Spadoni College of Education
Coastal Carolina University
Syllabus
EDUC 607: Research for Today’s Schools
Conceptual Model:
The Master of Education degree program is designed to offer educational practitioners an opportunity for
professional growth and to develop Master Teachers who are able to provide leadership in their teaching areas.
The conceptual underpinning of all graduate programs in the Spadoni College of Education is the Teacher as
Reflective Practitioner. Reflective practitioners are teachers who work as scholars in the classroom with the
ability to make sound decisions using information at hand; but who also have the ability to gather, analyze, and
utilize new information as needed. The competency strands that serve as the conceptual underpinning of our
graduate programs reflect standards outlined by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and
incorporate our College commitment to the Teacher as Reflective Practitioner. Each competency stand has
multiple indicators that are taught and assessed throughout the program and mastery evidence/artifacts
comprise the content of a final required portfolio.
Course Information:
Meeting:
Course is 100% asynchronous online
Time:
N/A
Course Description: Study of the principles of education research and how research can improve instruction
and assessment in PK-12 environments. The course focuses on identifying and defining
research questions, reviewing and critiquing existing research, developing mixedmethods research designs, collecting and analyzing authentic data, using the results of
research to guide instructional decisions, and the communication of research results.
Intended Audience: Master of Education program candidates
Prerequisite:
Graduate student standing
Credit Awarded:
3
Instructor Information:
Name:
Locator Information:
Office Location:
Office Hours:
Course Calendar:
Please see attached Course Plan
Text/Other Required Materials/Resources:
Required Text: Fraenkel, J.R., and Wallen, N.E., (2009). How to Design and Evaluate Research in
Education, 7th Ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Required Software: All Program Candidates must make a one-time purchase of LiveText which is done
through the Bursar’s Office. In addition, this course requires internet connectivity, email, access to
Blackboard, the Microsoft Office programs, Word and Excel, and may require some Web 2.0 download –
depending upon the individual’s computer.
Course Goals/Objectives (Standards/Alignment Information)
CCU
1. Students will be
o Engage in reflective practice
able to devise
o Work, [adapt assessments] for diverse populations
and carry out
o Apply content and pedagogical knowledge to the teaching and learning process
research in a
class.
ADEPT
1B. Establishing appropriate learning goals for all students
1D. Developing appropriate processes for evaluating and recording students’ progress and
achievement
2. Students will be
able to use and
interpret the
educational
research in their
fields of interest.
3. Students will be
able to critically
analyze and use
published
research to
address
educational
problems.
4. Students will be
able to create
valid and reliable
assessment
instrumentation.
5. Students will be
able to analyze
data from
assessment
instruments and
use the
information to
improve
instruction.
6. Students will be
able to write a
research report
and present
their findings to
their peers using
standard
formatting and
practices.
3B. Gathering, analyzing, and using assessment data
3C. Using assessment data to reflect student progress and achievement
7C. Providing appropriate instructional feedback to all students
CCU
o Engage in reflective practice
o Work, [adapt assessments] for diverse populations
o Apply content and pedagogical knowledge to the teaching and learning process
ADEPT
1B. Establishing appropriate learning goals for all students
1D. Developing appropriate processes for evaluating and recording students’ progress and
achievement
3B. Gathering, analyzing, and using assessment data
3C. Using assessment data to reflect student progress and achievement
7C. Providing appropriate instructional feedback to all students
CCU
o Engage in reflective practice
o Work, [adapt assessments] for diverse populations
o Apply content and pedagogical knowledge to the teaching and learning process
ADEPT
1B. Establishing appropriate learning goals for all students
1D. Developing appropriate processes for evaluating and recording students’ progress and
achievement
3B. Gathering, analyzing, and using assessment data
3C. Using assessment data to reflect student progress and achievement
7C. Providing appropriate instructional feedback to all students
CCU
o Engage in reflective practice
o Work, [adapt assessments] for diverse populations
o Apply content and pedagogical knowledge to the teaching and learning process
ADEPT
1B. Establishing appropriate learning goals for all students
1D. Developing appropriate processes for evaluating and recording students’ progress and
achievement
3B. Gathering, analyzing, and using assessment data
3C. Using assessment data to reflect student progress and achievement
7C. Providing appropriate instructional feedback to all students
CCU
o Engage in reflective practice
o Work, [adapt assessments] for diverse populations
o Apply content and pedagogical knowledge to the teaching and learning process
ADEPT
1B. Establishing appropriate learning goals for all students
1D. Developing appropriate processes for evaluating and recording students’ progress and
achievement
3B. Gathering, analyzing, and using assessment data
3C. Using assessment data to reflect student progress and achievement
7C. Providing appropriate instructional feedback to all students
CCU
o Engage in reflective practice
o Apply content and pedagogical knowledge to the teaching and learning process
ADEPT
1B. Establishing appropriate learning goals for all students
1D. Developing appropriate processes for evaluating and recording students’ progress and
achievement
3B. Gathering, analyzing, and using assessment data
3C. Using assessment data to reflect student progress and achievement
Attendance/Administrative Procedures:
A. Administrative requirements: This is a graduate-level, distance (100% online) course. As such,
candidates bear personal responsibility to be informed, up-to-date, and timely regarding the due
dates, requirements, assignments, submissions, and all other matters pertaining to the class
including having appropriate technological resources for class participation. All assignments for the
course are submitted electronically via either the course website (Blackboard) or through LiveText.
Please visit the course calendar and see the attached course plan for due dates and times for all
assignments. In most cases there will be deductions for late assignments and in some cases, late
work will not be accepted. This decision is left to the instructor’s discretion.
Technology Issues:
Because many of the course activities and assessments depend upon successful use of technology to
meet basic requirements, candidates are expected to utilize computer technology in ways that permit
timely submission and adequate completion of assignments/assessments. Unless a CCU system
failure prevents completion of coursework, “technology issues” will NOT be an acceptable excuse for
any student’s lack of class participation or timely submission of assignments/assessments.
B. Academic Requirements and Evaluation of Students. There are four areas of expectation for the
course where points toward the class grade may be accumulated.
1. 11 Problem Sheets
2.
8 Chapter Tests
3. Final Research Presentation
4. Final Research Report
Disabling Conditions
If students have documentation that supports the need for special accommodations due to a disabling
condition, they should provide that documentation to the instructor as soon as possible. Qualifying
documentation should be endorsed/approved by the CCU Office of Disability Services in order for
students to qualify for special dispensation with the requirements of this course. Appropriate sources
of documentation should be obtained from and/or reviewed by the CCU Coordinator for Disability
Services (located in Indigo House room 113, telephone number 843-349-6561.) For specific
information about the CCU Office of Disability Services, please see www.coastal.edu/disabilityservices.
Academic Requirements and Evaluation
The academic requirements for this course consist of:
Final Research Report
Final Research Presentation
Chapter Tests
Problem Sheets
Grading Scale:
A
B+
B
C+
(100 points)
(50 points)
(8 at @25 points each)
(11 at 5 points each)
Total
90
87
80
77
- 100%
– 89.999%
– 86.999%
– 79.999%
C
D+
D
F
70 – 76.999%
67 – 69.999%
60 – 66.999%
below 60%
100 points
50 points
200 points
55 points
405 points
Course Plan for EDUC 607
Week
Beginning
Week
1
Content
Competency
Strand Readings
The Nature of
Research - Ch. 1
The Research
Problem - Ch. 2
2
Variables and
Hypotheses Ch. 3
Course/Project
Strand
Introduction
(to the Course)
Problem Statement
---------------------(CITI Online
Training must be
completed prior to
beginning research
of any kind in
conjunction with
Coastal Carolina
University)
Relevant Details/Advice/Direction
Assignment/Project/Presentation Due
Dates
Begin thinking about a topic or problem related to Education upon
which you will build a research project to be conducted this
semester. Projects must be of the Action Research variety (review
Ch. 24 in the text) and must be researchable by you during the time
allotted this semester. The conduct of your research project must
involve design, implementation, data gathering, data analysis, and
final research report. Project implementation is scheduled to begin
week 8, but it must begin by the 10th week of the semester and
final data collection AND analysis must be complete by the end of
the 13th week of the semester.
Test Ch. 1 due by midnight Jan 16
DON’T TRY TO SAVE THE WORLD WITH THIS ONE – THE POINT OF
THIS PROJECT IS TO CORRECTLY STRUCTURE AND CONDUCT
RESEARCH IN EDUCATION. THROUGHOUT THE COURSE,
EVALUATION WILL FOCUS ON STRUCTURE AND CONDUCT OF THE
PROCESS, NOT ON STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF YOUR RESULTS.
All tests allow 60 minutes for
completion. Scores are available for
tests immediately upon completion of
the test via the grades tab on the left
menu.
This includes four topics: (1) the Purpose of the study, (2) the
Justification for the study, (3) the Research Question and/or
Hypotheses including the variables for investigation, and (4) the
Definitions of terms. For more information about the problem
statement and its place in the research proposal, see Ch. 25, pp.
617-620 of the course text.
Assignment – PS 1 – Type of Research
due by midnight Jan 16
All tests are accessible through the
Blackboard course website. Students
must download LockDown Browser to
access tests (instructions are on the
Blackboard homepage.)
Test Ch. 2 due by midnight Jan 21
Assignment – PS 2 – The Research
Question due by midnight Jan 21
This is NOT intended to be your final submission of the problem
statement, rather you will receive review and critique from peers
which should be used to refine and produce the final version by
midnight on Friday of Week 5.
3
4
Ethics and
Research - Ch. 4
Each student must review and critique two according to Ch. 2
Characteristics:
Is it Feasible?
Is it Clear?
Is it Significant? and
Is it Ethical?
Sampling - Ch. 6
Sample
Instrumentation
- Ch. 7
Variables and
Hypothesis
Assignment – PS 3 – Research
Hypothesis due by midnight Jan 28
Assignment – PS 4 – Ethics and
Research due by midnight Jan 28
Test Ch. 7 due by midnight Jan 28
Formulate and submit to the
appropriate discussion forum on
Blackboard a basic problem statement
of interest to you. To do this, simply
use the information from assignment
PS 2 and put it into paragraph form.
Assignment – PS 6 – Sampling Plan due
by midnight Feb 4
Assignment – PS 7 – Research
Hypothesis due by midnight Feb 4
The Procedures Section Includes:
Research Design (see chapters 13-17 and 20-22 for types)
Sample
(see pp. 621-622 for criteria and example),
Instrumentation (see pp. 622-623),
Procedural Details (see p. 623),
Internal Validity (see p. 623 and Ch. 9), and
Data Analysis
(see Ch. 7 for organization and Chs. 10-12 for
analysis options)
5
Quantitative
Research
Chs. 13 - 17
Procedures Section
These sections will all be required for the final report submission via
LiveText due by midnight Apr. 29. As you can see, much of the
information for the report either already has been or soon will be
generated. You should begin constructing this report NOW as a
Word document so that it will be a simple matter of “cut and paste”
for the final submission. – Just saying…
Although no formal assessment is due for a while regarding
Reliability and Validity of instrumentation, some basic discussion
will be held in class this week to address issues that must be
considered prior to project implementation.
Test Ch. 13 due by midnight Feb 18
Assignment – PS 9 – Internal Validity
due by midnight Feb 18
Assignment – PS 5 – Review of the
Literature due by midnight Feb 25
6
Literature
Reviewing - Ch.
5
Literature Review
Steps involved in a Literature Search (p. 68)
1.
Define the problem
2.
Look at relevant secondary sources
3.
Select a couple of general reference sources
4.
Determine several appropriate search terms
5.
Search general references for primary sources
6.
Obtain and READ the sources (NOT JUST THE ABSTRACTS!!)
Final Problem Statement due by
midnight Feb 25. (Please see the
description for this assignment. This is
essentially sections I, II, and III of the
final project report explained on the
last page of this syllabus. I will review
this document to evaluate your
proposed project for further IRB
review.)
Please use this week to finalize your project plan prior to
implementation next week. If you have questions, please ask.
7
Qualitative
Research
Chs. 18 – 22
Finalize Project
Plans
Note that project implementation should commence next week.
Please resist the urge to put this off! Planning is important, but you
will find that implementation NEVER goes exactly as planned and
you will need time to recover from anything that goes awry. This is
not a pessimistic outlook – it is realistic and stems from the fact that
you are dealing with people. People tend to be unpredictable.
Some advice: Back up ALL electronic files you will need for this class
– memory sticks are great for this! Also, never submit something
on BB that you have not saved in Word!
Begin project implementation.
8
Data Collection and
Analysis
Schedule meeting with Instructor for individual issues related to
project implementation. If you have any doubt about an aspect of
your project, please ask! An ounce of prevention really is worth a
pound of cure.
Data collection and analysis support is available from instructor and
online via tutorial videos on the course website. You may also want
to consult your colleagues about research questions and
methodology. There are probably others in the class who have a
Test Ch. 18 due by midnight Mar 4
Assignment – PS 13 – Research
Methodology due by midnight Mar 4
Final Literature Review due by
midnight Mar 11
Assignment – PS 10 – Descriptive
Statistics due by midnight Apr 1
Assignment – PS 11 – Inferential
Statistics due by midnight Apr 1
similar teaching assignment as you.
9
10
11
Mixed-Methods
Research - Ch.
23
Project implementation continues
Action Research
- Ch. 24
Validity and
Reliability - Ch. 8
Internal Validity
- Ch. 9
Project implementation continues
Final data collection and analysis must be completed by the end of
this week.
12
13
Individual
Conferencing as
necessary – but
no formal class
meeting
14
15
16
Final Research
Presentations
(Details and
rubric will be
distributed on
Blackboard)
(Final
Presentations)
Conclusions
Form and Style
Appendices
These two weeks are intended to provide time for you to finalize
your final project presentation. Please use the PowerPoint
template in the course documents (tab in Blackboard) to construct
your final presentation.
- The final presentation should be submitted via the assignment
link as a PowerPoint presentation
Final Research
Presentation Work
A scoring rubric for Final Research Presentations is on the course
website. Please note that this is a presentation of your work – it is
NOT the Final Research Report, which is due via LiveText by
midnight April 29.
Final Research
Presentation
completion and
Research Report
work
The Final Research Presentation is due at the end of this week.
Please let me know if you have any questions or problems with
submission. Remember that this project is submitted through the
corresponding assignment link on BB.
The Final Research Report is due by the end of this week. Please
remember that it is due via LiveText. If you are not currently an
M.Ed. program candidate (that is, if you have not yet been accepted
into a program of study and are taking this class for another reason)
please let me know as you will have to submit this final report via
another route.
Test Ch. 24 due by midnight Mar 11
Test Ch. 8 due by midnight Apr 1
Test Ch. 9 due by midnight Apr 8
Final Presentation PowerPoint due by
midnight Apr 22
Final Research Report due in LiveText
by midnight Apr 29 if you are an M.Ed.
Program Candidate. If not, please let
me know and we’ll make other
arrangements.
Please note several things:
The final Research Report is due via LiveText, NOT Blackboard. LiveText is a required piece of software for all
program candidates and there will be an assignment attached to your account so that you may submit this report.
Because this is a major program assessment, if you are a program candidate, your final course grade will not be
processed until you have submitted this assessment in LiveText. If you have not purchased LiveText, please arrange
to do so through the CCU Bursar’s office.
If you are NOT a program candidate, please see the instructor for directions about how to submit the final course
assignment.
The final Research Report should be a collection of several of the assignments you complete as course requirements.
The Research Report must follow this outline (from p. 628 in your text – also see the model pp. 629-639)
Introductory Section – Consists of Title page, Table of Contents, List of Figures, List of Tables
Main body
I.
Problem investigated
a. Purpose of the study (including assumptions)
b. Justification of the study
c. Research question and hypotheses
d. Definitions of terms
e. Brief overview of the study
II.
Background and review of related literature – Note: this section should NOT be a listing of articles…it should
take the form of a brief research paper including:
a. Theory, if appropriate
b. Studies directly related
c. Studies tangentially related
III.
Procedures
a. Description of the research design
b. Description of the sample
c. Description of instruments (including scoring procedures; reliability; validity)
d. Explanation of the procedures followed (the what, when, where, and how of the study)
e. Discussion of internal validity
f. Discussion of external validity
g. Description and justification of the statistical techniques or other methods of analysis used
IV.
Findings - Description of the findings pertinent to each of the research hypotheses or questions
V.
Summary and Conclusions
a. Brief summary of the research question being investigated, the procedures employed, and the results
obtained
b. Discussion of the implications of the findings – their meaning and significance
c. Limitations – unresolved problems and weaknesses
d. Suggestions for further research
References – This section includes an APA formatted listing of all of the documents and information sources to which you
actually made reference in your report. It is NOT a bibliography (which would also include related readings, perhaps not
referenced in the body of your work.)
Appendices – These can be tables, graphs, charts, samples of student work, samples of assessment instruments used, etc.
This section is where you will provide your reader with ancillary materials or information that supports your narrative.
For instance, if in your narrative you say that student work showed an increase of understanding about a certain concept
from pre- to post testing and you provide a graph of the class means for each administration, then you might want to
append some samples of student work that demonstrate your point. Decisions about what to put in this section are
more a matter of art than of science. If you are not sure, please ask.