and Instruction Masters Degree program.
1.
Course Prerequisites :
Graduate candidate standing and/or intern status
2.
Course Description :
This course will examine qualitative research methods (action research) in teaching and learning. A major component of the course will be “framing educational problems worthy of inquiry” and then
“designing and assessing studies of teaching practice.”
3.
Knowledge Base :
The following principles of action research are based upon a strong belief in teacher professionalism and the possibility of adult learners growing and changing in response to their environments:
A. Professional growth is ongoing
Action research is a cyclical process, a spiral as Jean McNiff (1995) describes it as a cyclical process.
McNiff identifies the phases in a cycle as: act, reflect, and revise.
B. Investigation improves practice
The main difference between “reflective practice” and “action research” is in the systematization of the reflective process. The action research process includes data gathering, analysis, writing, and sharing.
C. Inquiry is values-based
Teachers are able to articulate their values more clearly once they have examined their practice in the classrooms. This knowledge of their values gives teachers a much greater confidence in who they are and what they stand for.
D. Gathering data is valued by effective teachers
Data is information. Data are valuable in order to make informed decisions about what works and does not work in helping students learn. Data gathering and analysis are also invaluable in sharing with parents and the community why a particular strategy or program was chosen.
E. Teachers have control over their own action research.
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Having control over their own action research has a positive effect on the commitment to the professional development process and to their view of themselves as professionals. An action research project is based upon a flexible and emerging research design rather than on the stereotypical, lock-step, experimental design often thought of as research. An educator’s study evolves and changes as understanding develops.
F. Teachers participate in collaborative learning communities.
Essential to the action research process is sustained support and a collaborative learning community.
Dialogue at regular intervals, as a professional development activity, allows teachers engaged in action research to offer suggestions to each other that assist their thinking and may validate their knowledge.
G. Teachers construct and share their own professional knowledge .
Action research is an effective way of building a personal knowledge of education. Sharing one’s classroom–based research through publication or presentation at a conference contributes to the body of educational practice. The increase in action research publications and accreditation is now providing an evidential base of teaching and learning from the perspective of the practitioner in the classroom.
H. Ongoing research
The excitement of seeing the positive results of action research frequently spurs teacher researchers to continue to investigate their professional practice. Ongoing data collection, analysis, and conclusions provide the emerging picture of how student learning is improved over time.
This course is designed to introduce teacher and master’s candidates to the use of research in their teaching. The overall goal of the course is to make research relevant and meaningful so that teachers use an on-going research agenda to “improve student learning”(Joyce, Wolf, Calhoun, 1993, p. vi).
As in any research, the educator will need to determine the component activities, the timelines, the persons and facilities responsible for completing the successful search for greater knowledge.
Attainment of any research goal will depend on the researcher’s ability to conceptualize a research question, review related literature, select a design, measure and manipulate variables, analyze results, and prepare a final report (Arhar, Halley, & Kasten, 2001).
The main emphasis will be on action research or “any systematic inquiry conducted by teacher researchers, principals, school counselors, or other stakeholders in the teaching/learning environment to gather information about how their particular schools (classrooms) operate, how teachers teach, and how well their students learn” (Mills, 2003, p. 5). We will not emphasize whether the findings of any particular study can be generalized to other settings (replicability); but rather we will seek to gain a deep understanding on how particular classrooms or schools perform.
4.
Curricular Relationship/ National Board of Professional Teaching Standards(NBPTS) :
This course is required by Lake Superior State University for the initial teacher licensure program and for the Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. It can also be used as a professional development course for teachers who wish to use it as credit within a planned program.
Participants will utilize knowledge from their content areas in understanding and applying action research methodology.
The NBPTS domains that will be addressed through the objectives are:
1.
Teachers are committed to students and their learning.
2.
Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students.
3.
Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring students.
4.
Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from the experience.
5.
Teachers are members of learning communities.
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All five of the domains will be addressed through the learning objectives designed for this course.
Teaching candidates will be asked to examine their own views of where and how learning occurs for their students. With a systemic model for radical change, teaching candidates will be asked to develop learning communities to design a working unit within the guidelines of the course.
5.
Course Objectives :
Teacher/master’s candidates who successfully complete the course will be able to:

Understand the purposes of action research
 Understand one’s action research within a broader theoretical framework

Identify the relevance of action research to one’s content area

Assess the usefulness of information provided in research/literature publications

Understand how to write the review of the professional literature on a research topic after completing an annotated bibliography on the area of focus (research problem)

Locate and identify appropriate literature for a particular action research question/problem
 Explore a process for systemic inquiry within one’s content area and practice

State research problems, hypotheses and questions

Develop and describe collection of data through a variety of means

Identify typical behavior and variability and patterns in behavior

Understand ethical and legal issues as they apply to participation and research

Understand how personal philosophical perspectives influence the comprehension and design of research
6. Course Performance Assignments
: Each teacher/master’s candidate will design a research project that affects the academic achievement levels of his/her students. The candidate may also explore ways to improve the overall learning environment. This project will include the following components. You will turn in a final paper.
A. The research proposal/project paper

Write an area of focus statement (Guidelines follow)
1.
The area of focus should involve teaching and learning.
2.
The area of focus is something in your locus of control.
3.
The area of focus is something that you feel passionate about.
4.
The area of focus is something that you would like to change or improve.

Develop a written literature review (see B below) – 5-10 professional resources (Include an annotated bibliography of 12 articles that are related to your research question (area of

 focus)
Define the variables of your study
Develop research questions

Describe the intervention or innovation

Describe the membership of the action research group

Describe the negotiations that need to be undertaken

Develop the data collection techniques with a triangulation matrix

Develop a timeline

Develop a statement of resources
B. Writing an Annotated Bibliography and The Review of the Literature
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Once you have chosen your "area of focus" for your action research project you will conduct a review of related literature. First you want to locate at least 12 articles (written within the last
6 years) related to your area of focus or research problem/question. Write an annotated bibliography for these articles.
You are now prepared to begin writing the Literature Review using the most relevant articles that you have read. The Literature Review should be approximately 1,000 words (a rough guide) and include a minimum of five to ten current (within the last six years) journal articles.
Remember, you are trying to avoid reinventing the wheel!
You will be able to undertake an electronic search of the literature by accessing ERIC online.
You will then be able to request copies of journal articles either through the LSSU library or through the respective ERIC Clearinghouses. START THIS ASSIGNMENT EARLY!
C. Participation .
Each teacher/master’s candidate will be responsible for attending each scheduled session
(online or on campus) of the course. Small exercises will be given during these sessions that can not be made up and will result in points toward a candidate’s final evaluation. There is no difference between an excused absence and an unexcused absence.
D. Poster Sessions/Presentations .
PowerPoint Presentations. Each teacher/masters candidate will present his/her proposed research project proposal through a PowerPoint Presentation. More details as to the components of the presentation will be given either through TaskStream or at the initial course meeting.
7. REQUIREMENTS:
Text and online subscription to TaskStream (required) , LSSU e-mail, BLACKBOARD a. Mills, G. E. (2003). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher.
Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Chapter 1: Understanding Action Research
·
Chapter 2: Deciding on an Area of Focus
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Chapter 3: Data Collection Techniques
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Chapter 4: Data Collection Considerations: Validity, Reliability, Generalizability and Ethics
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Chapter 5: Data Analysis and Interpretation
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Chapter 6: Action Planning for Educational Change
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Chapter 7: Sharing, Critiquing, and Celebrating Action Research On-Line
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Chapter 8: Writing Up Action Research
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Appendix I: Action Research in Action: A Case Study of Curtis Elementary
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Appendix II: Descriptive Statistics and Action Research
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Appendix III: Visually Displaying Data b. A subscription to TaskStream: Tools of Engagement ( http://www.taskstream.com
)
It is up to each student to decide on the subscription plan. (Please note that a 5-year subscription is less than the price of a standard college textbook.)
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Grade
93 – 100 A
80 – 92 B
c. An active LSSU e-mail account with access to BLACKBOARD, a course management system through the my.lssu portal
8. Course evaluation and disposition :
Evaluation Item Possible Points Earned Points Date submitted
1. Homework assignment completed and submitted prior to class in August
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2. 3-paragraph Intro to Action Research
Problem/Area of Focus Statement
3
3. Annotated bibliography of 12 articles related to research question, area of focus
3
4. Written Review of Professional Literature
5. Quizzes/In Class assignments
6. Description of data gathering techniques/triangulation
7. Attendance/punctuality/meeting deadlines/participation
5
20
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Range: +7 through -5
40 8. Final Action Research proposal and posting to
TaskStream
9. Poster session of Action Research Proposal at
November class with 2-page reflection paper of action research
10 Violations of Academic Integrity / plagiarism
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11. Professional dispositions
TOTAL
Grade consequence s/ failure
5
100
Outcomes
Consistently exceeds outcome expectations
Materials are exceptionally well presented
Materials are submitted on time
Consistently exhibits initiative
Leadership skills demonstrated
Synthesis of experiences sometimes occur
Materials are presented well most of the time
Materials are submitted on time
Exhibits some initiative
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70 – 79 C
65 - 69 D
Below 65 F
Employs the principles of best practice
Shows little initiative
Materials are not submitted on time
Materials are presented at a marginal basis
Synthesis of experiences rarely occurs
Skills are inadequate for practice
Outcome expectations are not met
All work is expected to be grammatically and mechanically correct . All written work done outside of class should be typed. (APA STYLE) Proofread your work carefully before submitting. Late work will be penalized.
9. Assignment due dates:
Completing assignments on time is critical to your success in the course. Please do your assignments carefully and on time . If you are having difficulty meeting assignment time lines, please contact the instructor prior to the due date. Papers submitted late will not receive a grade higher than "B-," although a note is made of the quality.
Poorly written and/or carelessly proofread papers are sometimes returned ungraded until spelling, punctuation, or mechanical errors are corrected. Such papers when resubmitted may receive no higher than a grade of B-.
10. Course Policy on Attendance:
Regular attendance and online participation are essential to successful completion of this course.
There is no difference between an unexcused and an excused absence. No work completed and submitted at a required session can be made up. A weekly online office hour through TaskStream’s instant messenger will be available for those who wish to check in with the instructor.
11. Course Policy for Students with Disabilities :
In compliance with Lake Superior State University policy and equal access laws, disabilityrelated accommodations or services are available to students with disabilities. Students receive services after they are registered with Disability Services. Proper registration allows
Disability Services to verify the disability and determine individual reasonable academic accommodations. Disability Services is located in the KJS Library Room 147. Phone: 906-635-2355.
Any student who feels she/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor and the disability services coordinator privately to discuss specific needs.
12. Caveat:
The instructor reserves the right to amend the syllabus as we progress through the course.
13. Academic Dishonesty - Be informed.
“Academic Dishonesty” is a broad term that refers to a violation of any of the many standards for truth and honesty in research and education traditionally associated with a college education. These standards are usually held to be universal and apply to all your work at any university or college in North America or Europe. Generally, these standards are: a. All work that students do must be their own. Representing the work of another as one’s own work constitutes plagiarism ; b. Doing work for another student undermines their education, and therefore preparing work for another student that they will represent as their own is also a violation (and the other student would be guilty of plagiarism )
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c. All the work that students do must be done honestly. Cheating by any method or means (including copying, using crib notes, etc) on tests, quizzes, in-class exercises or any other assigned work is a violation of these standards; d. The “honest work” standard also means that students who knowingly and willfully falsifying or manufacturing scientific or educational data and represent the same to be the result of scientific or scholarly experiment or research have engaged in cheating;
Different professors and instructors have different interpretations of these standards, of course.
Nonetheless, there are several things that everyone seems to agree constitute a violation of them.
Among these are:
1. Submitting a paper in fulfillment of an assignment that was written by another person, such as a paper obtained from an internet paper mill
2. Submitting a paper which contains deliberately uncited sources with the intention of “passing off” the quotation as your own writing
3. Falsifying data or research for any reason
4. Repeated occurrences of “Academic Dishonesty ”
14. Plagiarism…. What is it?
What are the most common forms of Plagiarism?
1.
The unacknowledged word-for-word copying of someone else's writing or speech, in whole or in part, intentionally or unintentionally. This is considered the most flagrant and criminal kind of plagiarism. (Yes, it’s illegal in the United States.)
2. The assumption of responsibility for a composed text (written or oral) or any significant portion of a composed text that you have purchased, stolen, been given or loaned, or simply found. Even with the consent of the author, the fraudulent claim of ownership of a text or significant portion of a text that you have had no hand in composing is plagiarism.
3. The unacknowledged paraphrasing of someone else's ideas and/or sentences
4. The unacknowledged use of another's ideas, analyses, or interpretations, no matter how different the presentation is from the source. Unless you have the consent from the source to use the ideas without citing him or her, you must cite the source.
5. The failure to acknowledge another person's crucial collaboration in the production of a text. If someone provides you with a good idea for additional content for your writing, you need to cite that person
.
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